It is the new year which only means one thing, it is time to celebrate acts that you should be keeping an eye on this year! All this month we are speaking to Glasgow based The Improv Cooperative which only started in May in 2023 and is about to take 2024 by storm. Every Wednesday morning of January, we are speaking to Shari to find out all about it.

Hello Shari, tell us a little bit about yourself?

Hi! My name is Shari. I’m originally from Brooklyn, NY but I’ve made Glasgow my home, and I love it here! I’ve been doing short form for 20 years, and long form for 5 years, and just got into musical improv, too!

You are part of the Improv Cooperative – tell us about that!

The Improv Cooperative was started in May 2023, and we have somewhere between 20 and 50 active members. We run weekly events on Mondays: a show, a short form jam, a long form jam, and a workshop. It’s a Coop not just in name but also in practice: we want everyone who attends to be as involved in its running and organisation as they want. So all of our jams and workshops are run by loads of different people in our community. This also allows people not just access to fun, supportive, and excellent improv, but to be able to develop their skills as facilitators and teachers as well.

We also think improv should be accessible to everyone regardless of financial background, so all of our shows and classes are either free, pay what you can, or under £5. We’re also really proud of our ensemble teams! We believe stage time is important for everyone, not just the regularly established improvisors, and to this end we form monthly ensemble teams. Many of our members have done their first paid improv gigs with us, and we couldn’t be prouder!

Tell us a bit about each of the members in your team?

Gosh, where do I even start! I would say the most important aspect is that we’re a cooperative in not just name, but in practice, too. It’s hard to say who our team is, because we rely on the help and support of all our members, and everyone can be as involved as they want to be: from running a jam, running workshops, coaching our ensemble teams, or sourcing promo stickers! That being said, we do have a core group who share a large portion of the day to day work:

David: David has been doing improv for loads of years. He schedules the jams and promises he will learn how to use social media to help promote events. He enjoys making up short form games and then playing them with his friends.

Judy: Judy has been running shows and workshops for over 7 years before joining the cooperative. She helps with all aspects of running The Coop. She has a love for spreadsheets, soap operas, and Emotional Rollercoaster.

Niamh: Niamh fell into improv in 2018 and helps the Coop out with various admin bits and pieces. She thinks silly improv is the best, and that spreadsheets are the worst.

Steven: A regular host of Coop jams and performer, Steven has also performed at the Glasgow comedy festival, produced special charity shows and found our beloved Chicken logo

How did you form?

When David and I moved to Glasgow in 2018, we saw there was no short form, and began running The Short Form Jam. That continued for a few years, barring Covid. Judy started a monthly show in 2019 called On The Fly, which ran, again, until Covid. Once improv got back to normal, we were desperate, also, for a place where we could get in extra short and long form practice, try out teaching techniques, and regular stage time – not just for the regularly established teams, but fledgling ones as well. It just felt like the natural extension to bring these elements together under a single banner. 

What sort of improv do you perform?

We do an equal mixture of short form and long form. The long form we have tends to either be narrative, musical, or montages. 

You are based in Glasgow what is the improv scene like there?

For a city this size, I’m actually surprised we don’t have an even bigger scene! I think the biggest obstacle is that Glasgow is famous for being a stand-up scene, and focuses a lot of its comedy there. That being said, the people in The Improv Cooperative are some of the kindest, funniest, most supportive people I know, and that’s why I love it so much! 

What is your favourite thing about improv?

That is a hard question to answer! It picks me up when I’m having a tiring or stressful day, it’s a way for me to connect with people, it’s a way for me to stay in the moment and be mindful and not worry about anything that might be worrying me. I love how much more confident it makes people in social situations, and how much it brings people together. OK that wasn’t one thing, but it’s the truth!

Who are your improv heroes?

I would totally be remiss if I missed out Whose Line is it Anyway, which basically got me into improv in the first place. So people like Ryan Styles, Colin Mockery, Wayne Bradey, Mike McShane, Josie Laurence, honestly, having done short form for 20 years I’m still in awe of their talent. More recently, I’ve learned a hell of a lot from Sarah Claspell, Michelle Gillam, and Laura Hall. PS did I mentioned Laura Hall said my musical improv team – Skip Intro – was good?! If not, she totally did! 

Tell us about the shows you have coming up in 2024!

The first Monday of every month we have our monthly show: All Made Up. We tend to have one “house team”, one outside team, and one ensemble team. We love putting together the ensemble teams, especially, as it gives a space for improvisors who don’t have a regularly meeting team to get stage time. 

What is the best bit of improv advice you have ever been given?

Just say the first thing that comes to your mind – it’s usually the funniest.

If people want to follow you on social media, where can they visit?

Anyone can find us on Facebook and Instagram @theimprovcooperative.

Finally in three words why should people come and see The Improv Cooperative?

Motto: “Everyone belongs”