Rapid Fire Improv group uses audience involvement in its shows for 'Whose Line Is It Anyway?'-style games
By Gillian Glover
April 29, 2011 12:25 a.m.
What do Abraham Lincoln, Gandhi and a Care Bear all have in common? UCLA’s Rapid Fire Improv group has embodied these characters at its shows, at the audience’s suggestion.
“Rapid Fire Improv Show: Rising of the Holy Bacon Tree” will take place on Sunday at 6 p.m. in Ackerman Union Viewpoint Conference Room.
Now in its second year, Rapid Fire features five new members, including Derek Chariton, a second-year theater student.
Shows usually run around an hour and consist of many “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”-style games, which include audience involvement.
Chariton said one of his favorite games is “Interview,” which requires two members to leave the room while the audience decides the characters that they play. Performers are asked questions that hint at their decided identities as they uncover their respective characters.
“Everything else is scripted in terms of the theater world, and it’s cool to have your own kind of script even if you’re not writing it down,” Chariton said.
Nick Molari, a fourth-year musical theater student, has been a member of Rapid Fire Improv since the club’s inception last year.
He said that improv requires a lot of work in terms of overcoming fear, but has perks in its spontaneity.
“It’s non-stress because there’s no homework (to prepare). You just show up and try to be yourself,” Molari said.
John Manion, a third-year economics student, has attended previous Rapid Fire Improv performances.
He said it was one of the first improvisation shows he’s been to and that there’s nothing quite like it.
Instead of the performers choosing what they want to perform, the crowd makes the decisions for them.
“It is an exceptional example of how entertainers don’t always need to prepare their act beforehand. They just make it as they go,” Manion said.
Among the group’s other improv games is a variation of “Freeze.” In it, two performers step up and two others move them to whatever position they want, incorporating their posed positions. Members on the sidelines can call “freeze,” forcing the two people performing to stop in whatever position they’re in. The new person walks in and taps one of the frozen people on the shoulder, assuming his or her position. Then, the new person starts a new scene, Molari explained.
“I personally would like to prescribe our improv show to any student who is looking for a quick and free way to relax,” Molari said. “If you’re looking to have fun or need a little de-stress time, our show is perfect.”
