An evening at the rhythm of the Impro

In our series on the culture and discovery of young Belgian artists, we decided to take an interest in the theatre, especially the improvisation. For this, we followed, during one of their training session, the university team of improvisation of the Catholic University of Louvain-la-Neuve, which is composed of 11 members. The members of this team are, for the most part, members of the Improkot. Improkot, located in Louvain-la-Neuve, is a kot-to-project that brings together impassioned improvisers.

The coaching session, led by a moderator, begins with a round of the first names and a short individual heating (consisting of stretching). Then, the team members are in a circle to begin the warm-up exercises. These exercises are in the form of small games, such as sequences of words accompanied by mimes.

After the warm-up, the moderator gives some instructions for the rest of the session. Impro exercises can begin. Two members begin, the others are placed as an audience, with three members placed at the front. These three members represent the questions Who?, What? And Where?. Members of the public who must respond to the question “what” must begin their response by “this is the day where”. The members of the public can intervene during the impro, which lasts 1 minute 30.

Each member passes at least once and the moderator makes comments of the improvisation after each one.

Each improvisation requires a lot of concentration and requires not to think too much. Improvisers have to play the first idea that goes through their mind and if they have an idea, they have to apply it, but not expose it if they are in the audience.

After about 1 hour 30, the session moderator proposes to take a short break, just the time to get a little fresh air, before the impro session, this time, without an imposed subject. The activities are this time more focused on the relational, which is very important in improvisation.

At the end of the session, the moderator invites the members to be in a circle in the center of the room in order to debrief the session.