#theoccupants

I'm re-posting this blog post to (shamelessly) promote my Occupants show this Thursday at the Shelton Theater in San Francisco at 8 pm as part of the SF Improv Collective. The Occupants perform a modified version of the Harold that focuses on stories unfolding within a building that the audience helps us build.

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I have been taking improv classes for about five years now, so I do not consider myself an expert. However, in my experience, the purest form of improv is the Harold. 

What is the Harold? No one seems to know. Or at least no one seems to agree on a definition. 

But I would describe it as free-form improv built around a theme that can include games, monologues, recurring stories, and the kitchen sink. It lasts longer than 20 minutes.

What I like best about performing in a Harold - and the reason that I think of it as “pure” improv - is that I always feel on the cliff’s edge. I have no idea what is going to happen next.