Improv warriors fight with love
Hilary Britton-Foster, Alyxandar Szasz-Nicholson and Amy Halliday are among the Ladysmith Secondary School students performing in Improvable X, which starts Nov. 12 at the high school.
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Ladysmith Secondary School improv students are ready to do battle — with love, and for love.
LSS students present Improvable X, the tenth annual improvisation show that is never the same twice.
Grade 12 student and improver Alyxandar Szasz-Nicholson said this year’s event has dancers, a band and hilarious improv.
And the whole thing is packaged with an improv warrior theme.
“It’s not really warrior,” said Hilary Britton-Foster, adding it’s a warrior that fights with love, for love.
She said the improv students can take anything and use it with love.
“There are people who fight for love.
“They are also warriors.”
“It makes perfect sense,” threw in Amy Halliday.
As it turns out, the improvers love to do improv — so they pack every scene with their love of it.
“The improv warrior is a motto that’s used to excite our improvers,” Szasz-Nicholson said.
Improv isn’t a show with a linear plot all scripted out and ready to go for the actors. Instead, the students have to put together a scene on the spot, sometimes with audience suggestions.
“They know it was completely organic,” Halliday said, noting the students use the skills they practice to put the scene together, much like a warrior practices for battle.
The actors can draw from their own life experiences to create the scene.
Britton-Foster said some part of a scene could have happened in any of the actors lives, or even all the actors lives.
Szasz-Nicholson said the trick to improv is making your teammates look good.
“You’re helping your friends look as awesome as they can be,” he noted.
The Improv team also has some friends helping it out during the performances. The improv band has written some songs around the warrior theme, and the school dance team is also performing.
Joining the students for the evening are some improv alumni as well.
The students are up for the challenge of creating on the spot. They’re even making it harder on themselves. The audience can write random thoughts on post it notes that the students will then collect and stick on themselves. For the last skit of the night, they use the words on the stickies in their lines.
“They’re totally random,” Britton-Foster said of the cues.
“The other improvers have to justify it,” Szasz-Nicholson said.
“It’s the funniest to watch,” Halliday added.
Improvable X runs Nov. 12 to 14 and 19-21. Dessert is at 6:30 p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $8 for students, and $10 for everyone else. Tickets are available at Salamander Books and the LSS office. There will be tickets at the door, but advance tickets are preferred because of food orders.
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