Consensual Improv brings ‘Consensual Christmas’ to TACAW

Throughout the aggravating vacation season, the crew at Carbondale-based Consensual Improv hopes you’re taking a minute to decelerate, take a breath, and, most significantly, snigger.

They’re right here to assist with that, with their first vacation present Saturday at TACAW: Consensual Improv — A Consensual Christmas.

Consensual Improv was based in 2016 and is at the moment comprised of 13 comedians and actors residing within the Roaring Fork Valley from totally different backgrounds. In line with their web site, “The group has been an everyday on the Aspen Chortle Competition and shared the invoice with Trevor Noah, Second Metropolis, and the late, nice Norm MacDonald.”

For the uninitiated, the artwork of improv (versus stand-up) is a type of dwell theater whose parts plot, character, dialogue, and scenes are all created within the second, typically based mostly on ideas from the viewers. It’s ruled by 5 guidelines: agree; say “sure, and …”; make statements; there aren’t any errors, solely alternatives; and be sure you play with individuals who have your again.

For Ryan Honey, government director of TACAW and a Consensual Improv member, these guidelines lengthen past his time on stage and into his day by day life.

“’Sure and …’ is the basic rule of improv, and so, for me, I attempt to ‘sure and’ each scenario that I’m in — in my household, in my work life, and my private life — and it truly is an effective way to method the world,” he mentioned. “I believe our world is received so many limitations and blocks and issues which might be stopping connections. So, residing in a ‘sure and’ state is wholesome for me.”

Troupe member Zoe Rom has different the explanation why she loves improv a lot. Calling herself “a delicate particular person,” she credit improv for serving to her let go of striving for perfection, which permits her to loosen up and have enjoyable in a means she usually struggles with.

“In improv, sensitivity turns into a superpower, I believe. Plenty of instances, that’s the place the humor and the comedy come from — permitting your self to embrace the wackiness that comes up from being a delicate, mistake-prone particular person and simply permitting issues to unfold,” she mentioned.

Historically, improv reveals are 100% made up within the second; however, for the troupe’s first Christmas-themed present, they did issues just a little in a different way.  

In line with Consensual Improv member and for TACAW Theater Operations Coordinator Jack Trembath: “With this one, we’ve been placing in just a little further time the place we’ve written just a few sketches, and we’ve been rehearsing these. So, there’s just a little extra rehearsal concerned in that sense, however we’ll additionally nonetheless be doing the normal improv.”

Rom confirmed there might be some jingle bell, vacation parts infused into the present, however that it’s a “approachable, festive, and enjoyable” method to rejoice the vacation with out it being too heavy-handed.

Honey, Rom, and Trembath have lengthy histories in efficiency, comedy, and improv of some kind and benefit from the alternative to proceed performing. However, what they most cherish is their group of mates and fellow performers. 

The troupe rehearses each Wednesday evening, and Honey mentioned it’s an essential time for him as a result of “we get collectively each week and stomach snigger for 2 hours straight,” including “it’s such a treasured time for me as a result of I really feel like laughter is turning into much less and fewer frequent in our world, and we’d like it, and improv does that for me.”