california Archives - The Improv Network

It’s hard to believe I’ve been making the drive to Cambria, California four years in a row now. It’s become an annual tradition for performers from around the world to come together in the tiny California town in Camp Ocean Pines. A lot of people ask me the same question; “Is it really a camp?” It’s a fair question, I suppose. There are plenty of camps these days (computer camp, space camp, etc) that take place in some Community Center, but Camp Improv Utopia is certainly the camp experience we all remember from years gone by; trees, archery, walking up the hill to the cabins; it’s about as authentic as you can get.

But it’s not the axe throwing that makes camp a special experience, it’s the fact that when improvisors are removed from distraction they accomplish things that we try to achieve in our improv all the rest of the year. Many festivals have weekends filled with great events, shows, workshops and the like. But there’s always that downtime where people explore the city, break off with their respective troupes. There’s no such thing at camp. Many performers aren’t even their with their respective groups from home, because camp becomes a single ensemble for the weekend.

Every time people talk about what life would be like if we could quit our day jobs and do improv full time, this is what we get for three days. There’s an energy not only in the workshops, but the opportunity to create your own activities. During the hours in the afternoon between classes, a quick walk through the woods can find some spontaneous jams, Brian O’Connell doing some one-on-one coaching, practicing for cabin shows, or taking pictures for the excellent Improvisors Project. It’s aptly named Utopia – or what improvisors would imagine utopia to be; a place with no offices or restaurants (or wi-fi really). Just a place to sleep, a place to eat and acres to study your craft.

The workshops themselves were excellent, Paul Vaillancourt, Karen Graci, Jaime Moyer, Josh DuBose and Amanda Blake Davis were all at their best with their three hour workshops. It’s funny that even though campfires went late into the night, people arrived energized at the first workshop each day.

The evenings were also filled with more communal activities including an instructor show, an open panel discussion on the state of improv, Jam City and the much talked about cabin shows. Each cabin (named for an artist or scientist of note) came together as a new ensemble to perform. Many cabins took inspiration from their cabin’s namesake including The Cousteu cabin’s red knit hats worn throughout the weekend. In it’s fourth year, the cabins themselves have taken on a life to themselves, which includes the new campers who stay in them each year. It’s exciting to see.

The campfires, the excitement for the cabin shows, the jams, the workshops and just the access to performers at all levels who were happy to sit on a log and talk improv with any level 1 student. It was the truest expression of “Yes, and”, an environment that nurtures the growth of the performers. All in all, a truly reinvigorating improv experience.

Cover Photo courtesy ImprovUtopia

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

Improv This Way

San Diego has had improv for a long time, but the last couple of years has seen a huge growth in performers, quality and involvement in the national community. Several theatres have grown, at least one new one has started, and this past weekend they put on a proper festival.

I was lucky enough to be in San Diego for the event, and even perform with Galapagos on Saturday evening. The whole festival was well organized and the shows were great all around. And while there were a fair amount of performers in the audience, there were plenty of audience members seeing improv for perhaps the first time. I can’t imagine a better introduction.

One of the important things traveling performers always want to know is “How close to the venue is the hotel?”. San Diego may be #1 in the game on this one. The distance from my room to the stage was probably about 200 feet. Finest City Improv has a lovely venue attached to The Lafayette Hotel and graciously provided their stage to the festival. The closeness was nice of course, but having that close of a relationship between a festival and a hotel meant many other conveniences throughout the weekend, inducing a pool party hosted by local troupe Swim Team and one after party at the hotel bar across the hallway.

The Venue itself was great for a first year festival; not as huge as some festivals, but a great size to welcome the public and introduce them to new improv. The Finest City folks were among the most generous of their time and energy of any festival I’ve visited and their volunteers could not be more involved and motivated. A lot of that is unquestionably rooted in the energy of Amy Lisewski and Chris George. They weren’t by any stretch of the imagination the only people working hard, but it was apparent that their love and passion for improv were the inspiration for many people. Everyone at the festival clearly believes in their vision.

Nyarlathotep

And that vision goes to working together with all the artists and performers in San Diego. It was great to catch up with Mike McFarland from Sidestage Improv and other performers from around the theatres in town both performing and coming to share together in the excitement of the weekend. It was the performers of San Diego all working together to celebrate. It was in fact sad that one improv company decided to isolate themselves and not involve themselves at all with the festival. It’s always disheartening to see companies like this think that working together to educate the public is somehow hurting their business model. It’s an outdated idea and one that I hope dissolves in San Diego in the next few years.

The programming for the weekend was solid and consistent, pulling a slightly regionalized set of performers, but also shows and instructors from farther away providing exposure to different styles. Workshops from Bill Arnett, Cook County Social Club and The Reckoning were not only an incredible collection of ideas, but a great investment in the future of San Diego performers. The shows were not only solid from start to finish, but well balanced and ordered to give each block’s audience an good variety of shows – something that many festivals overlook. Also, on a personal note, it has been fun this last year visiting festivals where I knew at least a little bit about every troupe performing through NIN. I won’t call out every show, but the highlight had to be Cook County Social Club sitting in with The Reckoning. That’s the kind of show you don’t get to see that often. The Laser Improv Show was another show that got people talking if only because it was nice to see someone trying something new and unique.

Overall, if this is indicative of how San Diego runs festivals, they’re off to a great start. I have no doubt they’ll continue to grow. The festival was great and will continue to be great because of the hard work and enthusiasm of people like Vanessa, Gary, Emily, Kevin and especially Kat who was working and organizing practically every minute of that festival. To each of these people and to all the other volunteers and organizers, a sincere thank you from all the performers and audience members who enjoyed themselves this last weekend.

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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.