Your Improv Wedding

Today, I’m going to a wedding. My former co-candidate with whom I ran on a joint ticket for city council in 2023 is getting married. The two of us being in an election campaign was very much like a marriage (to the point that some people on the doorstep mistakenly thought we were a couple when we were canvassing). I’ve often heard people say “oh he’s my work husband” or similar, and in a recent Backline Podcast I heard Rob Norman describe being in a duo as being like being in a marriage.

I have been super lucky in the duos partners I’ve had. My earliest two person show was with Jenny Rowe, an incredibly acting and improvising talent. Her ability with characters taught me so much. We traveled together, did festivals together, shared rooms, competed at who could snore the loudest. So much of the time we spent together, knowing each other off stage, contributed to the work we did on stage. We had a lot of highs, a few profound lows (there’s one Edinburgh Fringe show we did that we’d sooner never think of ever again) and it has been way too long since we performed together!

With Katy Schutte I have another collaborator and friend who just seems way too good for me to be on stage with. Katy manages to have the most excellent technical improv brain which sees the scene in ways that I never can. I’ve learned so much about how a scene works through Katy, and yet it’s never clinical, it’s always filled with heart, humour and genuine attention to what is going on. Katy is also someone I’ve traveled to festivals with, socialised with, done non-improv projects with… again, we just have a shorthand now that makes going on stage something genuinely exciting.

Then there’s Liam Webber, who I’ve collaborated with more than any other human I think. Aside from running a festival together and all that goes with that, last month I officiated his wedding to his now-wife Kat. He describes our relationship at “80% bickering and 20% being other people on stage” which is definitely not that far off the mark, although there is a bit more to it than that. He’s seen me at my best, and my worst, and his ability to bring the right sprinkle of magic to any scene is hard to describe. Somehow, he just knows what the scene needs, and it appears from him effortlessly. He is insightful and kind but also incredibly wrong about the Star Wars prequels.

As much as I love being able to go on stage with anyone to create a scene - not least as it’s one of the great joys of improv… that ability to create with almost anyone, almost anywhere - the magic of two people improvising together who truly know and get one another is a very special kind of theatre. Yes, it requires training, yes you need improv skill, but there’s more to it than that. The chemistry that two people can have when they walk on stage as long-time collaborators and friends, is something that is earned through time. I think it’s one of the most valuable things I have gained from being an improviser. I couldn’t recommend it more.

The Robin Hood International Improv Festival is just two weeks away and I am both excited and overwhelmed (this is typical of every year). Festival passes and tickets are selling well, workshops are nearly sold out…. All the details are here. I’ll be performing with Katy Schutte and Sam Marshall during the festival in Brand New Musical - a Sondheim-inspired improvised musical. It’s on the Friday of the festival at 6pm, and I’d love to see you there if you can make it.

But now, I must dash. I have a wedding to get to.

Have a great week,

Lloydie