Austin Improv

I saw Impro Japan last weekend at CIF. It is definitely in my list of favorite shows of all time. Two of the dudes didn't really speak english at all, and the other two dudes and the lady spoke very limited english. They came out and did an English (mostly) show for the first time ever.... AND THEY KILLED. And it made my heart sing.
The amount of acceptance, playfulness, listening, reacting, patience, and relaxed confidence with which they played was staggering. At first I thought it might have been in spite of the fact that they were doing a show in a language they didn't really know, then I thought it might be BECAUSE of it, and now I've settled on the fact that it's just how they play. I caught up with them at the closing night party and they gave me a dvd of their show that I was at. I've seen it 3 or 4 times now. They are truly masters of the craft. Thank you, Impro Japan.

Ninjas

One of the best improv shows I ever saw was during Big Stinking-- a 3 person Japanese Troupe called Galacta Excite performed in the middle of the day on a makeshift stage at Maggie May's in a language they barely knew. It was amazing. They even played the alphabet game. Unforgettable.

smerlin wrote:One of the best improv shows I ever saw was during Big Stinking-- a 3 person Japanese Troupe called Galacta Excite performed in the middle of the day on a makeshift stage at Maggie May's in a language they barely knew. It was amazing. They even played the alphabet game. Unforgettable.

It was the SAME GROUP! MAYBE!

The members of Imp has been performing improv since 1995. Iri and Naomi performed in the Big Stinkin International Sketch and Improv Festival in Austin Texas

http://www.improjapan.co.jp/company/english/index.html

storytelling is universal and there's so much more to drama than the words you use. when i went to the bay area theatresports summer school in like 2001?, there were a few Japanese improvisers and they were excellent with the language barrier and everything. it was incredible to watch.

its easy for us to forget the joy and spontaneity that comes from the danger of performing on the edge of disaster, but when you barely speak the language and commit regardless, an audience will reward that.