This week we started it off by performing at Hoopla Impro Pre-Party; this was our last show before Improv Towers so it was a good time to try out a few new games that we haven’t played in front of an audience. This show we have added a few new games to our rosta so it is good to see how they work and how the audience react.

The first game we tested is a spin on charades and we are using it in a very unique way for our own show but for the pre-party we decided to refine it because we only had 15 minutes and the key instinct was to make sure that all three games worked. The second game we played was one of our classics we put out of service for a few shows and decided to bring back. Character Swap is a fun game to  play but for the next show we have developed it and added a few more elements to it. It is sort of a game now that combines two of our games together – which is a good thing as it means we can add more depth to it.

The final game we performed was a game we haven’t played in front of an audience so it was all about getting the kinks out. The audience reacted well to it but we also discovered  that there is a lot of space potentially needed to fill so we have decided to use music for it; this will automatically heighten it for the show. The audience reacted well to all the games so that leaves us in a positive place.

In rehearsal this week we focussed on finessing  the games we played on the weekend as well as a couple of other games. It is always a weird feeling the week before a show because you are worried how next week is going to go and you just have to hope it all goes well.

Case Study: Tim Vine

This week we played the game Jeopardy in front of an audience. It is one of those improv games that really relies on you being good at playing with words. One of the kings of word play is none other then Tim Vine. He is so quick at finding PUNs of words that he is both a delight and inspirational to watch. He can pretty much find a joke in any word.

Watching Time Vine is really important inspiration for playing a PUN based game as you can take in so much knowledge watching a professional at work. When we started playing this game you start to realise just how clever you can be with them. It is amazing what you can do with words and that’s why I enjoy this game – seeing what you can do with them