What would you discern if someone suggested unrelated words such as ‘Toothpaste’… ‘Shimla’… ‘Valentine’s Day’? For improv artists, these suggestions are all they need to have the audience watch a performance with rapt attention.
Improvisational theatre—or improv as it is known—is an engaging form of live theatre that sets in motion characters and unscripted plots, on the spot, often using audience suggestions. Unlike many forms of theatre, improv does not have too many rules. A room with bare walls can become an entire circus using words as simple as ‘yes and’. All you have to do is avoid reacting with emotion or judgement but accept and build upon whatever is being thrown at you.
Delhi is not new to improv. In fact, the city is home to a number of improv practitioners including Blessin Varkey, who founded Shahpur Jat-based The Impro Company, and theatre practitioner Pranshu Shrimali, who co-founded Saket-based Playground Improv Collective.
Among the many reasons to participate in improv, both Varkey and Shrimali highlight how it helps reserved people and those with anxiety open up to new experiences. Functional artist Mrinal Gautam, who had his first tryst with improv thanks to Varkey’s workshop in 2019, throws light on this, “People are afraid of saying no, but (ironically) they say no all the time. Improv has made me more spontaneous and confident.”
Making teams work
Varkey has helped shape the culture of numerous workplaces using improv tools including games that introduce concepts such as the ‘yes and’ mindset. Shrimali, on the other hand, has worked with Ashoka University’s Academic Bridge Programme, which attempts to integrate students from different backgrounds.
“It is not about the individual, it is about making your partner look good,” says Varkey, who focuses on preparing individuals to navigate crisis scenarios. Values such as trust and listening are inculcated through improv to ensure a smoother functioning at work.
Vikram Badhwar, founder of Syngrity Transformation Solutions, who has been a part of Varkey’s improv workshops, says, “We use improv to be able to get organisations to look at values, competencies, and behaviours.” Factors such as focus, openness, commitment, and courage are built upon as well. Varkey adds, “You don’t need a Jira board to understand these values and implement them within the team.”
Accepting differences
The safe space created through improv has helped many with intellectual and developmental disabilities. “Improv-related exercises such as questions, rhymes, alphabetical games, etc., help children with intellectual and developmental disabilities in larger ways,” says child psychologist Riddhi Doshi Patel.
Shrimali shares how he uses basic communication games to support individuals with autism and cerebral palsy. The aim, he mentions, is to decrease response time and make them learn collectively, in addition to promoting imagination, word association, and spontaneity.
The artist also teaches participants to live different perspectives, accept the given character, and finally themselves. Signing off, Shrimali says, “Failures are beautiful; they are funny on stage. When children speaking different languages work with each other, they find a new way to express themselves.”