Improv comedy is more than the television show "Whose Line is it Anyway?" and Ball State's improv troupe Absolunacy plans to prove that at the Bestival Midwestival Improv Comedy Festival (BMICF) on Saturday.
In addition to Absolunacy, groups from all over the Midwest will perform, including a professional troupe from Chicago called Banquet, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's deBono, Absolunacy's counterpart at BSU, Reflex and Washington University at St. Louis' Suspicious of Whistlers.
Four-year Absolunacy member Joseph Williams described the show as a
performance to showcase the talents of Midwestern improv troupes.
"We auditioned several troupes from the Midwest, collegiate and
professional improv groups; we each perform for 25-30 minutes,"
Williams said.
To get other troupes interested in BMICF, Absolunacy relies on word of mouth along with posting on a Web site, as well as groups that make regular appearances.
"BMICF is well-known. You can go to improv bars in Chicago, and people will know BMICF and Absolunacy. Also there are some troupes that are sort of regulars, and we keep in contact with them via e-mail," Williams said.
Christopher Knapp, also a four-year member, went into some detail about the selection process for BMICF.
"Every troupe member watches the tapes, and we all make a selection based on who we think is the best and what we think would benefit the show," Knapp said.
This year is the seventh annual BMICF and is a notable one, in Williams's eyes.
"This year is special because we have predominantly long-form troupes coming in, and each troupe brings something special.
"Abso specializes in a one-act play comedy style, while there is another troupe coming that specializes in taking someone's day and making it into a one-act fiasco," Williams said.
Four-year member Wes Haney also said that this year will be a unique one.
"This year's BMICF will feature a heavier emphasis on long-form improv comedy [a string of different scenes, somehow connected], which Absolunacy has switched its focus to over the past few years. Four out of the five troupes will be presenting some sort of long-form piece for the show, with Reflex providing some short-form.
"The selection process for the groups was more strict than in years past, so we think the quality of the show this year will be the best ever for the festival. The atmosphere will be taken up a notch as well with WCRD providing a pre-show live remote [broadcasting live from Pruis] to get people excited, and there may be a surprise or two," Haney said.
Absolunacy has many shows that take place throughout the school year, but
this show is by far the largest event according to Williams.
"We do small gigs throughout the year with other troupes, but this is the big shebang," he said.
Every year, Absolunacy donates any extra money it has to a charitable cause. This year, the troupe has chosen the Animal Rescue Fund
(ARF) and some of the proceeds from BMICF will go to benefit this
charity.
"If people come to the show and bring a can of dog or cat food, they get $1 off admission," Williams said. "Our next big show is on April 30 and is going to be the ARF benefit show, so the more money we recoup now the more we will be able to donate to ARF," he said.
Knapp said all the members of the troupe bring their own styles to each show.
"The thing about Abso is different people think different things are
funny. I am more dark comedy -- I veer away from things like funny voices
and funny names. We are less mad lib, insert something funny, then
laugh.
"I am more dark and demented," Knapp said.
Williams added that he also enjoys dark comedy.
"If something is weird and dark, that is what I bring to the show. I
don't go for wacky," Williams said.
Yet there are some members of the group who prefer the slapstick kind of comedy and pull it off well, according to Williams.
"There are people in the troupe that are absolutely amazing at wacky,
and if they did something else, it just wouldn't work," Williams said.
The versatility of the troupe is one of the things that helps it succeed, Knapp said.
"That's why I think it works well, is we all have different styles," Knapp said.
And when the group hits the stage, trust is the main thing that keeps them going, he said.
"You have to trust, without a doubt, the people you are working with. If you are in the middle of a scene and someone freezes up, the audience detects it, and it hurts the scene.
"You have to trust that where you are going, somebody's going to follow
you regardless of whether they think it is the way to go or not," Knapp said.
"Especially with improv comedy, the trust is an absolutely essential
thing, because if you go off on a really weird tangent and someone
wants to do wacky, it destroys a scene," Williams said.
To gain members, Absolunacy holds auditions at the beginning of each year to replace the graduating members.
"What we look for in auditions is not really a definite 'We need' ... We see people perform, and then we get in with them and see how they intertwine with us, it's more of a feeling," Knapp said.
"When we say that we look for something in particular, we are not actively looking. We wait to see what someone can bring to the troupe, and if we see something we want to try out, we call them to callbacks, and in callbacks we work with them, try to gel with them, see how they work. It's a lot based [on] vibe," Williams said.
Absolunacy practices two to three times a week for two-hours. These practices are longer when the troupe is preparing for a show.
"At the practices, we usually spend about 10 minutes warming ourselves
up. After that, we go into improv fundamentals, which in many cases
focus on scene work more than anything else," Haney said. Absolunacy uses several different fundamentals involving the whole group or two to three people at a time.
"After that, we'll usually do a couple of pieces of long-form improv which usually, for us, last between 15 and 35 minutes. If we have a little extra time, occasionally we will play a little short-form game in there somewhere. Then we're done," Haney said.
Being funny is all about being truthful for Williams, he said.
"There isn't a secret necessarily. If you try to be funny, you are going to come across as a jackass, but if you bring yourself, your scene partner and you present truth, a lot of times it is funny."
The BMICF will be 8 p.m. Saturday at Pruis Hall. Admission is $5 and if you bring a can of dog or cat food, you will receive $1 off admission.
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