Welcome to this months feature theme, in the run up to Edinburgh Festival Fringe, we tend to forget about the groups and comedians that are heading there for the first time and just how much work goes on behind the scenes to prepare everything. Well this month we are going to learn face on as we are going behind the scenes with the improv troupe Banana Hut Gang Improv. This week may be short and sweet but it is always good to go behind the scenes. 

Tell us about the sort of rehearsals you do to get ready for a show?

Sam: We practice the show over and over, switching up and learning more about the genres. Each genre we do has slight differences and nuances; we want fans of those genres to see them and smile.

Do you have any pre show rituals – if so what are they?

Sam: We often do a ring-a-ring-of-roses type thing where we all chant “we’re going to  Edinburgh” over and over again. We’re pretty excited to get to go together.

We all know that improv is not scripted but do you have some sort of ‘skeleton script ‘ or format in place that you work towards whilst getting ready for a show? Tell us about it?

Sam: Each show is a sort of ‘fundamentals of storytelling in 45 mins’. The show isn’t a series of sketches, but a story. So, we focus on building a fairly realised world, establishing clear characters, and creating a hero you want to root for. Everything comes from that.

More next week.. to buy tickets for their Fringe show click here