Improvoker

Photographs by Melissago

Tonight is the final Rawhide Presents: The Raw Harold at UCB and instead of again giving my break down of last weeks’ show (which was hilarious) and urging you not to miss it (there is nothing more I can do), I thought I would look at a few facets of the show I have not mentioned up until now, these are the performers and the director Chris Gethard.

Are you really sure that a floor can’t also be a ceiling?

– MC Escher

One of the reasons I feel so passionately about the Raw Harold is partly because, as a performer, seeing an experimental form such as the Raw Harold inspires me to experiment with my own improvisation and partly because most of the performers on stage are my contemporaries. I have worked with most of these performers, I have seen what they were capable of, and I have seen them fail in the past. This makes watching them excel that much more impressive. These are all talented performers, no doubt, but I have never seen them be so confident on stage.

The Players

One performer in particular, David Bartin, I have a very close working relationship with. David and I have been performing together at UCB since 2006. We were in 202, 301, 401, 501, 504, Gausas Group Games and Individual Attention together (301 and 501 being taught by Chris Gethard). Not to mention we have been on the same 4 person improv group, LD & The Scientist, for a year and a half where we have worked very closely and know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. So to see David move from a player who stays back initially, to understand the playing field and make huge moves, to a player who dives in head first without knowing what comes next is impressive. Even in our group practice I can see David supporting in ways he never had before.

Abra Tabak is another player I have seen countless times on stage with her indie team Thank You Robot. I have had a lot of respect for Abra for some time as an exceptionally kind and supporting player, but seeing her at Raw Harold has shown me a far more confident player who’s not afraid to put her fears on the table for everyone to play with.

The list goes on and on. Honestly everyone on the cast of the Raw Harold deserves recognition for working together in creating something which is wonderful to watch. Especially when looking at all the different skills and experience of all the performers.

The Director

Lastly, but no less important, is their director Chris Gethard. I have mentioned before that Chris Gethard has had more of an influence on my work than any other instructor at UCB (aside from Christina Gausas). What I think I have alluded to in my previous posts is that Gethard has created two groups of performers who work seamlessly together in the Raw Harold. I do not have close to enough insight to understand how Gethard has formulated these two teams, revising them each week - making them stronger with each performance. He seems to have an adept understanding of how improvisers work to be able to pick and choose improviser’s strengths and pair them into groups of 8. However he has done it, it occurred to me in their last show that these teams couldn’t have been better matched. Each of the 2 performing groups doesn’t stand out from one another. The show is made up of two groups, but at the end of the night all you can remember is one show. This is even more impressive because of the differences of the performers on stage.

It also bears pointing out, that this is the last class Chris Gethard will be instructing for the near future. Gethard is taking a hiatus, of indeterminate time, from teaching. And although it saddens me to think that he will not be instructing at the training center or influencing young improvisers, shows like the Raw Harold will continue to inspire and effect improvisers in his absence.

Last Words

Our coach Amey Goerlich, of Krompf, said a wonderful instruction for our group practice a few weeks back that has stuck with me ever since. I’m not sure if she was paraphrasing someone else, but it’s about performing your heart out on stage and it reminds me of what I have seen every Tuesday for the last 3 weeks.

Perform this show like you are going to die later on tonight… you are going to be hit by a car… play this show like it’s your last.

– Amey Goerlich