Improvoker

UCB Harold team 1985 performing on Harold night

When I see a Harold (long form improv), part of me just sits back and enjoys the action with a cold PBR in hand, but the other half studies each scene, trying to discover what works, and what doesn’t. I try to keep track of highlights, and write down, in a notebook, a quick review of the troupe’s performance. These notes not only help me remember a performance months later, but also allow me to put together a good overview of who’s who in the New York improv scene. The purpose of this list isn’t to create a good aor bad list of groups, but rather to serve as a teaching tool for myself.

So, how do I look at Harolds? Here’s a constantly evolving list of a few things.

1. Resemblance of the Harold form - How does the group play with the Harold form? Do they perform a vanilla Harold, or do they embellish it with their own spin?

   The Harold form is:

   • a group opening game (to generate ideas)
   • 1st beat scenes (A1, B1, C1)
   • Group game
   • 2nd beat scenes (A2, B2, C2)
   • Group game
   • 3rd beat scenes (A3, B3, C3)
2. Lack of extraneous scenes or characters - All scenes should ideally come from the original beats and games. later scene-work should add to the already established scenes without adding new unresolved characters or situations.
3. Group-mind - The improv group should act as one entity, supporting, acting, engaging, and enhancing scenes as a group. Individuals, can of course shine, but overzealous players who steal scenes reflect badly on the group.
4. Negation - Negating an offer sucks, and seeing it on stage is distressing. This also goes for contradicting the given reality of a scene.
5. Original and distinct scenes settings - Does this scene’s setting look familiar? Or worse, is it too generic?
6. Listening - Are the performers listening to each other?
7. Keep the suggestion in mind - You don’t necessarily have to mention the suggestion in the performance, but try to relate to it in some way to the scenes. The added bonus of thinking, “what does this have to do with [suggestion]? Oh I get it now!” is powerful stuff and shouldn’t be underestimated.
8. Seriously, no jokes - When I see this, I instantly loose the realty of a scene and the characters.
9. Keep it clean - This isn’t to say don’t curse, but “blue” humor, for shock value, isn’t enjoyable.

Ultimately, a great group is made up of the sum of all their performances. My notes help me see an overview and, hopefully, improves my own abilities. I hope this list spurs some thoughts about the subject and if you have any further thoughts, please share them in the comments.

Please keep in mind, this page will occasionally change, so quote it with caution.