Judy, age 14 is in her room messaging on Facebook. Her younger brother Jake is planted in front of the television watching Super Why. Their mother Kelly is texting her clients with her iPhone and their father Jim is watching Curb Your Enthusiasm on Netflix. The dinner table is empty.
Have you ever thought about how attached people are to their electronics? Just to give you a taste of the path this society is headed, if someone were to ask a teenager to generally list out some things that make them laugh, the list would probably include something along these lines: Family Guy, Vines, SNL, Reddit, Arrested Development, Parks and Recreations, How I Met Your Mother and so on. The list could go on forever, but needless to say, many of these are merely forms of entertainment available through modern-day technology.
Improvisation is a form of live theatre in which the plot, characters and dialogue of a game, scene or story are made up in the moment. It is the purest form of entertainment you can find, no television, no iPhones, none of that. All it requires is people, maybe some props, but that’s about it.
Now, let’s take a trip back to the 16th century Italy, the home of Improv. Of course during this time, spontaneous street performing wasn’t called Improv; it was known as “Commedia dell’arte,” a form of improv theatre characterized by masked types. This term is actually shortened from “Commedia dell’arte all’improvvisso,” which means comedy of the very creative ability of improvisation. This form of entertainment then spread to Europe in the 18th century as Theatre Sports. America was first exposed to Improv in the 1930’s because of a social worker named Viola Spolin. She invented many games and workshops to help immigrants become more impulsive and spontaneous, and thus established the first instance of theatrical improvisation in America.
Flash back to the present. You now realize there are other forms of entertainment other than sitting on your couch watching television, but where can you go?
One popular spot for improvisational comedy is The Magnet Theatre. Located conveniently in Chelsea, 254 West 29th Street, the Magnet Theatre serves the community in hopes of spreading Improv in our current technologically based lifestyle.
According to Megan Gray, the Artistic Director of the Magnet Theatre, the true goal is to bring a sense of community to everyone again. She says, “There’s a reason why improv is becoming so popular. In the face of technology, so much of our interactions are online, whether it’s through texting or just Facebook, that we don’t interact with real people anymore, which can be alienating. I believe people still need to hang out with people. Improv is a great way to make each other laugh and feel creative in a way that is sort of lost now. Face to face interactions are just seen less and less these days. It’s great for the community, workplace, and everybody really. Because there is no editing in improv, it lets our imagination run wild, which is hard to do in this day and age.”
Even as the Artistic Director, Megan says “The pay isn’t great.” Rick Andrews, the Magnet Theatre’s instructor, says the goal of improvisation is to “make things seem scripted.” He aspires to spread Improv as valuable and good theatre for everyone to enjoy. People working in this field desire much more than an economical payment.
In fact, at the Magnet, the performers aren’t even paid. Hence, the only reason they would be on stage is to show their love for Improv and performing. The incentive behind this is bring the people who are passionate about Improv on stage. But along with that, not paying performers also allows the ticket prices to stay low. In our society, where Broadway tickets can go above one hundred dollars, it’s great to have an option that doesn’t hurt our wallets.
In addition, The Magnet Theatre even offers free Intro to both Improv and Musical Improv classes for first-timers. The Magnet hosts many corporate training events for companies as well. Like Megan said, interacting is very hard in this day and age, which is why they created the Magnet Genius Machine Team. Essentially, this team consists of facilitators who can bring the communication aspects of Improv and apply them to non-theatrical settings. They are able to create a safe environment for people to participate and get to know each other through their Improv exercises. Companies who want their workers to communicate and work together would find this team incredibly useful. Examples of past clients are: Google, NASDAQ, PepsiCo., Estee Lauder, and Columbia Business School. So not only does the Magnet Theatre provide some good laughs during their shows, but they also help people interact and connect. They are reaching out with their arms open wide, trying to save people from the dangers of this technology infested society America has built.
Even though the Magnet Theatre is the one of smallest Improv Theatres, it is making an extremely great effort to spread this form of pure entertainment to the people in New York City with their free classes and incredibly low prices. Those at the Magnet have full confidence that people will love Improv once they’ve given it a try, and hope to bring the spirit of trying new experiences and experimenting to New York City.
Works Cited
“Best-Kept Secret to Creating Social Change: Improv.” GOOD. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
“Magnet Theater attracts improv actors, students.” NYU News Magnet Theater attracts improv actors students Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
“Magnet Theater.” – Improv Comedy Shows and Classes in New York City. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
“New York Magazine.” NYMag.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
“The Hideout Theater.” Austin Improv Comedy Shows Classes The Hideout Theatre RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
