A homemade recipe for an improv group
Our Sekki–100% Filipino, 100% immigrant, and 100% Oicker (making her 300% maths-challenged but hey-ho, she can make sentences with multi-syllabic words in them, wahoo!)–cobbles together a recipe based on her comedy improv troupe, the Oickers—and how the group works, including how it requires just that right splash of variety in its composition to hold each other up and carry on oicking all over the place.
First of all: where HAS the time gone???
It’s like we all blinked, and 2023 tiptoed quickly by, and is now halfway out the landing window, trying to sneak out for the night after curfew!
The Oickers have, since the halcyon days of intermediate improv classes at Liverpool Comedy Improv, turned 2 years old and have promptly lost track of just how much we’ve been oicking around in the Northwest of the UK (and further afield, recently).
Maybe it’s how much of a whirlwind real life got, making up for what happened in 2020, and maybe, as they say, as we all age, things just inevitably fly by. We like the last reason the best–that it has been such a wonderful thing just being able to be somewhere and be welcomed into a space of familiarity and joy–a place where creativity is expected not to be perfectly wrapped and polished, but always a study in development and support.
Life happens–and boy, has it happened big time within our ranks these past two years. There have been gains, losses, swift and sharp turns in the road for our members. That is to be expected–we come from different worlds and different environments, and one would expect that ages and ages ago the group would have simply faded away, were it not for that simple concoction of ingredients that has been a gossamer thread—simple, seemingly fragile but constant:
we know where to find each other, and we respect and value consistency without pressure. We have interesting adventures individually and openly share our time in different nooks and crannies of the craft of improv, and we feel free to do our own thing out in the bigger world, as well.
Our base has always been that Zoom room, online, easy to find, easy to leave for a bit. The improvising comes as and when we need, and we know where it will be: fortnightly, online, whether we end up chatting about life and tv shows or doing rounds of our favourite pun games or new games we learned in our solo adventures.
Our members hold sacred the idea of generosity and valuing each other’s space. Curiously, there is no written constitution (sort of like the centuries-long evolution and current way of the government of the UK), only an unshakeable degree of respect and consideration for all the members in the group.
Ingredients
1 dollop, Respect
Unlimited amounts to taste, Kindness
A constant dose throughout, Consideration
1 Zoom professional account
a variety of colourful shirts
1 website
1 Facebook account
A pinch (depending on mood), “I want to set life aside for 2 hours per fortnight and be with nice people”
Steps:
- Decide on an evening, fortnightly. Consistency and habits are the foundation of any group that has a name.
- Make the place accessible, reachable and low maintenance: Zoom (pro account). Acknowledge the Oicker who has considerately set this up. Every considerate gesture makes a group stronger.
- Be 100% aware when someone hasn’t had a chance of speaking up. Always make sure every single Oicker has a platform to speak on.
- Understand that life can take over. To any Oicker who has to take time off, remind them that they know exactly where they can find you: that one evening, fortnightly, low maintenance get together. In some instances, visit and make a lovely time of it—the hospital, the park, an improv event somewhere, pancakes, or both sometimes.
If you are thinking about a group of your own, we heartily recommend these ingredients, knowing that every group will be different, of course. The basic stuff outlined above changes shape with every unique personality that joins your ranks. May you find a circle of creative support, and may this recipe give you stuff to consider as you go on to build that space.
The Oickers 