Two teams, each composed of 7 people (3 male players, 3 female players, and a coach), compete against each other. A referee and two assistant referees ensure the rules are followed and scores are recorded.
The referee randomly draws the themes and sets the format of the improvisation by adjusting several elements:
– Nature: mixed or comparative: a mixed improvisation allows the two teams to perform together, whereas a comparative improvisation sees the teams perform consecutively on the ice rink.
– Title: this is usually a word or a short phrase chosen by the referee himself.
– Number of players: this can be open or specified by a card.
– Category: this can also be open or dictated by a card from a wide range of possibilities (in the style of Molière, Michel Audiard, sung, in rhymes, without words, silent, with props, photo-novel, etc.)
– Duration: typically varies from 30 seconds to 8 minutes, but can go up to 20 minutes.
At the end of each improvisation, the audience votes with a colored card associated with each team for the best performance. A point is awarded to the team that wins the improvisation.
The referee is there to enforce a number of well-established rules. Thus, there are 16 official penalties. Each team accumulating three penalties gives a point to the opposing team.
The Improvisation Match must remain a spectacle: while it draws inspiration from sports and their competitive spirit, it does so to parody them, as imagined by its founders. If well understood, the Improvisation Match “plays at playing a match.” The most remarkable aspect, and what undeniably explains the success of the Improvisation Match, is that the audience itself participates in the show and plays its own role.
Audrey Moussier is the coach of the Nice theatrical improvisation team, the Counta BlaBla. She tells us more about this discipline.
NP: You practice improvisation. How does one come to choose this discipline?
I would say there are no rules! As a result, there is no typical player profile, and improv teams bring together a very diverse group of people: young adults interact with pre-retirees, teachers mingle with architects, accountants with engineers…
It’s clear that a certain artistic, theatrical sensitivity is found in most cases. But it is not rare to meet players who have never practiced theater before. You also need to enjoy taking risks.
Personally, I only knew the stage through theater, but I went to watch improv shows because the idea of a performance, of “without a net” intrigued me, all the while thinking, “I could NEVER do that.”
NP: What qualities are needed to excel in improv? Is it for those who like the stage but don’t have the necessary memory?
It seems to me that quick wit and responsiveness are essential assets for doing improv. A sense of repartee, humor, acumen, and observation of human nature also count a lot… If a lack of memory is the only motivation to do improv, that’s a poor excuse: doing improv does not improvise itself and requires a lot of work! Work on technique, listening, humility, generosity which costs much more than just a memory task!
NP: There are competitions. At what level is the Nice team?
There is no official national competition for amateur improv in France. However, some championships can be created, bringing together a random number of teams according to meetings and affinities across France. But the most practiced format is the friendly improvisation match: one team invites another to create a meet between their two cities, and most of the time, if the relationship is good, the invited team returns the invitation within the year or for the next season.
At the end of the 2007-2008 season, the Counta BlaBla team played 9 improvisation matches, participated in 2 improv performances, and organized the 10th Festival of Improvisation and Theater in Nice over 2 days during which no fewer than 10 teams played for over 12 hours!
NP: What are the 2008 events for your improv club?
The season will be prepared this summer: we intend to multiply the “home” improvisation matches at the CLAJ of CLAIRVALLON, but we are also studying a form of improv show that is logistically lighter to set up, purely Counta BlaBla, for which the audience will be solicited to create themes…
We will also respond to invitations from other teams and will travel across France if needed!
And of course, the Counta BlaBla will also return to the preparation of a new edition of the Nice Improvisation and Theatre Festival which allows each year to vary encounters and open horizons so that each league can prepare for the next season.
[Website link and image gallery omitted for brevity.]
