What Is The Legacy Of Improvisation Comedy

Although many dancers (sometimes referred to as “strippers”) of Gypsy Rose Lee’s era attempted various gimmicks to stand out and make a name for themselves, no one could quite compare to the charisma and character that illuminated the stage of Gypsy Rose Lee. American writer H.L. Mencken even coined the term “ecdysiast” just for Gypsy, which he felt was a more dignified way of referring to Gypsy in her profession. Gypsy may be an icon to many, even inspiring a musical based on her memoirs titled Gypsy: A Musical Fable., but she is also a woman who is much greater than the performer known on stage.

the rest of the century. As you watch these videos notice how musicals come to represent

Although vaudeville seemed to be a long standing staple in our society, like all good things, it must come to an end. the decline and death of vaudeville appears certain, clear and inevitable. From the performers point of view, there was no perspective other than the "here and now" of their lives. Each day seemed to differ little from the previous, and speculation about the future was, as ever, informed by hear say and past experience. As an array of specialty acts, vaudeville was an enterprise without name that, over many years, could be found in the marketplaces of Asia and Europe. It eventually spread around the world to the farthest corners of Australia and Africa. Performers worked when and where they could, quite often in undesired locations. A certain cliché attached to performing in bed and breakfast's, saloons and public houses after their owners added stages and audience pits set apart from the tavern. It soon became quite taxing for performers to not only live the same shows everyday, but to move on and find other work after they were no longer needed in vaudeville shows. Still, this was not the only reason for the demise of vaudeville, although it played a large part. The largest contributing factor was the invention of the motion picture in the 1930's. There was no longer a need for people to be entertained by a comical, musical, circus style side show. Now they found a more intimate and fascinating way of enjoying a performance. The first

A. Danny Hoch is an American playwright born in 1970 in Brooklyn, New York who is known for his one-person shows [1]. Although he was raised in “nominally Jewish single-parent household” in Queens, he states that he grew up around hip-hop culture, which influenced his work immensely [2]. Hoch is an outspoken activist on racism, cultural appropriation, and gentrification in a modern age where it is “hip” to be black, latino, and the like. He has denied roles in a Tarantino movie and Seinfeld because he believed they were racist [3]. In 2000, he founded the Hip-Hop Theatre Festival [4].

Improv was always an intimidating faction of theater. Though there is no planning or scripting, no matter when or where the show was it always seemed a labor of love. Something that was worked on for an extreme length of time but really it was formed from the performer's mind only a second before the audience saw it. Even though I have done theater and dance in the past, improv always seemed something that I was never good at. From watching performances, tv programs, or improv workshops, it always looked like an art form that I could never learn or use besides the stage. With last week's class, that all seemed to change. I saw that improv could be used in many different factions of life. Providing new life skills and practices that cam

The fact is, her talent in the realm earned a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 2012, “for her wide range of down-to-earth columns that reflect the character and capture the culture of her famed city”

Mo’Nique got her start in comedy when her brother dared her to perform at an open mic night at a comedy factory in Baltimore. Fey began her career at the prestigious improvisational theater

Her first musical, The Amazing Adventures of Dr. Wonderful and Her Dog! was authorized The Kennedy Center and opened in Washington D.C. to just be widely spoken upon. Reviews and continuous appreciation and love for the musical, she decided to continue on many projects. She has developed plays with Second Stage, Red Bull, and Main Stages in New York; Playwrights Foundation, Crowded Fire, TheatreWorks, Aurora Theatre, and a plentiful of others. Leap was another play she had done with Theatre Emory’s Playwriting Center in (2004). Most of her first collection of plays, won the Norembega Short Fiction Award. She has spoken nationally and internationally on the relations of science, theatre, and Arts Activism. Lauren currently is now working

One of his most divisive performances premiered at the Los Angeles comedy club, “The Improv”. As Kaufman runs up to the stage, he is greeted warmly by both optimistic newcomers, and his hardcore fans who likely know what they’re in for. On stage, before performing the sketch, Kaufman informs the audience that he had 10 years prior performed that same routine in front of the same club, and was kicked out for it. The audience laughs. Finishing his introduction, he proceeds to a table set up on the side of

The fact that Other Desert of Cities was the first play that I saw made a unique experience in my life. I had the opportunity to appreciate this play at the Pacific Conservatory Theatre (PCPA) in Santa Maria, California. The parking lots of the theatre were almost full, which made me think that people were interesting to see the play.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare is a comedic live performance improv show and a parody of the works of William Shakespeare, performed by The Reduced Shakespeare Company. The first performance of this comedic improv play was at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (United Kingdom), in 1987. The play was written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield. The three writers wrote the parody as a three man act. The actors that played these roles were Adam Long, Reed Martin, and Austin Tichenor.

Caroline Hirsch, owner of acclaimed New York comedy club Carolines on Broadway, says the number of female performers has hovered around 20-25% since she founded the club in 1982. There could be many reasons for the gender gap. One reason is that the comedy lifestyle isn’t for everyone. There comes a certain point in comedians’ careers when they can take their show on the road. Most comedians start off staying in dingy “comedy condos,” run by club-owners, that offer few amenities and little luxury. Maria Ciampa, co-producer of the Women in Comedy Awards Festival, told Forbes Magazine, “I’ve spoken to touring comedians who are women who are like, ‘I don’t necessarily feel safe,’” she then continues to say, “Dudes might be okay staying at a place that doesn’t have a toilet seat. It’s a certain lifestyle that doesn’t appeal to

Commedia dell arte was developed in 16th and 17th century. It was a form of comedy that started around Italy. The actors improvised text based scenarios so they didn't have to write down scripts. It came from people first starting performing in the streets and markets of the Italian Renaissance, but it can be traced all the way back to Ancient Greek. The actors wore masks and colourful clothes to draw attention to them and their acrobatic skills increased that chance. They soon teamed up in troupes with more actors and moveable stages to establish it as a genre of its own. These performances were open to all classes from the rich to the pore. They didn't care about language barriers because they used mime, stereotyped stock characters, signature stunts, gags, pranks, masks, physical gestures, clowning and improvised dialogue so they would know what was happening. Later the tradition spread all over Europe. It then gave the idea to the French which turned most of the ideas into commedia style shows.

The two Improv shows I went to were the Midnite show and the Comedy Sportz Show. Both shows were incredibly well done from the production to the improv itself. The Midnite show had me laughing out loud which is something rare for me at least. My whole life I have done relativity clean improv and to see an X-rated version of it was hilarious. The format for the Midnite show was like the improv I do where there is a selection of games performed for the audience and suggestions are taken by the audience yelling. While Comedy Sportz was the first time I have ever seen competitive improv, it was very interesting to see how they turn improv into a sport and how they use color coordination for audience suggestions. But in my personal preference I

Improvisation is a foundational style which is used to create ensembles, it is the art of being in a scene/s with no preparation. Improvisation is used to Refine theatrical pieces, create ensemble, and extend our own creativity. It forces us react imaginatively and immediately. Improvisation is used effectively in the examples of Augusto Boal and his 'Theatre of the oppressed', the French company 'Theatre Du Soliel' and an example from my own experience in class.