|
Last Updated: Oct 16th, 2008 - 13:33:17 |
The Impulse Theater on 18th Street and Wynkoop Street below the Wynkoop Brewery has an inviting nightclub/theater atmosphere, with deep blue walls, smiling servers and a good view of the stage from anywhere in the house. The show itself -- a completely improvised show delivered by a sharp and skilled improv cast -- left the crowd howling and wildly applauding Saturday night.
The name of the game at Impulse is audience participatory improv. No, the audience isn't pulled on stage and made to do embarrassing stunts -- they yell out suggestions for the actors, which form the rules of the scene the actors are about to perform. The night's emcee asks for ideas for a particular scene to act out, an emotion to deliver or a theme around which to build the scene. The actors deliver high-quality physical and spoken improv without resorting to overt sexual innuendo, foul language or crude or crass jokes.
"The type of improv we do here is based on the comedy of sports," house manager William O'Donnell said. "It's all about games and scenes and characters. We definitely groom them to be really good actors."
The highlight of Saturday's show was the forward/reverse scene. The audience gave the idea of "lion tamer" as an interesting job, and the actors improvised the scene of a working lion tamer from start to finish. Here's the catch: The emcee directed the actors to perform backward or forward. The entire scene only lasted a minute or two, but hilarity and amazement set in when the actors remembered their lines and movements -- word for word, move for move -- whether moving forward or retracing their steps, often to the very beginning of the scene. The memory and attention to detail involved in this scene was intense, and the strength and comfort between the actors was very visible.
O'Donnell, who has been with Impulse for two years, is a Metro sophomore majoring in criminal justice. He first started at Impulse when his brother, cast member Adrian Holquin, told him of an open position in ticket sales.
Impulse also holds six-week improv workshops with space for five to 10 people, which are available to anyone either interested in trying something new or wanting to hone previous skills. The workshop teaches participants to build characters, devise plots and understand how conflicts propel the scenes, O'Donnell said. The culmination of the workshop is their own show.
"On the sixth week of the workshop, you throw on a show for your friends and family, and you get lights, sound, costumes, the full bit," he said. "It's a lot of fun to put yourself out there."
Impulse performs Thursday at 8 p.m. and Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. Tickets are $18, and the workshops are $180. More information can be found at 303 297-2111 or www.impulsetheater.com.
|
|
|
