This month I will be talking to different acts that are taking part in the Brighton Fringe Festival. Today I speak to the team behind IMDp: The Improvised Movie Director Podcast.

Location: The Laughing Horse @ The Quadrant
Date: 21st May & 22nd May
Time: 4pm
Ticket Price: £7
Link: https://www.brightonfringe.org/whats-on/imdp-improvised-movie-director-podcast-159682/

Hello! Tell us about your act ? 

IMDp: Improvised Movie Director Podcast is an improvised comedy interview podcast. In each episode our host, Martina Minnow, interviews a director about their upcoming film, except the film doesn’t exist yet and they create it together through their conversation. Joining Martina each week are our resident improvisers who create cutaway scenes and clips from the films discussed, all underscored live by our wonderful musical accompaniment. Remember – until she introduces them, only Martina knows the name of the movie they will be discussing. Each performance will see two guest directors discuss and create their films, with help from the resident improvisers and musical accompaniment. All performances will be recorded for release as audio podcast episodes later in the year.

​

How did you come up with the name of your show that you are taking to the Brighton fringe?

We decided on the Improvised Movie Director Podcast (IMDp) to parody a similar sounding movie database…

Tell us a little bit about your style of show?

Our show is completely improvised, so none of the improvisers apart from our host, Martina Minnow, knows the name of the film we’ll be creating until we hit record. The show involves Martina interviewing a guest director about their film, and then our resident improvisers and musical accompanist bring those scenes to life on stage. In each show, we’ll be recording two episodes with two different directors, which will then be released on our podcast. The interview elements of our show are fairly naturalistic, and the cutaway scenes range from the sublime to the ridiculous. It’s fun to move between these two styles during the show.

What can people expect from your Brighton Fringe performance?

We feel so lucky to have such fantastic guests join us for every show. Having a new director for each show means that they bring new ideas and different styles of improv and makes every episode very different. Our guests for the Fringe are Liz Peters and Katy Schutte (Saturday) and Edmund Fargher and Vicky Hawley (Sunday) and we can’t wait to see what they create!. You can expect to see four very different movies, created by our wonderful guest directors and our team improvisers and accompanist. Previous episodes include ‘Who Framed Peter Rabbit’, ‘Casper the Friendly Ghostbuster’, ‘The Lion King Kong’ and ‘Shaun of the Dead Poet’s Society’. We have a team artist (Marty Sears) who makes incredible posters of our films, so check us out on Instagram (@improvmoviepod) to see all of our previous episodes.

What other acts are you looking forward to seeing at the fringe?

We can’t wait to see Track 96 and Michelle!

How are the rehearsals going?

Rehearsals are going well and we are welcoming a new member to our team! Sarah Weiler will be joining us as our musical accompanist and will be underscoring our films and helping bring them to life. It’s exciting to be welcoming a new member, and great to be practising ahead of the fringe.

Have you done the fringe before? What have been some of your favourite shows to date and why?

This is IMDP’s first time at the Fringe, although some of our members have performed there with other improv groups. We’re really excited to be there and see other acts too!

What advice would you give to others who want to perform at Brighton Fringe next year?

Chat to other groups who are going and see how you can support each other whilst there. Improv is such a supportive community and one of the best things about the Fringe is being able to see and learn from other groups.

What is the best thing about performing at the Brighton fringe?

Being able to see other groups is a big highlight, as well as taking your show to a new audience. And the fish and chips on the beach are a big bonus too.

What are your three favourite things about Brighton?

The Lanes, the sea and all of the seaside food!

Leafleting and promotion through the streets of Brighton is a huge part of the festival – what are your tips for flyering?

Smile and do it in pairs!

Tell us about your average day on a festival show run?

Our shows are at 4pm for this run, which means the daytime will be about prepping, warming up and encouraging people to come along and then the evenings will be free for us to go and watch other acts!

Performing by the sea as well, that surely makes the fringe all that much more fun?

Definitely! There’s such a happy atmosphere at the seaside and the audiences have always been really friendly at the Fringe.

Who would be your ultimate dream audience member?

We’ve impersonated Michael Caine in so many of our films, that it would have to be him. Or Danny De Vito. Can we have two?!

If people want to find out more about you where can they follow you on social media?

We’re @improvmoviepod on Instagram and Improvised Movie Director Podcast on Facebook

And Finally finish this sentence – ‘you should see our show at Brighton Fringe because….

these films are genuinely once in a lifetime. They will never be seen again…