Two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of being able to perform with my troupe Darcy & Bingley at the inaugural East Coast Improv Festival in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The festival was hosted by the Make ‘Em Ups Improv Co., founded only a year ago by Toronto ex-pat Owen Stanford and native Haligonian Stephanie Foran.

Being originally from the East Coast (I was raised one province to the west in New Brunswick, on the Bay of Fundy), I had high expectations for the hospitality that Maritimers are known for. I was not disappointed in the least.

After arriving at the airport, we ran into the festival organizer who kindly gave us a ride to our hotel. No better way to say “Welcome to our festival!” than to do so, in person, the first moment possible. My duo partner and I left finding a place to stay until the last minute, so we missed out on staying at the festival hotel. We were able to find a reasonably priced hotel room at the Delta Halifax, a ten minute walk from the venue, the downtown, and the waterfront. We found out later that most of the other troupes and festival ensemble members billoted with local improvisors who took care of them, showing them the sights and sounds of the city during the day (to which we sometimes invited ourselves).

The three day festival began officially on Friday night. People arrived on Thursday, though, for an exclusive party at the venue that night to kick off the festival. Swag was given out, including graphic novels from a sponsoring comic book store, coupons for burger combos at a local burger place, and the handiest piece of swag: a map. That pre-opening night party, without the pressure of having to perform for anyone, gave all of us a chance to mingle in a casual environment without worry. After a few free beers from the festival beer sponsor, we wound up being initiated into a club of improvisors where, well, the first rule of this club was not to talk about it. Great after parties would be a hallmark of this festival, with a different one at a new venue every night. The organizers even opened up their home for all of the troupes for what turned into a down-home Maritime kitchen party.

The venue, Nova Scotia Theatre’s black box space named “The Bus Stop Theatre” (likely because of the bus stop directly outside of it) was a wonderful space for improv. It was licensed, which was a large benefit. It was also intimate, with a house able to accommodate about 60 – 75 people, and a wide and deep stage, with a few chairs and black cubes that could be sat upon, stood upon, and built upon. We felt safe to play in that space.

There was a group called “The Festival Ensemble.” While you could apply to festival with your troupe, you could also apply as an individual, and if you were selected, you would be placed in this group along with other improvisors who had been accepted from across the country. They rehearsed every day under the leadership of Julie Dumais, Artistic Director of the Bad Dog Theatre in Toronto. She had flown out specifically to coach this festival-based team. They were given two slots to perform at the festival to showcase what they had been working on. They had learned a format called “Pushpins,” and performed it without hesitation both nights.

While they were rehearsing, we spent our days being tourists, walking the boardwalk, visiting used book stores, and eating all of the ice cream and seafood we could find (which was quite a bit). We took in everything we could about the city, seeing what Halifax had to offer within walking distance (which was quite a bit). It wound up becoming a relaxing holiday, with new friends.

Each night, the shows focused on showcasing local talent and exposing the audience to talent from away. The venue was packed to capacity, with audience members hungry for improv and eager to laugh and be entertained every night.

The atmosphere of support amongst the performers was huge. Throoughout the festival, all of the performers watched each other’s set, celebrating the work the work that people were doing in various parts of the country. Improvisors from Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Moncton, and Halifax, amongst other cities, sat in the audience or crouched in corridors to share the experience and let each other know that they had our backs.

Our set was on Sunday night, the last night of the festival. My parents had decided to come up from New Brunswick to see the show. At the house party the night before our set, I casually mentioned to the festival organizer that my parents were coming. Without my knowledge, he had had the best seats set aside in the theatre for them, brought them in ahead of the show, and gave them the VIP treatment. My parents were thrilled with the attention that they had received. They kept the “Reserved” signs that were on the chairs, and I’m pretty sure I’ll see them framed, in the living room, right next to the photos from their Italy trip the next time I’m home at Christmas. It was an incredibly kind gesture, one that shows the kindness and camaraderie that you can find at a small festival.

When we performed our set, we jumped all around, ran into the audience, stood close together and far upon, upstage and downstage, and had an incredible amount of fun. It felt like we were performing for our family (in my case, it was true) as we had gotten to spend so much time with the other troupes and members over the course of the festival. The closing dance party of the festival, held at the bar across the street from the venue, and was DJed by a local DJ popular on the scene, was bittersweet, as we had to say goodbye to our new improv siblings.

On the way to the airport after the festival had ended, we thanked our hosts for the great times, both on stage and off. This festival was very special, and it only has the potential to grow in the future. If this is what can happen after only a year, we look forward to seeing what will happen after more.

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Chris Leveille is an actor, improviser, and writer from Quispamsis, New Brunswick. Since graduating from Bishop’s University with a degree in theatre, he has perfomed in and produced a number of productions in New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario, including touring the fringe circuit, performing at The Rivoli, Comedy Bar, and other venues in Toronto.

Too many times improvisers fail to make a choice when they step on stage. Specifically, they will walk out, look at each other, and then wait for the other person to make a move. There will be a good 5-10 second stare down straight out of the movie, The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. If no one makes a move, both of those improvisers will stand there blankly while the audience watches what hell on Earth really looks like. Eventually and hopefully, after a short period of time someone will say something or someone else on the side will edit, but it’s essential that someone brings something, really ANYTHING WHATSOEVER, to the table. No choice is a bad choice. I repeat, no choice is a bad choice. The only bad choice is to not make a choice at all. I’ve learned the hard way that not making a choice will leave you WAITING for someone else to make a choice. With no choices, you’ve generated a pretty nice recipe for disaster. Below I’ve provided 3 tips that have worked for me when helping to make a choice at the start of a scene.

Object Work

Reach for something, grab a hold of something, or pick something up. One of the biggest hurdles I had to get over in my own improv (and something I still struggle with at times) was object work. I would rely on my voice, brain, characters, and the ‘talkiness’ of the scene to get by. I was a talking head. Talking heads are when people just stand around and have a conversation in a scene. It can be boring and your audience didn’t just pay to watch you sit and talk. If they wanted that, they’d go peer through a window at a therapist’s office. Give them action. I had an improv teacher once who forced me to grab something at the start of every scene. He said, “I want you to walk out and start touching something within the suggested environment and then begin your scene.” If I started talking without touching or grabbing something, we would have to start the scene over. He would literally say, “STOP. Start over.” I did it over and over and over until it was beaten into me that I needed to start doing some damn object work or I was going to die out there. Over time, I started doing it more often and by the time my arm was fully extended, I knew exactly what I was reaching for. It’s also a choice that can help both you and your scene partner in establishing and progressing the scene. For example, you reaching for something up high could queue your scene partner to say, “Leave Grandma’s ashes alone Terry!” Yep, an award winning scene right there.

Body Posture

Change your body posture at the start of the scene. Specifically, enter the scene with a different physicality or physical character trait than just walking on stage as yourself. If you decide to dip your shoulder down, give yourself a hunchback, or walk with a limp, you’ve just made a choice that helps to inform your character. If you walk in leading with your belly, chin, or groin, you’ve made a choice. It’s also giving both yourself and your partner something to work with. Let’s say you enter a scene with a hunchback, your partner might say, “Quasimodo this paper is due tomorrow, we really need to work on it.” Alternatively, they could also say pretty much anything and completely disregard the fact you have a hunchback, but the fact of the matter is you’ve made a choice for yourself which you can use throughout the scene. It’s all about the little things. That hunchback character could end up being the basis for the show you and your team are about to create.

Names

Name your partner or at least give them a title at the start of the scene. Give them something…anything. If you walk into a scene and just stare at them you’re both going nowhere fast. However, if you walk in and say, “Mrs. President” then we are definitely headed somewhere. I repeat, you can say ANYTHING and after you say it your partner is going to love you. Naming your partners or giving them a recognizable title is ESSENTIAL. Why? Because later in the show if you want to call that character back it’s going to be a whole hell of a lot easier to just say that NAME instead of pointing across the stage and waving at that improviser like a crazy person. Something I once did to help me get over the name barrier was an exercise I created, called the ABC’s of Naming, where I forced myself to name my partners at the start of every scene. What I would do was start with the letter A and know that going into that scene my partner’s name or title was going to start with the letter A. I would then continue through the alphabet with later characters so if I was in another scene that character’s name/title would start with B. So for example, my first scene might result in my character’s first name being Arthur and then let’s say I’m in a scene later with 2 characters who I would name Barron and Count and if another person entered they might be Dracula. You see what I mean? I would go through the alphabet when naming by scene partners. Obviously, once that character has been named, I would keep that name for callbacks, but new scenes with new characters mean new names/titles. Over time I got into the habit of naming my partners and didn’t have to force it by calling them by a name that starts with a specific letter, but doing the exercise was what helped me to get there.

In conclusion, those are 3 tips that worked well for me and could potentially work for you as well. Making a choice, any choice whatsoever, at the start of a scene is essential. No choice = hell. If you’re wondering, but what if 2 people make choices? That’s GREAT! The more the merrier. That changes nothing and in fact adds even more to your scene. If one person walks out with a hunchback and the other is washing dishes, you have both brought things to the table to help establish that scene. Obviously, that scene is about Quasimodo catching Terry washing the vase Grandma’s ashes were in. I told you, an award winning scene right there!

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is a graduate of iO, The Second City Conservatory, and the Annoyance Theatre in Chicago. Ryan performs improv comedy with his independent team Switch Committee as well as on the Playground team Desperado. In addition, he is an Associate Producer for Big Little Comedy, which is responsible for the Big Little Comedy Festival each year. In 2013, he completed an entire month of comedy by performing 31 days in a row for the month of January. He’s a frequent blogger (here, The Second City Network, and the iO Water Cooler) Instagramer, Pinterester, and Tweeter in his spare time. You can follow the madness @TheRyanNallen.

For starters, the 2013 Detroit Improv Festival was the first improv festival I’d ever been to. One year ago, Switch Committee was one of the opening acts for TJ & Dave at the Go Comedy Theater to a sold out house. A year later, we were returning to Detroit again making it now the 10th Festival we’ve ever been to as a group.

This year’s lineup was STACKED. There were celebrities and groups from all over the world attending the festival. I didn’t get to interact with many of them or see them perform though because our show was scheduled at the same time as Messing with a Friend (Susan Messing is awesome but you already knew that) and the D.R.O.D. (Dorff, Robinson, O’Brien, and Dratch) show. I did, however, get to talk with one of them and it was a very pleasant and humbling experience. For the record, Kevin Dorff is one of the coolest guys in the world. I’ve seen him around a bunch in Chicago (at iO) and we’ve always shared a mutual nod or acknowledgement that we’re both improvisers. We’d never actually had a conversation but always gave each other the nod. I’m a big proponent of The Nod. In fact, it was such a topic of conversation amongst myself and Switch Committee that the weekend felt like a Seinfeld episode focusing on the importance of The Nod. The Nod is just a locking of the eyes and a literal head nod in passing. When I saw him at a coffee shop in Detroit, there was a nod and then he actually walked over to our table and started conversing with us. He was so down to Earth. We talked about how we felt about the festival (how much fun we were having), how our ride was up from Chicago, and then we all collectively agreed we were dead tired, which was why we were all in a coffee shop at 8:30pm. So, in summary, he’s awesome. I did not get the nod from a few people and I complained to the guys thoroughly about it. It really was a Seinfeld episode.

Besides that, let’s breakdown some of the other things I loved about this festival.

The Atmosphere – I love the atmosphere that exists during the festival. It is a wonderful inviting town that opens its arms wide open to the improvisers traveling to the festival. There are street advertisements with improv groups attending the festival on them. Honestly, it makes you feel very special and welcome when you see a giant street ad with your group’s name on it.

The People – Everyone (improvisers and other people wandering around Ferndale) is so nice and interested in what you have going on. Meeting new people and starting conversations were very easy because we were all there for the same purpose. I talked to people at restaurants, in marketplaces, at theaters, at coffee shops, and in hotels and enjoyed every one of the conversations. At no point did I feel like I was a visitor.

The Theaters – There are 3 theaters. Well, there are 2 theaters (Go Comedy Theater and The Ringwald Theater) and then a giant marketplace (The Rust Belt) that is transformed into a theater space. I love every one of those theater spaces. I loved both playing at the Go last year and The Ringwald this year. During our show, we hurled our bodies on and off the entirety of The Ringwald stage. It was great! The next day before our workshop we went back to The Rust Belt, which had already been converted back to a marketplace, and bought things.

The Swag – Detroit did something this year that I haven’t seen done at any other festival I have been to. They had improviser trading cards. Yes. Trading cards. Specifically, teams would have their own baseball-like trading card and on the back it would have information about that group. If it was their first year it would say ‘Rookie’ and if it was a veteran improviser, I think it actually said Veteran. They also had real cool shirts with color options (navy or green) for the performers. Then my personal favorite, the lanyards. For me, lanyards are keepsakes that I’m going to hold onto forever to remind me of the experience I had at the festival.

The Annual trip to Comos – Last year we went to Comos, a pizza place, and this year we felt it necessary to go again. We shared a meal with our very cool friends from the Magnet Theater Honey, who we were also performing with later that night. I really like that pizza. That’s pretty much all I have to report. I went to Detroit and I ate pizza.

Improvisors Project – I was very happy to take part in this and was so relieved we were able to get there before it finished. The Improvisors Project is a portrait of the improv community captured through photographs of its many members by Sam Willard. You stand in front of the camera while Sam gives you a topic or character and you just get to do what you want. In other words, you improvise while he takes photos. For me, I ended up playing some Italian guy named Sal Salami who worked in the deli meats business. A lot of fun.

In conclusion, I loved the Detroit Improv Festival. For the second year in a row, I had a great time, felt welcome and invited to perform, and enjoyed meeting new people. I once again felt like I was a part of something special in a community that came together to celebrate the art of improvisation. When you feel like that, like you’re a part of something great, you know the festival has been run correctly. My hat goes off to Chris Moody and everyone who helped to put together such an amazing festival. Thank you so much and can’t wait to see you next year!

-The King of Nod

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is a graduate of iO, The Second City Conservatory, and the Annoyance Theatre in Chicago. Ryan performs improv comedy with his independent team Switch Committee as well as on the Playground team Desperado. In addition, he is an Associate Producer for Big Little Comedy, which is responsible for the Big Little Comedy Festival each year. In 2013, he completed an entire month of comedy by performing 31 days in a row for the month of January. He’s a frequent blogger (here, The Second City Network, and the iO Water Cooler) Instagramer, Pinterester, and Tweeter in his spare time. You can follow the madness @TheRyanNallen.

Unless you’re getting married in October, there’s no reason not to submit to one (or both) of the festivals with submissions closing this week. At least one of them is an inexpensive trip for you.

Denver has been working like gangbusters on the west side of the continent to take the great success of last years festival and make it even larger. Denver’s festival has grown leaps and bounds in the last few years because of the great commitment year round to making it a great festival. If you get accepted this year, you’re going to get a good audience, and some swag to go with it too. That’s in addition to just being in Denver. Denver – geographically speaking – isn’t the larges city in the country, but there’s a great deal of great things to visit within walking distance of the festival (and surprisingly good sushi everywhere)

And while you’re at it. Toronto’s Big City Improv Festival is closing submissions this week. Toronto has gone under some serious renovations in the last couple of years. I got to speak to the organizers while visiting Detroit and they’re aware of some of the burned bridges that festival has made in the past and I am really excited to see what they build from the ground up in the years to come. They definitely are on the right path to building something great.

Get your troupe profile spiffied up. If you haven’t been to a festival before, make one of these a goal to visit. They’ll show you a great time.

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Currently Bill is an instructor at The Torch Theatre and producer for the Phoenix Improv Festival. He tours teaching and performing across North America.