"Some people have likened impro to a drug because it is so addictive." Wade Robinson riffs on magic of impro and the upcoming Theatresport Grand Championships.

The best improvisors from Brisbane and beyond will battle it out at the Brisbane Powerhouse soon in the Theatresports Grand Championships as part of the Brisbane Comedy Festival. Who will emerge victorious in this side-splitting showdown of quick wits, fast thinking and comedy clout?

Sylvia spoke with show director Wade Robinson to find out more about impro, Theatresports, and the upcoming Grand Championships.

Tell us about the show! What can audiences expect from the Theatresports Grand Championships?

Theatresports is a competition where teams are challenged to improvise various scenes or ‘games’ often based on audience suggestions. The challenges can include almost anything – from the performers answering audience questions in one voice to creating mini-musicals, performing Shakespearean monologues, or starting every sentence with a particular letter of the alphabet. If you’ve ever seen an episode of Whose Line Is It Anyway? Or Thank God You’re Here, you’ll have an idea of what it's like.

There are three heats leading up to the Grand Championships, with the final heat taking place this coming weekend – how is the competition shaping up so far? 

Amazing! We had our first heat on Saturday night and it was a huge amount of fun. We have an incredibly talented improvising musician, Rob Zosars, accompanying the players which meant our more musical teams could show off their amazing singing skills. However, in the end the night was won by the team ‘The Deuces’, who finished the night with a scene in which all of their fellow competitors were forced to play their props, scenery and furniture (I think I ended up being sat upon at one point).

Can you explain briefly what Theatresports is, and how it’s different to other styles of improvised theatre?

Theatresports is a competition (if a very good natured one). Each scene is scored between 1–5 by our panel of judges. This gives the show a hit of excitement, particularly as the audience will often have opinions about whether they agree with the judges’ scores or not. It’s not uncommon for the judges to be booed if their scores are considered unfair. Theatresports also allows the players to experiment with a whole range of different kinds of scenes – they can perform a light-hearted soap opera in one round, followed by an 80s power ballad, followed by a scene based upon lines from Beckett's Waiting for Godot. I think it’s this diversity which audiences enjoy – Theatresports is like a smorgasbord of comedy.

Other styles of impro tend to feature longer scenes and explore a particular theme or genre. For example, in the past we have improvised full-length plays where we might create an English murder mystery or a teenage drama on stage. Or we might do a show exploring modern dating and relationships, which is a combination of truthful storytelling interspersed with scenes. Basically, impro can be anything you want it to be.

Impro is unscripted, and so usually pretty unpredictable – how do performers prepare or rehearse for an event like the Theatresports Grand Championships?

Ha! We actually rehearse extensively before our shows. While we don't practice what we are going to say or do (it is genuinely all improvised) we spend time working together as a group so we operate with one mind on stage. We also practice the skills which we might use in the game such as singing, rhyming, or speaking like a Shakespearean actor...

What makes a really great Theatresports audience? Who is your ideal audience member for the Championships?

We want people with opinions! We love people who engage with the scenes on stage and then let the judges know what they think. Theatresports is meant to be a little rowdy and we love an audience that leaves their polite theatre etiquette at the door. All-in-all, Theatresports is pretty accessible so I think most people will find something in it they enjoy.

You’ve been involved in impro for a long time, including co-founding ImproMafia, Brisbane’s best-known impro company, in 2004. What first drew you to impro? What led you to start ImproMafia?

I fell in love with impro at school in the late '90s. So much of drama was stuffy and tedious, whereas impro let me get up on stage and just react to my fellow performers. Impro can be a little magical when you are up on stage and are totally in sync with your fellow performers. Some people have likened impro to a drug because it is so addictive. I started training after I left school with Theatresports Queensland and have never looked back.

We founded ImproMafia back in 2004 because at the time there wasn't much impro happening in Brisbane. We hoped we could help build the community up and get more people excited about the art form. And I think it worked in the end.

How would you describe Brisbane’s impro scene? What sets Brisbane impro apart from elsewhere in Australia, or internationally?

Brisbane has a really dynamic scene at the moment with lots of different groups and teams emerging and trying out their stuff. It’s a really exciting and friendly community. I think the distance from the rest of the world (and the big impro centres in the US) means we do create some unique work. I know ImproMafia started exploring doing improvised full-length plays – almost by accident – over a decade ago, and it was only when we met people from overseas that we realised how unique our approach was.

There’s a really great video on the ImproMafia YouTube page (‘Introduction to Improvisation’) where you talk about how doing impro helps people rediscover their innate creativity. What other benefits does doing impro have?

Impro is a great skill for life. A big part of our philosophy of improvisation is that people are all creative but we just learn to hide our creativity to avoid judgment. It can be a powerful experience for students to be in an environment where it’s safe to take creative risks, and this can help build confidence in other parts of their life. We often have students who comment that impro has made them more confident speaking in public, or presenting at work, or increased their overall confidence in social situations. Impro also helps to teach communication skills – to be an effective improviser you need to be paying attention to your scene partner at all times. This teaches you to be more present when talking to people and to really focus on what it is that they are trying to tell you. There are also many other ways impro can help, from team work skills, storytelling and learning about reading other people’s status. Plus, it’s really fun and a bit addictive.

The exciting grand final of the Theatresports Grand Championships takes place at the Brisbane Powerhouse on Saturday, 28 August at 7:30 pm.