All this month we are speaking to AndAlso Improv, a company that is in Brighton and is ran by Heather and Jules. They host many improv classes, host shows, with plans for a theatre in Brighton in the future! They also run an Improv retreat which is also happening this month! Today we talk all things improv.

How do you wind down after a show?

A beer and a sit down, ideally with the rest of the cast. Improv is such an intimate, connected thing that leaving immediately after the show has always felt kind of weird to us.

Best piece of advice you have ever been given about improv?

Jules: Ah man. I am a word person, so my improv brain is structured around pithy quotes and turns of phrase. At the moment, I am loving ‘dig where you stand’. It’s like the John Cremer maxim ‘Don’t drop your shit’, but it implies there is more to discover, not just something to retain. Also ‘Simple is not easy’ and the old Beckett quote ‘Try again. Fail again. Fail better’.

Favourite warm up game?

Jules: Patterns, levels, circuits, whatever you want to call it. Create a pattern of words in the room, then repeat it. Then add another one. Then change direction, then add a ghost spot, so we have to keep an eye on the whole exercise as well as our own role in it. 

Favourite suggestion?

There’s something so wonderful about interviewing an audience member and getting a few details that you can weave into the show. It’s even more personal than the Armando, and can feel like a real gift to that audience member. 

Favourite venue to perform at?

Jules: I have a venue in my head, which is what the AndAlso theatre will look like when we build it (maybe in a few years). It’s a black box theatre with about a hundred seats, raked seating and a flat stage. 

What is the most underrated short form game?

Half life. Getting the essence of a longer scene as you make it shorter and shorter is a real art, and when it comes together, *chef’s kiss*. 

What is your favourite style of long form improv?

Absolute freeform, but with a bunch of players who are versed in both narrative and Harold, so you can make both styles of move without being bound to either. AndAlso, you know?