It was a welcome return of “Tonight’s Top Story” on
Friday at the Komedia Studio Bar in Brighton for the Maydays. This is the improvised show where we ask the audience to tear articles from “The Argus”, which is our local paper. The articles are placed in a bucket on the stage, and at regular intervals, an article is drawn and read out. Then The Maydays act out scenes and songs inspired by the article. Last Friday was one of those joyful shows which hits its stride and just keeps that magical momentum and energy going, right through to the last song. It is that last song that has been the sticking point, the last sigh of so many improvised shows, whether The Maydays or anyone else. I have seen everything tried, in fact we once performed our improvised heavy metal thrash number about a handbag...well you’ve got to try these things! The final song of Tonight’s Top Story was a sad tale about a second-hand car trying to date another car, but being rejected for being old and used (and rear-ended too many times). It was a real pece of musical theatre as Jason Blackwater turned to the audience and began to plaintively mourn in song. The style was classical/musical theatre ballad, and it was a joy for me (the musician) to follow his twists and turns. One minute grief, the next a swelling joy, then remorse and hope. The chorus (“no one loves a second hand car” I think) came in behind Jason, but then he sang over it as the emotion could not be contained. It was a moving, funny and dramatic end to the show and justified our current thinking, which is that a show should end organically, not through a preordained structured song. But why should this last song prove to be so troublesome? I think that it is the pressure of wanting to leave the audience on a high. Trying to pull off some ridiculous, over the top showstopper is all very well until you find that there is no emotional content, no real connection with the scene just gone, or no real reason for singing in a high-energy style. I guess there is no way of telling where the cast, the scene, the audience will be when the show is coming to an end, so the safest bet is to play the song that best fits the mood at the time. And this is what happened on Friday. We never would have planned a plaintive classical lament to close the show, but it left us all with a feeling of completion and satisfaction, something that has too often been lacking. Keep an eye and an ear out for that moment near the end of an improvised show, when furtive glances as watches and forced eye contact begins to flicker across the stage. When scenes can end abruptly, and songs begin with no warning. When the energy levels can be artificially changed and silly songs rear their silly heads. As for us, no more use of this crowbar. Te show ends when the time runs out, and we have to leave you on a sad note, at least be reassured that it is a grounded, real sad note, and not just a preconception slapped on to the end.
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AuthorHeather Urquhart and Joe Samuel have over 15 years experience performing, teaching and writing about Musical Improv. Based in the UK they have facilitated workshops and graced stages around the world. Archives
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