This month I chatted to over 30 female improvisers from all over the UK to celebrate the talent that we have – we also discuss some of the important debates surrounding this topic as well. Today I talk to an improviser that is part of the all female musical improv troupe Notflix – Emily Jane 

Hello There! Tell us who you are and three random facts about yourself!

Hallo! Nice to meet you, come in, can I get you a cuppa? My name is Emily Jane Kerr, and I am a professional pretender. Three random facts? I can impersonate Shirley Bassey singing, I used to have a sixth finger, and I am a Harry Potter nerd.

How did you get into improv?  What inspired you to start improv?

I was having a pretty bad year confidence and job wise, and I was very low emotionally. I had done a lot of improv as a kid, then it fell by the wayside when I went to drama school. During the Edinburgh festival a friend of mine suggested I try improv, and when I say try improv, we drunkenly booked me onto a Showstoppers Intensive weekend for when I got back from Edinburgh. I loved it, and haven’t looked back.

What troupes are you are a part of?

So I do musical improv with Notflix: The Improvised Musical. We take a movie suggestion from the audience and make up a musical inspired by they version of the synopsis whether we’ve seen the film or not.

I do long form with Cash and Carry, who are Monkey Toast graduates and all performers or comedians. I also have been known to dabble with the Laughter Academy in Southend, which is hilarious short form.

Tell us about the styles of improv you enjoy and why

Any good improv, I’m there. I particularly enjoy long form, that somehow finds itself tying up loose ends, and making its own random story.

 Who are some Improvisers that you find inspiring and why?

There are a few, but I would say top of my list is John Oakes, who is the most generous improviser, and just has funny bones. He is brilliant, and lives to make his other players look good. I also really rate his wife Ali James. She’s the movement guru on Showstopper and she is just magical to watch. I mean I could go on and on: Paul Foxcroft, Briony Redman, Richard Soames, Susan Harrison… I’m drawn to people that are generous and constantly give gifts to other performers, everyone else’s hype man or indeed woman.

 I have read many articles around the debate that it is harder to be a woman in improv – what are your thoughts on this and why?

I think it can be harder to be a woman in improv. I have to play differently in different groups and differently with different genders. I sometimes find with men they are less like to renege on an idea, meaning you can be steamrollered off the stage – that of course is a sweeping generalisation! I have also experience a higher level of sexual or what I think is inappropriate contact and content from male players, without asking for permission.

You are part of the all female troupe Notflix – tell us about that!

Notflix is an improvised musical inspired by the movie of the audience’s choice. That’s the elevator pitch, but it’s so much more than that. As the audience come in they write down the last film they saw, and their version of the synopsis. We pick two out of the bucket of destiny, then the audience cheer for the one they want to see. They we make a full musical inspired by their synopsis regardless of whether we’ve seen it or not! The cast are all, first and foremost, incredible actors, but we can all sing and are all very funny. None of us look the same, and we all have our own strengths making the show the special beast it currently is. It’s a playful, intelligent and hilarious hour that is often spent smashing the patriarchy!

 I have read in articles that all women improv troupes have the capability to break down stereotypes – do you find this the case and why?

Exactly for the reason above! We are all amazing, opinionated and intelligent women. We play all types of characters in the shows, but they are never less intelligent than we are. We have the ability to question choices from films in the past, and also the present to be honest(!), so are always able to be feminist and funny at the same time. Comedy is the best way to break down barriers and change the norm, and that’s exactly what we do. In my time in Notflix I have played so many different types of people, not just a female housewife, and that’s one of the reasons I love doing the shows.

What are some of the best bits of advice you have been given about improv and why?

The answer is always in the other person: eye contact, listening and focusing on the other person take you out of your head. A physical choice is the best choice you can make – that’s where I start every character or scene as it stops me thinking. Also, don’t just catch the ball, throw a new one back – rather than just saying ‘yes’ say ‘yes and’ and further the scene. Simple in theory but for new improvisers it can be difficult.

 Do you find that being a female in an improv show that the suggestions you can get are traditional and stereotypical? How do you feel when you get given these?

Luckily the places I play and the shows I do, I don’t tend to experience that, but in the past I have found the best way to deal with it is to flip it on its head, and make it funny.

 What have been some of your favourite moments on stage?

I recently played a low status character in a version of 50 Shades Of Grey, and ended up doing a Hamilton style number about trying bondage, and doing whatever it took to get the girl. Playing the shark in Jaws and managing to help tie up loose ends by jumping in and killing the mayor. Singing a song about wheat intolerance and rhyming some ridiculous words. I can never remember more than fleeting moments! I also remember being incredibly proud about rhyming falafel kebab with something once but I can’t remember what.

 What have been some of the worst and why?

I try not to hold on to them as for a while it really debilitated me as a performer. I now have a book where I write 3 good things and 3 things to work on from each show, and then that’s it, show chat over. I think for me, the worst moments are seeing someone else struggle and not being able to know how to help them out. That’s something I’m working on at the moment.

For new improvisers, what would your key bit of advice be?

Watch, listen and respond. The answer is always in the other person.

What are three things you want to focus on this season with your own improv?

I want to be even more front footed, regardless of who I am playing with. I want to mix up my physical and vocal choices as I have a massive rolodex of them but tend to chose the same safe 4 or 5 over and over again – new for the audience but not for me and the players. I want to try and help out players in need – and try to help even if I’m not sure what the issue is.

What is the future of improv?

More POC performers, and more women doing their thing, and neither feeling fear when in scenes with cis white male performers. I hope so anyway.