Improv is a word that might bring the popular television show “Whose Line is It Anyway?” to mind. Or maybe a comedy show — good or bad — you saw while on vacation is an immediate association. AS IF, the Alaska State Improv Festival, is seeking to expand that view by bringing in improv groups from around the country to perform in a four day festival at McPhetres Hall this weekend.
“You know, people make a lot of assumptions about improv,” said Roy Janik, member of Parallelogramophonograph or PGraph, the master artist group and instructors for this year’s festival and one of the owners of The Hideout Theater in Austin, Texas.
“Really though, improv is a category like music. You wouldn’t see one band and presume you know everything about music. When a festival happens and many groups are brought in people can see a huge range of styles.”
Pgraph is no exception to presenting a stylistic variation. The group focuses on a narrative form of improv.
“We knew from early on we wanted to focus on story based acts. A lot of improv shows are a collection of disjointed scenes. But what we wanted was to make one story from beginning to end. You have to be able to come up with a plot in a moment when performing in front of a live audience and connect the story and provide resolution,” Janik said.
Pgraph began in September of 2005. The troupe is based in Austin, Texas and they have been putting on weekly shows for more than 10 years. But when they started there were no well known troupes, or role models, performing narrative improv.
“We starting planning knowing we wanted to bring Pgraph because we liked their theatrical element,” said Eric Caldwell, the director of AS IF.
“Austin is a well-known narrative improv hub and they are one of the top names in the industry. They don’t just create scenes, they create theatre, a whole play, in one set. Over the past years we have tried to do it and now we have the chance to learn from this amazing group.”
Pgraph will be teaching others some of their narrative techniques and use of storytelling at their two-day master narrative intensive during the festival.
Pgraph was the only act Caldwell and the AS IF coordinators pursued themselves. The rest of the performers applied through a competitive process. Each group had to submit a video and background information on their act. Groups were chosen based off of the diversity they would add to the sets, whether geographical or stylistic.
AS IF is hosted by Morally Improv-erished, a local improv group of which Caldwell has served as director and producer of since its initial performance in 2004. The whole festival is run by volunteers, including Caldwell.
During the festival, 21 ensembles perform, visiting from 13 cities. Acts range from “808,” a troupe that performs hip hop improv based off album titles the audience suggests, or Illuminaughty, which explores audience suggestions through true stories, banter and anecdotes.
One unique act is performed by a man and his machine.
“The act that is most unlike any other is “I Am the Show,” which is based out of San Diego,” said Caldwell. “It is one man, Chris George, and he will scroll through a list of TV shows and movies while asking the audience for suggestions. Once one is picked, he will be over dubbing for 20-25 minutes. He will do all voices and sound effects. And if it’s on Hulu, he even does the commercials. It’s like a one man mystery science theatre.”
Janik noted that one of his favorite parts of the festival is the inspiration he gets from other acts.
“When you are only performing in your own city you are inside of a bubble,” said Janik. “When encountering other cities and groups they perceive improv in different ways. Maybe they’ve jumped down a rabbit hole you haven’t considered. Or maybe they speak in a more natural way or somehow add drama to their set you haven’t seen before. It is inspiring to meet other performers.”
Caldwell agreed that meeting others is important.
“So much of what we do is communicate,” said Caldwell. “We have wanted to have an Alaskan presence in the national improv scene for years. We started gaining that presence by sending our groups to improv fests and networking with other people at festivals. You connect with other acts that then invite you to their town and it spreads from there. We wanted to be able to invite people to Juneau.”
He went on, “that’s how our festival keeps growing. Groups come here, enjoy themselves, and then go back and tell their network about their experience. We want to make sure everyone at the festival feels like they’ve had the Alaskan adventure that they dreamed about. We want them to walk away feeling like family.”
Janik has been to Juneau previously with a different group, Squirrel Buddies, and wanted to come back because he felt so accepted.
“The audience was really enthusiastic the last time I came and Eric is a great host that really cares for his performers,” said Janik. “And let’s not discount the scenery. The first morning I woke up here I saw a whale outside my window.”
“Really though, the audience was amazing. Performers feed off of the audience’s energy. In improv, the audience helps navigates the scenes. The gasps and laughs of people is a feedback loop that directly changes the content of the show in the moment. A community of people reacting to characters and plots while acts perform creates an authentic experience unlike any other.”
Where: McPhetres Hall and the Hangar Ballroom
When: April 28-May 1
Tickets: $15 a set or $50 for an all-session pass (limited quantity)
For more information, and a schedule of performers and events, visit www.asifest.com.
