Local actors serious about improv humor

Improv: An audience-actor collaboration in comedy

Monday night’s performance by the nationally acclaimed Second City improv troupe in the Patten Performances at UTC is the first of several improvisational comedy shows coming in March.

Thanks to the popularity of “Whose Line Is It Anyway” and MTV’s “Wild ‘n’ Out,” improv has seen a resurgence in popularity as well as a new generation of actors training in the performance art.

This form of theater doesn’t rely on scripts, but there are rules involved to achieve that off-the-cuff comedy style, say local actors. Spontaneity and the ability to think quickly on one’s feet are beneficial skills, local actors say, but a successful, give-andtake collaboration between audience and actors is formed when the improviser is simply receptive to ideas tossed them by a partner.

“There are certain, very specific techniques that you can learn. It’s really not getting up there and doing whatever you want,” said Rex Knowles, actor and instructor at Chattanooga State Technical Community College.

“Improv is a philosophy at heart, a way of looking at the world and training yourself to listen,” said Ray Laliberte, Skwalking Heads actor and teacher at Chattanooga High School Center for Creative Arts.

Mr. Laliberte said offering improv classes in the workplace is a growing corporate trend. Human-resource officers have found it to be a successful way to develop team-building — and a lot less threatening to employees than adventure courses.

“It gets people to work together. They have to look each other in the eye and be open, be receptive to others’ ideas,” Mr. Laliberte said.