troupe vs. team?

[Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell]

do you prefer calling a group of improvisors a "troupe" or a "team"? or do you think there's an essential difference between the two?

[trabka]

I use them pretty interchangeably (but more often using team if I'm talking to NY improviser friends since that seems to be the preferred nomenclature among them).

If I were to say there's a difference between the two (and I don't know that I necessarily would), I would say that the difference is the same as between deliberately choosing between using improvised theater or improvised comedy, which to me implies particular artistic goals.

[Roy Janik]

I don't think there's a difference, at least not in how people use the terms.

I prefer troupe, but that's just because it's the first term I heard/used. It does sound a little more theatrical to me, but if I'm being honest, they're pretty much the same and labels don't matter, man.

Actually, if I think about it, I prefer 'company', because it sounds extra pretentious. I like to use it in press material, especially stuff that's intended for a more general audience. "Parallelogramophonograph is a theatre company from Austin, TX that specializes in improvisation" or something like that.

[Roy Janik]

Also, we already had this discussion in 2006. Jeez.

[Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell]

Also, we already had this discussion in 2006. Jeez.

damn it...i was going to say "but i wasn't around for that," only to find i made one sarcastic non-contributing post. sigh...

(it was also funny to read Roy saying something like "at least that's what i've gleaned in my brief time in improv." good God, were we ever that young...?)

[Spots]

We're a theater tryst from Raleigh, North Carolina!



Agree with Roy this is one of those things you should be playful about. No right or wrong so why fret. Just know that you will be introduced incorrectly 800 times.

[PyroDan]

I prefer troupe, because I am a theater dude. When I here team I think of it being competitive and that is something I left behind when I quit playing sports.

[happywaffle]

I prefer "troupe" cause it's what everyone uses. If someone uses "team," I get the feeling they're the kind of person who will launch into a long pretentious lecture on why we shouldn't be using "troupe" because of reasons. And I run away real fast.

[jillybee72]

I use team when it's in print because I'm never actually confident I'm spelling the other one correctly.

Also I say group sometimes!

[happywaffle]

I use team when it's in print because I'm never actually confident I'm spelling the other one correctly.

Also I say group sometimes!

Side note, I just saw a reference to a Boy Scout troop and was like noooo, it's spelled troupe, err, no wait, "troop" is right.

[jillybee72]

See? This is my nightmare! Also, my first improv boss had an Improv Toupee and I don't want to relive those days.

[Deano]

I vote that any troupe with more than 4 members should be called a Gang.

[Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell]

I vote that any troupe with more than 4 members should be called a Gang.

stay golden, Pony Boy...

[Brad Hawkins]

Honestly, it was only when I started talking more to out-of-town imps that I even knew "team" was a thing, and it baffled me. "Team?" Like a basketball team? It just implies competition to me. "Troupe" is what you call a group of theatrical performers. It never occurred to me to use any other word.

[kbadr]

Team makes a lot more sense when you consider the fact that many "teams" are assembled and disbanded by the theater, assigned a coach, and have their rosters adjusted by a force external to the players on the team.