Normally I wouldn’t be spotlighting to a class show on Improvoker. Class shows are usually a great place to watch students perfecting their craft, but are sometimes a little difficult to watch… but this isn’t an ordinary class show. This is the final performance of a 600 level class taught by instructor Christina Gausas.
Christina is first generation Del. She studied with Del Close, Charna Halpern, Mick Napier in Chicago, taught at IO Chicago, and is now teaching at UCB New York. Her current 600 level class, which is an advanced class, is performing two long form improvisational styles called JTS Brown and Cat’s Cradle. These two forms are by far the most interesting structures of improv I have ever seen. They border on the side of experimental theater, weaving abstract scenework into the long form structure.
Each form is very different from one another. JTS Brown begins with an improviser becoming a character and supporting improvisers becoming that character through a tag out like replacement. Cats cradle is an amorphous set of scenes, which morph from one scene to another through a series of almost dance-like montages.
I heavily recommend checking out this show if you are interested in seeing how improvisational forms can be used to create more complex performances. The ideas inherent in these structures beg the question, “what is possible in an improv performance?”
Del Close thought that improv should be more than just a quick joke. These forms really spotlight that improv can be more.
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The story behind Del Close’s bequeathing his skull to iO Chicago, to be used in theatrical productions, has always been the subject controversy. The New Yorker has finally unconverted the truth behind Del Close’s skull at the Improv Olympic.
She [Charna Halpern] now pleads guilty” with an explanation. “After Del died, I asked the hospital people if they would help me by taking off the head, and they just laughed,” she said recently. “They suggested I call the Illinois Society of Pathologists. I told the pathologists, “I will give you Del’s body, and it’s a great body, because you can study the effects of smoking, alcohol, cocaine, and heroin on the brain. All I need is the skull.’ They thought about it, and then said, “There’s a fine line between research and art, and we’re concerned about our funding.’ I called labs, researchers, anatomy shops, and it was “No, no, no.’ ”
While it saddens me to know that I shall never be able to manhandle Del’s noggin, I have to say, that I think Charna’s attempt to give Del what he wanted was ambitious. I certainly wouldn’t know who to approach for the skull of a loved one and god knows I couldn’t cut a straight line with a handsaw.
The Bastion has an interesting article with Charna Halpern, the co-creator of the Harold and founder of i.O. Chicago. She goes into some detail about why Chicago is the best place for improv (sputter, cough, cough). And makes lots of refferences to her new book Art by Committee. I just finished it and will be sure to write a review of shortly, but until then, why not read up on Charna.
Many advanced people would come to I.O. from Second City and think that agreement meant they had to say YES to everything. They didn’t understand that agreement was between the actors — not the characters. Whenever I would explain away the confusion, they were always amazed and relieved because they were continually sacrificing their integrity on stage. I thought it would be a good idea to expound on some of these ideas and help to strengthen the concepts we built long ago regarding team work.
I wonder how Charna got her name?