As recently reviewed by Skipper, ‘Shoot From The Hip’ perform exuberant improvised comedy every Tuesday at Covent Garden’s Top Secret Comedy Club. I strongly recommend taking a trip to watch the group in action as, with free entry, you’ll be hard pushed to find improv of such a high standard for so reasonable a price anywhere else!
The group actually comprises of 8 Royal Holloway graduates. Having studied a variety of subjects, including Drama, Media Arts and English; Bruce Asher, Ellen Gould, Sam Holmes, Danial Mahathir, Luke Manning, Josh Mills, Tom Mayo and Paul G Raymond began their collaboration at The Holloway Players (the university’s improv comedy society). Their success is predominantly due to the hours of rehearsals spent honing their skills, familiarising themselves with each individual’s performance style and providing each other with constructive criticism. So, although everything you’re seeing is spontaneous, the ability to produce coherent material on the spot is one that has been earned through meticulous studying of the art of improvisation.
If you happen to be interested in improvising yourself, but don’t have access to a society that facilitates the practise required, look out for workshops from the following practitioners:
http://www.improvworkshops.co.uk/ - Luisa Omielan trained and performed Improv in Chigaco, having graduated from Second City (known as the ‘University’ of Improv Schools). She now conducts regular workshops across the UK.
http://www.kevintomlinson.co.uk/ - Kevin Tomlinson (co-founder of Kepow Theatre Company) has received critical acclaim for his touring production ‘Seven Ages’, which he describes as “Whose Line Is It Anyway? meets Shakespeare”. He often conducts workshops in London for very affordable prices. Having worked with him myself, I can guarantee that you’ll have an incredibly enjoyable and valuable experience.
For more information about ‘Shoot From The Hip’, visit the pages below:
1 comment:
*cough* it's actually free *cough*...
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