[“Geeking
Out with…” is a series of interviews with well-known, highly experienced
improvisers. It’s a chance to talk about stuff that might interest hardcore,
improv dorkwads like me. The series can be found in full frontal geek out
version on My
Nephew is a Poodle and in pithier version on the Women
in Comedy Festival blog.]
To know Will Luera is to
love him. I’ve had several, “OMG, how much do we love Will???” conversations
recently. And a not-surprisingly equivalent number of people credit Will with
opening them up to the true joys of Really Good Improv. As comedian Zabeth Russell, who does the
two-person show Ay Diego with Will, told me in a
soon-to-be-posted Geeking Out with…
interview, “I don't think there's anyone from my time at IB who hasn't been
positively influenced by him.” And Women in Comedy Festival
co-producer Elyse Schuerman confessed
to me, “Will is definitely a huge influence on my style…that being my sexy Mexican
American look.” See what I mean, you guys? If you’ve read other
interviews in this series, you’ll know I’m not very good at hiding my
fandom, nor do I want to be. I’m a dork. Whatever. If you don’t like that I’m a
huge Will Luera fan, you can bite me right on my lady ass. As I’ve blubbered
embarrassingly to him on more than one (believe it or not, sober) occasion,
he’s been a ginormous influence on my development as an improviser. But enough
about me, let’s talk about Will.
Will Luera has been Artistic
Director of ImprovBoston and director
of and, until recently, performer in their acclaimed Mainstage show since 2000. Among
many other shows, Will directed Sitcom,
Blue Screen and Quest. In addition to his work at ImprovBoston,
Will founded his own improv theater, Blue Screen, and has worked with Improv Asylum, Theatre Tribe, and Another Country Productions. But
let’s have Will tell you all about it himself…
PAM VICTOR: I'm
always curious about how people found improv or how improv found them. I know
you grew up in Chicago. Were you exposed to improv as a kid?
WILL LUERA: Nope.
I grew up on the South-side, the non-improv side of Chicago. The north side of
a Chicago, where all of the improv theaters are, was a foreign concept to me growing
up until I went to high school. It wasn't until around my senior year in high school
that I even knew what improv was. Ironically, I wasn't truly exposed to improv
until I moved away from Chicago. I really learned about it at Boston College.
PAM: That's funny (and sort
of sad.) So when did you first do improv? In college?
WILL: Yep,
spring of 1993. The Committee for Creative Enactments.
PAM: What was that? A
program? Or a funny troupe name?
WILL: It
was a bad name for a really cool group. Basically, we performed murder
mysteries. The group would write two original murder mysteries per year. The
shows would be about 2-3 hours long and the audience would be immersed in a
show where about 40% of it was scripted and the rest was improvised. We would
take over a house for 2-3 hours, and we would perform scenes that were part of
the murder mystery. When we weren't in a scene, we would just be characters
interacting with the audience.
Although I didn't realize it at the time, some valuable
lessons were being taught to me that would become important to me later as an
improviser and then as an AD:
1.) Before it was hammered home by
Mick Napier, I learned to never drop my character's intention or goal;
2.) Narrative improvisation is
possible - This became a valuable lesson that later lead to the ton of showcase
shows we do at IB;
3.) Experiential theater - To this
day, I'm a big fan of theater that involves all senses of the audience and
allows them to immerse themselves in a totally different world for a couple of
hours.
PAM: Wow. That
is a truly unique introduction to improv. You win for most original response to
that question! So when did you start getting trained in improv comedy? Or did
you just start performing straight away?
.jpg) |
| Will Luera |
PAM: LOL! I'm
starting to get the feeling that most men go into theater and/or improv just to
get laid. (But that's a whole other article.) [For Will’s full story of how
love was the gateway drug to improvisation, see Pam’s blog, My Nephew is a Poodle.]
WILL: As
far as formal training is concerned, that happened after college. I found a
class being taught by ImprovBoston alum named Marjorie Burren.
PAM: And what was that
first class like for you? Was it an instant attraction to improv?
WILL: Oh
yeah. That first class was awesome...suddenly all of these improv games and
warm-ups I had been doing in college made sense. I started to get the idea that
these improv games weren't about competition or one-upping each other, but
about actually building something together. This was a big moment.
PAM: How did you get from
the first class to being Artistic Director of ImprovBoston?
WILL: Reflecting
back to your first question, in a weird way and for my own improv path, I think
I benefited from not being exposed to improv in Chicago. It allowed me to
develop my own ideas of what improv was and could be. These ideas developed
into a style of improv that I called "Blue
Screen."
All of this was happening while I was in college doing
improvised murder mysteries. I was already starting to formulate ideas for
doing full-length improv shows that could be anything...thus the name Blue Screen, although I think green
screen is more apropos these days. Anyway, this idea in my head of what improv
could be was just reinforced and strengthened as I took classes.
Then in October 1997, I was cast at ImprovBoston with Don Schuerman (whom I
went to BC with) and Amy
Rhodes (who is doing well out in LA.) As a performer at IB, every show and
rehearsal just continued to feed into my concept of Blue Screen. In the fall of 1998, I produced a show called Sitcom at IB which first introduced me
to the Harold (which fed into my Blue Screen
idea.) And then in the spring of 1999, I left ImprovBoston to rent a space in
Davis Square which I called "Blue Screen Productions." This created
quite a buzz around the very small Boston improv scene and a year and a half
later, on September 1, 2000, I was hired back at ImprovBoston as the Artistic
Director.
PAM: Explain Blue Screen, the style of improv, to me some more
please.
WILL: So
basically, I was seeing this show where any type of scene can happen anywhere
on the stage. All genres, all forms of stagecraft - the entire space was
available to you. As I formed it in my head, I had no idea what sweeps or
tagouts were, so scenes would just morph from one to the next using the
previous scene or your scene partner as inspiration. What I was crafting in my
head I would later recognize as "free-form." Later, all of my classes
and lessons would provide me with the tools to teach this style. Ultimately,
this idea is what became the IB Mainstage
show. The fact that we were nominated for an INNY [Improvisation
News awards] became a huge validation for me and for that young kid who was
thinking up these ideas 15 years ago.
PAM: That's amazing, Will….You
invented improv!
WILL: Haha!
PAM: And it totally explains
why you're such a talented teacher and player.
WILL: Awww...shucks.
Thanks. That path is what has led me to make ImprovBoston not a theater that
focuses on one school of improv, but one that embraces all of them. I think its important that we, as a comedy school and
theater, embrace and appreciate the teachings of Viola, Del, de Maat, Napier,
UCB, etc.
If we understand all of them, then we can try to reach for
something that unifies all of them. Of course, that's also my math/physics
brain talking.
PAM: True to form, you're
leading seamlessly into my next question: As the Artistic Director at IB,
what do you think defines ImprovBoston stylistically and philosophically? (We
will come back to your math/physics brain, I promise! That is another one of my
questions.)
WILL: I'll
begin by describing what I consider to be the main goal of our 601 class, the final
class of our improv core: Finding a form where there is no form. In my opinion,
again math/physics brain talking, the first move in a show can define the DNA
and characteristics of the rest of the show if you're truly in tune to what
that first move is doing. That first move will tell you what the show wants to
say, what it wants to be, what the style of it will be, what it will look like,
its pace, its length, etc. I can also apply the same philosophy to the start of
a scene, but for this discussion, I'll look at it on a show level.
That first move exists without judgment or context...as a
group, we observe it and act on it and then the laws and DNA of the show start
to reveal themselves, and then the form where there is no form starts to
appear. That for me is free-form at its purest level. In order to get there, we
teach our students to embrace short-form, the Harold, Viola [Spolin]'s theater
games, etc. Before you can understand Relativity, you need to understand Newtonian
laws, modern physics, mechanics, etc.
PAM: Hahahahaha!
Can you hear the sound of my brain exploding from there?
WILL: Oh
no! Your brain!
PAM: It's okay. I hardly use
it all. I'm all limbic system these days.
WILL: Okay,
I feel less guilty.
PAM: I have a theory that
pretty much every strong male improviser has some other major geek action going
on, which is somehow related to why they are good improvisers. I still haven't
figured out what the correlation is, but I'm working on it.
WILL: I
definitely think you're on to something there.
PAM: I know, right?
WILL: I'm
curious to know what your findings will be.
PAM: But it's not the case
with female improvisers, who usually are super smart but typically not in the
same intensely mathematical or scientific or superhero comic ways.
WILL: I
created my show Quest because when I
started to sit in on D&D games, I realized that the veil between both was
insanely thin.
PAM: Yeah, I suppose that
improv is just a staged role-playing game…Or D&D is just improv in a dark
room with greasy food and boys who haven't gotten laid yet.
WILL: Ha!
PAM: Ok, backing away from
brain-exploding theories and into the world of the practical. What are you
listening for when you're performing? I'm always interested in getting down to
the bare bones essentials for good improv. The seed of a great scene, I guess.
WILL: Well,
I'm sorry to say that my answer will tie back into theories, although not as
brain-exploding because I think it’s theory that we all accept: The building
block of any scene for me is emotion and how emotions relate to each other. Emotion
+ emotion = relationship. So, I'm listening for an emotion. How do you feel
about me or about what you're doing right now? Once I know that, I can calibrate
myself around that choice. And if I'm working with a novice, I try to
introduce a strong emotional choice into the scene for them that forces them to
respond.
PAM: Dude, we
are SO in tune with each other right I now I wish we were in stage. That is
totally my next question.
WILL: :-)
PAM: So...here's that thread
of questions I wrote on that point:
Pardon me if I have
told you this before, but you, kind sir, have been extremely instrumental in my
development as an improviser. Even though I don’t get to work with you nearly
often enough, the skills you have taught me have lasted years. So, first of
all, thank you, Will.
(I'm not just
flattering you or brown-nosing or whatever.
I actually have a strong belief system that relates to the importance of
expressing gratitude when given the opportunity.)
I know that different
teachers have different philosophies about what improvisers should use at their
go-to, whether it’s finding the game or establishing a firm character or
whatever. But, in my observation, you boil it down to relationship and emotion,
and that really resonates with me in my scene work. Can you talk about
relationship and emotion?
WILL: Thank
you, Pam!
PAM: Thank you, Will.
Ok, enough of this
sappy shit. Answer my question, bitch.
WILL: Yessssss.
Finally!
I really do feel that if you peel away all of the
fancy forms and improv buzz words, an audience is there to see a relationship
play itself out. An improv audience (for the most part) wants to see a
relationship that reveals interesting characteristics about some characters,
explores that revelation, and resolves it in a humorous way.
There are many variables that will make a scene fun and
funny: the physicality of our character, the voice, the mannerisms, the space-time
of the scene, our own experiences, etc. But before any of that, I like to have
actors who are comfortable making and committing to interesting emotional
choices.
There are your default-but-interesting emotional choices -
love/hate, love/love, hate/fear, happy/happy, happy/sad - but then there are
more interesting emotional contrasts, and I think that's where the real tension
(and comedy) lives.
And I try to remind my students: Relationship is what
happens between any two emotional states co-existing in the same space. The
mere fact that these two emotions are co-existing on a stage right now IS the
relationship. Now it’s our job to explore that, not justify it.
This whole idea came to me when I started to think of
characters on stage as objects in space with a gravitational pull. In physics,
we say that every particle in the universe has some sort of gravitation tug on
every other particle in the universe. I apply that same theory to the stage,
but the particles are people. Physics helped me conceptualize it, and I'll always
remember when Joe Bill
reinforced it with a similar concept in one of his workshops.
PAM: What was
that concept? (My guess is that it either has to do with neuropsychology...or
masturbation.)
WILL: I
remember he did an exercise where two people were on the stage and he said,
"Lights up. Lights down," so the scene was about 1/2 second long. I
remember him saying that the fact that they were onstage together automatically
gave them a relationship.
I was like, "Yes!" In the "universe"
that is the "stage" the mere fact that they’re onstage at the same
time already gives them a relationship.
…And then we all masturbated.
PAM: Hahahahahaha! (That was
a literal laugh out loud.)
WILL: I
think for me, it’s that I think of improv as theater. As soon as the
"curtain is up," you're on. You shouldn't be trying to find anything;
your scene is in motion.
That's why over time, I try to remove and improve stagecraft
shorthand moves that reveal the strings behind improv. The fewer taps, sweeps,
etc. you can do, the more it looks like theater. However, if it’s just a good,
old jam with a bunch of improvisers, I don't see anything wrong with using the
shorthand moves
WILL: Yeah,
I remember when we first thought of it. I liked it because it speaks to my
physics mind. I like exploring how one line can exist and be said in an
infinite number of ways and mean something different each time, even though it’s
the same words.
PAM: OMG, you are so f'n
geeky. I love it.
WILL: ;-)
PAM: What is your idea of a
PERFECT improv experience?
WILL: Hmmm...I'm
thinking back of my most memorable experiences over the years, but I have to
say that the show the IB Mainstage
did at last year’s Del Close
Marathon was the closest to perfection that I had ever been apart of. It
was a free-form set where scenes were folding on top of one another and
morphing in and out of different relationships and scenarios without a tapout,
tag, sweep, etc...and then, in the final minute, we completely unwrapped all of
those scenes and tied up multiple scenes in a matter of seconds. And the great
thing about that show, and why I love free-form, is because no one was ever
thinking about what had to happen next. We just explored and kept discovering
new awesome scenes together.
Also, a second answer to your question: I love when improv
is treated as theater by both the actors and audience. I'll never forget when I
directed in an improvised play series at IB, and at the end of the show we had the
audience crying because two characters kissed goodbye after realizing that they
would not be able to spend their lives together because they were stuck in
their current relationships.
PAM: Awesome.
I have to just add, for the record, that IB Mainstage is always off the hook at DCM, but I think the last couple years have
taken it to a whole new level. You guys are becoming one of the must-see shows.
WILL: Thank
you! Yeah, we love performing at DCM. I think it has to do with the audience. They
are so open to what we're doing.
PAM: Who are your improv
role models, the people whose methods continue to inspire you?
WILL: My
head was cracked in three phases - Todd Stashwick and Burn Manhattan, Joe Bill, and Mick Napier.
I find it amazing that I can call Joe and Mick friends. It's still amazing to
me.
 |
| Will and Don Schuerman |
PAM: You have
gotten to work with the big Mexican improv troupe, ImproTOP. Tell me about
that experience.
WILL: I
met them in 2006 at a festival in Puerto Rico. They are an amazing talented
group, and I'm proud to have them as friends. After I saw them perform I had to
get them to Boston and also introduce them to Jonathan Pitts of CIF
[Chicago Improv Festival]. I'm glad that they've done so well over there.
One of the important facts for me about their style is that
they were created outside of the American improv system. Many gringos think
that improv has to come from Second City, iO, UCB, etc., but they came from
outside of that and are kicking ass.
That's why I feel it’s important to always be in a position
to absorb new ideas and philosophies instead of cornering yourself into one
mindset. IB is like the UU of Comedy Schools. ;-)
PAM: Now you're speakin' my
hippie language. Ok. You can answer this one in one word if you want. Improv:
Art or craft?
WILL: Art.
PAM: This is my absolute last question. It comes from The Dorky
Pharmacist of FacebookLand.
Will Luera: Innie or
outie?
WILL: Way
innie...explanation:
Until 10 years ago I had a belly button, a cute one in fact.
Then, it started to balloon - like, literally, it looked and felt like a small
balloon - you push it and squeeze it and it would fill back. I was in Mexico
showing it to family and my uncle was like, “I think that's a hernia.”
Sure enough, I come back home, go to the doctor, and she
tells me that I have an umbilical hernia. Basically, it’s there because my
belly button wasn't tied up properly as a kid. So, I have to go under the knife,
so that they could fix it...and now my belly button is gone.
It's just a crevice.
It’s sad.
PAM: Oh no! You had a
bellybutton-ectomy?
WILL: Yup.
PAM: I'm sorry I'm laughing.
WILL: It’s
okay. It is funny
PAM: You're the virgin
birth!
You heard it here
first, ladies and gentlemen. Not only did Will invent improv, but he's the son
of God.
WILL: I'm
putting both of those things on my business card.
PAM: I think you should also put "It's just a crevice"
on your card too. Or it could be the name of your memoir.
WILL: Memoir,
definitely.
Pam Victor is the founding member of The Ha-Ha’s, and she producesThe Happier Valley Comedy Shows in Northampton, MA. Pam directs, produces and performs in the hot, new comic soap opera web series "Silent H, Deadly H". Pam also writes mostly humorous, mostly true essays and reviews of books, movies and tea on her blog,"My Nephew is a Poodle."
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| Will's future memoir? Artwork by Heather Dawson |
I LOVE it. Both of you. You're both the best.
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