best places for short form?

C

Caylen

New Member
#1
#1
I have a confession to make, and I might as well come out with it my first post. I love doing short form. :eek: Call me a cheap circus pony doing parlor tricks, but short form is where my passion is, it plays to my strengths, and I absolutely love it. :p

That said, I live in DC, which has a pretty great long form scene, but the opportunities for practicing and performing short form are meager at best. It seems that CSz is the only game in town for regularly taking classes and performing in short form shows, and I want more.

Starting next year, I'll have the opportunity to go on travel/contract assignments for my 'day job', so I'm wondering--where are the best cities for immersing oneself in short-form improv? It seems like LA or Seattle could fit the bill, though it's hard to say since I've never actually lived in either place. Also, I took a course at SAK in Orlando last year and loved it, so I'm wondering what the improv scene is like there as well. (I wasn't there long enough to really get a feel for it...is there anything else going on in Orlando in addition to SAK?)

I know this forum is mostly for longform, so I apologize if this is out of place and/or annoying. :eek: But if anyone has any advice or info about any of the cities I mentioned, or suggestions for other places where there are lots of opportunities for doing short form, I'd really appreciate it. :)
 
M

mikelibrarian

Lost in the stacks.
#4
#4
If you go to LA look into the Groundlings. I'm pretty sure that the first two levels are short-form.

If you go to New York, look into Gotham City Improv and Chicago City Limits. If you want more info on short-form in NY, let me know.
 
G

goldfish boy

Otium cum dignitate
#6
#6
Another good NYC option is National Comedy Theater. It's also in San Diego.

Starting your own group is a good idea, too. Blow into town and blow everyone else away.

Short-form can be great.
 
D

DanAbrams

Never Wears Cargo Shorts
#7
#7
The Upfront Theater north of Seattle is Ryan Stiles theater and I believe short form centric (given where his fame comes from, I would hope so).
 
M

Mr. Stampede

www.jillbernard.com
#10
#10
You only have to hide it in New York, in the rest of the country people like things that are fun.

Vancouver's a hot spot for short form. Theatresports is mega strong there. I also vote Minneapolis but I am biased.

I second Jet City in Seattle and you could take short trips to Vancouver and Portland from there, so that's an upside.
 
burns1

burns1

218 still counting
#11
#11
England.

Up until about 5 years ago I had a hell of a time finding anything even resembling long-form. Things are much more evenly spread now, but if you ever end up here you'll have no problems.
 
G

goldfish boy

Otium cum dignitate
#12
#12
Mr. Stampede said:
You only have to hide it in New York, in the rest of the country people like things that are fun.
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You don't even have to hide it in New York. There are many people here happily doing short-form improv, to audiences that aren't just other improvisers, and sometimes even getting paid a little for it, while disregarding the sneers of the ignorant snobs.
 
Hawkins

Hawkins

Rogue
#13
#13
Comedysportz to me is always your best bet, because you can go just about anywhere and find a community of people who love doing it.

Philly has a darn good shortform community. L.A. has pockets (I'd recommend CSz, the other one L.A. Connection I can't recommend at all).
 
mullaney

mullaney

IRC Administrator
Staff member
#15
#15
The Comedy Sportz franchise in Chicago seems to be doing well. I've haven't seen a show there yet, but I've heard lots about them since I've been back.
 
H

high violet

New Member
#16
#16
I also think some people's aversion to short form is that, at its beginning and amateur levels, it often requires more investment and commitment to performance than an improviser at that age/level might be comfortable with. You can't really rock the crossed arms/hoodie look while you're playing freeze tag or "World's Worst"- you also need to enunciate and project loud enough for the real crowd of actual audience members who don't normally speak in mumble. BOOM. NY roasted.
 
Jesse P-S

Jesse P-S

Member
#17
#17
Caylen, just in case you didn't know, there is another great CSz two hours south of you in Richmond, Va. Its where I got my start. My friends from there also do hybrid comedy shows under the banner Richmond Comedy Coalition. You can check them out at http://rvacomedy.com They focus more on the longform, but they do CSz too, and do put on shortform bits in their shows sometimes.

As a former CSzer who now only does longform in NYC... I miss doing real shows for non-improvisers who paid to be entertained.
 
H

h0h0h0

Listening
#18
#18
goldfish boy said:
You don't even have to hide it in New York. There are many people here happily doing short-form improv, to audiences that aren't just other improvisers, and sometimes even getting paid a little for it, while disregarding the sneers of the ignorant snobs.
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Yes... it's true - you def have to disregard the sneers...
 
G

Gavin

Pleasantly Pudgy
#19
#19
I find this talk about long-form only being performed for other improvisors sort of insulting and belittling...

There are lots of great long form shows that draw good sized crowds that are not full of performers. When a group does long form at a consistently high level, they gain a following that's not just performers. I'm not saying there aren't a lot of shows that are done for audiences consisting of mostly improvisors (I have done a lot of these shows). I'm just saying that for where long form is at right now it's sort of an obviously silly statement. There's an audience for long form, you just have to be really, really good. Just like anything else. The only people who watch shitty bands are friends of that band and the other shitty bands playing. People camp out for good music though. If audiences aren't coming to your shows, I guarantee it's not the art-form's fault.

A) Is your show set up and run in a manner where an audience can see it on a consistent basis?
B) Is it really, really good?

As for short form, anything done well is done well. I've had fun watching really awesome short form. Given the choice, I prefer to watch awesome long form rather than awesome short form for the same reasons I admire a great movie more than I admire a great commercial or sketch. Given the choice between shitty long form and shitty short form, I'd rather be at home on my couch.

I've done some short-form and seen a good deal of it and I'd rather spend my time watching long form if I have the option. I'm not ignorant or a snob, I just have a preference.
 
H

high violet

New Member
#20
#20
Gavin said:
I find this talk about long-form only being performed for other improvisors sort of insulting and belittling...
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It's kind of true though, which you concede in your post.

Short form is built to be performed in front of audiences who are excited to toss out suggestions. Long form is built to be performed in student/blackbox shows as practice until the local theaters have Harold auditions.

I'm instigating and being sarcastic but seriously, short form forces you in a straight line to producing "real shows", because that's the only real way it can exist. Whereas, longform's own coolness and popularity allows you the option to spend a few years biding time with the "community" and booking practice group shows and you can spend a bunch of energy and time doing things that aren't "producing a show for actual strangers outside of the improv community".

Also, IMO, lots of longform classes and coaches teach you how to be on a Harold team and impress coaches and artistic directors, but sometimes they are a bit of touch and miss the original point of performing for actual strangers who aren't improv students, don't know the terminology or form, and just want to be entertained in an accessible yet engaging manner. Conversely, every short form class I've ever taken is almost entirely focused on pandering to the non-improv-savvy, casual audience.
 
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