Zach Huddleston and Colleen Doyle are the newly appointed artistic directors of improv theater iO West, where it is their job to create a vision for their company.
What advice do you have for an actor looking to get into iO theater?
Colleen Doyle: Come and see some shows! All improv theaters are a little different, and seeing shows is a good first step to get a sense of what we do at iO. Become a fan of shows and players. Watching improv is imperative to understanding improv.
What kind of training should he or she undertake?
Zach Huddleston: Most people’s first exposure to our theater, after watching shows, is to take a Level 1 improv class. Our teachers are the best in the biz, and graduates of our program go on to do some amazing work onstage and onscreen. We also offer sketch and TV writing classes and a wide variety of improv electives, including a growing musical improv program run by our Musical Director Eric Schackne that we’re excited about.
What makes a good improviser?
ZH: Improv is all about collaboration, and the best improvisers are able to really open themselves up to true collaboration with their scene partners. You have to give up some of yourself to embrace what your partners are offering you, and that can be really difficult for beginners. CD: Good improvisers are great listeners, they’re excited about the infinite possibilities of improvising, they’re excited about other people’s ideas, and they embrace the inherent—and exciting—risk of failure that defines improv.
If you’ve never tried improv before but would like to start, what’s the first step you would take?
ZH: Go see a show. There’s a language that improvisers develop among themselves and the audience, and you have to be exposed to that to understand the art form and what it’s capable of. Watch shows until you’re truly inspired—and if you never get inspired, pick up basket weaving instead.
CD: Hit up a jam! Tuesday nights at 10:30 p.m. we host a jam for performers, students, and anyone interested in getting up and playing. There’s really no kind of preparation needed to start improvising, just bring a willingness to listen, play, and build something together.
How does an improviser find the right group?
ZH: I think you just feel it in your bones. When you watch the work being done onstage and talk to the other people in the community, you feel like you’re home. That’s how I felt when I started at iO West, and I think that’s how a lot of other people ended up being a part of our community. That, or it’s really close to where you live and you don’t have to find parking.
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