What would happen if men had to undergo abortions? Consider the circumstances they might encounter and the conversations they would have. Say it aloud and perform the scene in front of a large group of strangers. It might instigate nervousness in a few, enthusiasm in others or maybe a culmination of both in some.
But The Hysterical, Chennai's first all-women improv comedy ensemble, through their jamming session held on Saturday at Backyard Clan, Adyar, succeeded in making the audience engage in such a hypothetical through improv comedy.
"People don't know that they are the ones who are going to perform when they enter the room. The initial struggle, the attempts to be comfortable and the confidence attained, all these situations will be comedy generators. Also, agreeing to seek humour in all situations will boost a participant's self-worth," said Shalini Vijayakumar, founder of The Hysterical.
Sub-genres & storylines
Improvisational theatre, or improv, is a kind of participatory comedy that relies on spontaneous, unrehearsed scenarios that are created based on audience ideas. Jikki Nair, an actress and member of the ensemble, shared, "Improv is a sub-genre of comedy. It is built on a ridiculous storyline. There are lots of fun games employed for improv comedy to work upon."
As promised by Jikki, the event proved to be a laugh riot with fun activities and games like 'Spin a yarn' where you spin a story from a given word, 'Zip Zap Zop' where the players imagine that they have a bolt of energy in their hands and pass it to another using their body, 'Double endowment' where two players are told secretly what they need to get the other player to do.
According to the ensemble, improv activities like these train the mind and body to achieve "a feeling of liberation".
An all-women ensemble
Shalini has been in theatre since 2008. She was a part of The Half-Boiled Inc, an improv comedy group in Chennai, for three years and was the only woman in the team.
"Though that was a very different, fun dynamic to be a part of, I wished there were more women in the comedy field. Most of the women are really funny and they spill out their jokes once they are comfortable in a safe space. My inspirations are Tina Fey and Amy Poehler from SNL and regionally, Sukmukhi Suresh and Kaneez Surka. They are women comedians who write their own comedy. So I thought why not build our own tribe in Chennai?"
In 2022, when Karthik Kumar, stand up comedian and former actor, gave her the green signal for production, Shalini didn’t hold back. She and actor Amrutha Srinivasan, with the support of Evam, India's largest stand-up comedy movement, conducted a comedy campaign 'Feel free to be funny', where the candidates auditioned, and finally formed the thirteen member ensemble on June 15, 2022. "We don’t want to stop with these many members. We want this community to grow. Hopefully, The Hysterical will motivate others in the field to form women ensembles," shared Shalini.
The event was also restricted to only women. "We wanted everyone to feel free and be comfortable without the fear of being judged," shared Jikki. This feeling resonated in the audience. Suchitra Shankaran, a participant confirmed, "It was such a refreshing experience and there was no performance anxiety. If anything, this taught me to be in the moment."
The Hysterical plans to perform their first show during September at SoCo at Savera Hotel, Mylapore. For further details follow @thehysterical_ on Instagram.