Features Q&A and Interviews Published 13 April 2012

Cartoon de Salvo

Alex Murdoch on the thrills and challenges of long form improv.

Carmel Doohan

While humor will always be inherent in the nature of their work- this element of risk, the tension and the pauses where nobody knows what’s going to happen next is where much of funny comes from. They want their shows to be far more than just a string of gags. The group might use self reflexive joking to impress upon the audience that they really are making this up as they go along, but they take the idea of story-making very seriously too.

“We always reserve the right to go serious and commit to the integrity of the story if we want to. We like mucking about and having fun- our shows are a wheeze- but I always like to surprise the audience with tenderness, simplicity and heart. What I enjoy about long form is that, if it needs to get serious, it needs to get serious. We try and do that stuff properly.”

But how do they do it? How do they make a story come together, and seemingly resolve itself, when they don’t know what’s coming next?

Murdoch quotes Phelim McDermot, explaining that improv is like: “walking backwards into the future looking at where you’ve been.” Planning is counter-productive: you just look at what has happened so far and take another step. Training together at TheatreSports in the San Francisco Bay area, the group worked on improvisation techniques developed by Keith Johnstone. The process taught them that “understanding story is very innate. We are told stories from the moment we are born and every single one of us has a really highly developed idea of what comes next. It’s hard-wired.” This belief gives them the confidence to trust themselves and each other and to let their story, whatever it is, develop. Yet, as all stories cannot help but create meaning, do they ever worry about what kind of message they are growing on stage?

Murdoch admits that this is something they’ve discussed, but they try to be relaxed about it. “We can’t write a paper on morality and ethics while creating a story, but we do sometimes find ourselves thinking What did we just say?!”

She tells me about a show where the audience’s suggested title was ‘Cowboys and Indians’. Set in a pioneer environment, they found themselves saying things like “Those Darn Injuns” and worrying about how it sounded. Luckily the story developed on from these awkward moments and built into something the group were happier with, culminating in a spontaneous folk song. Ultimately, when things get dark or complicated on stage, she welcomes it; it is when characters are challenged that they are forced to change and this is what good stories are all about.

How, though, do they deal with the rabbit-in-the-headlights fear of being up there on stage and totally unprepared? Well, the fear, it seems is nothing compared to the buzz. “We are addicted to the buzz. To the infinite possibilities and to not knowing where it is going.” The opportunity to play any character in any situation in the known universe is a deeply attractive one. Murdoch herself has been, to name just a few, a Native American queen, a dead sheep, a mollusc and an ancient king of England. With a new show every night, the potential for this buzz is infinite. “We have no way of knowing what we are going to be called upon to play, but every night, we have to go out there and give it our all.”

About to celebrate their fifteenth birthday, the group now has a new challenge ahead. They have been funded by the Wellcome Trust to develop a new show that opens at Southwark Playhouse in May. Set against the backdrop of the Enlightenment, The Irish Giant, tells the true-life tale of the giant, Charles Byrne, and the doctor who is prepared to risk all to discover his secret. Far more scripted than any of their previous productions, they are immersing themselves into a world where the truth proves to be stranger than fiction and working with scientists and historians to find new ways of doing what they love; making up (tall!) tales.

Constantly evolving and experimenting, Cartoon de Salvo want the audience and performers to “all go on a journey together,” They are committed to remaining open and vulnerable in the face of chaos and using it in a way that provides enjoyment for all. Despite their determined lack of rules, one idea they try to stick to is “make your partner look good.” This sounds like one hell of a philosophy; not just for making brave and thoroughly entertaining theatre, but for life itself.

Made Up is at Soho Theatre until 21st April 2012. The Irish Giant at Southwark Playhouse from 23rd May 2012.


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Carmel Doohan

Carmel is an arts journalist and writer who lives in Hackney, London.

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