VolumeOne.org Nov. 15, 2012 36

Amber Dernbach starts each rehearsal the same way. “I never start a rehearsal running games orjustdoingscenework,”Dernbachsaid.“Wealwayswarm up for about 30minutes tomusic. (There’s)not a lot of speaking, sometimesno speaking, justliterally feeling the music ‘til it’s in your core.It ends when everyone is physically connected.Everyone knows it so I just turn down the musicdownandjustgo.” It might seem a bit unorthodox to start anactualrehearsallikethis,butDernbachknowsthatit’scompletelyessentialforherteamofEauClaireMemorial High School improv performers to notonlyworktogether,buttothinktogether. “My priority is creating a group mind,” shesaid.“Thewaytodothatis(when)everybodytrulyloves eachother.Tome, it’s really important thatthere’strustandcaringforeachotheronstage.” It’s not brainwashing; it’s not meditation; it’simprov. And inorder todo itproperly,Dernbachsaidoneneedsaclearmind,andherrehearsalwarmupisawayofobtainingone. “It’sawayoflosingyourself,becausethere’ssomuchtoshed.”

Eau Claire’s burgeoning improv comedy scene is just that. It’s relatively young, active and starting to spark some major

traction under its tires. But it exists not as one thing, but several independent ones. You have BareBones Improv, an inde-pendent troupe in the community, maybe the most visible element of “professional” improv in Eau Claire. Then you have Eau Claire Memorial’s high school teams, who fill auditorium seats,

breed successful alumni and garner a pretty handsome reputation because of it. You have offshoots from BareBones, Memorial alums performing around the coun-try, even a team of theater kids from UW-Eau Claire. But they don’t blend, really — or they haven’t yet. Each piece will culminate Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, for the Eau Claire Improv Festival, the brainchild of Memorial improv coach Amber Dernbach, who also performs with BareBones. The idea is to oil the gears a little bit in the community machine and get a real, inclu-sive thing going. Because, you’ll find, improv isn’t about being restrictive in the slightest — it’s about coming together, being creative and making something really amazing with little more than bodies and voices.

A RISE IN IMPROV FROM ALL DIRECTIONS HAS FORMED ATRUE, HOMEGROWN SCENEIN THE CHIPPEWA VALLEY

TEXT:

PHOTOGRAPHY:

DESIGN:

ANDREA PAULSETH

ZACH OLIPHANT

BRIAN MOEN

ERIC CHRISTENSON

NICK MEYER

MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL TEAM

VolumeOne.org Nov. 15, 2012 37

It’salegitimatequestion. The easy answer is just to think “Whose Line IsItAnyway?”:funnypeopleonastagebeingfunnyandmakingupfunnydialogueastheygoalong. The more difficult (and more accurate) answertakesalotmoretime. In fact, it takes asmuch time as it does to read“Truth in Comedy,” a book written by two ChicagoimprovisersnamedDelCloseandCharnaHalpern in1994,whichpopularlygoesbythefondcolloquialism,“TheImprovBible”. Containing ancient improv clichés like the “Yes,and”rule(whereaneffectivecharactershouldeversay“no”andendthescene;instead,theyshouldagreeandofferupmore)andtherulethatstates,“Whenplayersworrythatasceneisn’tfunny,theymayresorttojokes.Thisusuallyguaranteesthescenewon’tbefunny.” The term improv comedy, then, serves as some-what of an oxymoron because it’s not about beingfunny. Seasoned performers like Dernbach will tellyouit’sabouttellingagoodstory,workingtogetherandconnectingwithnotonlyotherperformers,butwiththeaudienceaswell. It’sbecauseoftheideaofeveryonemakingevery-oneelsebetterthat“TruthinComedy”warnsagainsttryingtobefunny,orfunnierthaneveryoneelse. “Many actors don’t understand the differencebetweenajokeandalaugh,”itreads.“Ajokeisonlyoneway—andseldomthebestway—togetalaugh;jokescangetlaughsbut,obviously,laughsdon’talwaysresultfromjokes.” And earlier: “Where do the really best laughscome from?Terrific connectionsmade intellectually,orterrificrevelationsmadeemotionally.” So it’s certainly not easy to jump in and makeintellectual connections and emotional revelationsyourfirsttime. Memorial senior Lucas Tanner found thatout instantly when he quit playing hockey to joinDernbach’s improv team—andwith thatcamerigor-ous,stress-inducingtryouts. “Youreallyloseyourself,”Tannersaid.“Youloseyourpersonality,youshutoffeverything,youneedtobereallyaccepting.” Helearnedthatlastpartaboutbeingacceptingininteractingwithhisteammatesinacompletelydiffer-entwaythanhewouldwiththeoldhockeyteamhe’dgrownupwith. “Withimprov,thepeopleIwasmeetingweremoreopen-minded and more compatible with what I wasfeelingatthetime,”hesaid. IanJacoby,whoplayskeyboardswithBareBonesand Shambles occasionally, said that that brand ofacceptanceisabigpartofwhatimprovisallabout. “Theonlywayimprovworksisifeveryoneisreallyinclusiveandyou’renotdelineatedbetweenwhatyourrole is,”hesaid. “Thewholephilosophybehind it iseveryoneisneededthesameamount.” Improvgroupscanhaveaslittleastwomemberslike Shambles (Dernbach and Shane Leonard, bothBareBonesperformers),butsomegroupslikeUW-EauClaire’sBackwardsThinkersSocietyhave10-12mem-bersatanygivenshow. BackwardsThinkerJTStockssaidthat thereareadvantagestoboth,buthereallyenjoyshavingsomanypeopleparticipating. “Youhave a lot of different peoplewith a lot ofdifferentstrengthsandyougettoplayoffofalotofdif-ferentpeople,”hesaid.“Somepeoplesayyouhavetobesmarttodoimprov,butsomeofthebestpeopleI’veseendoingimprovaredumberthanaboxofrocks.” Theartofimprovvariesalotfromgrouptogroup,from scene to scene, and person to person but that’spartofwhatmakesitunique.You’renevergoingtogetthesamethingtwice.

Thereisn’tasuccinctwaytodefineimprov—mainlybecauseinaway,itdefinesitselfandcanvarymarkedly.Buttherearetwoformsofimprov:shortandlong. With short form, laughsareessential. Often youget them through taking audience suggestions andplayingshort,unrelatedgamesthathopefullyyieldbiglaughsasoftenaspossible. Butwithlongform,thenameofthegameisstory-telling.Longforminvolvesbuildingupcharactersandplot all through improvisation in longer scenes withtypicallymorecomplexity. “WhoseLineIsItAnyway?”isagoodexampleof

shortformimprov,butisoftencriticizedbylongformdie-hardsforbeinghacky,gimmickyandeasy. “There’snothingwrongwith short form improv,”said Jacoby, who said he used to be somewhat of a

longform snob.However, he does admit, “It is an artform and you’reworking in this boxwhere you haveyouproducerightaway.” Ben Richgruber, executive director of the StateTheater downtown and BareBones performer, didshortformimprovwithaComedySportsgroupoutofMadisonbeforemovingand teachinghereat theEauClaireRegionalArtsCenter. He said it was important to remain completelycreative and being a part ofBareBoneswas an idealoutlet,evenifitmeantpushingtheboundariesoftheformtocreatesomethingunique. AspartofBareBones,Richgrubersaidtheyincor-porated a ton of different elements into the improvstructurebyutilizingmultimediaanddifferentwaysofinspiringascene. For example, they’d type words into YouTube,watchthefirstvideothatcameupandusethatvideotomakeascenearound,ortheywoulduseWikipedia’sRandomArticlefeaturetoinferascene.Fromcrowd-sourcingsongstoplayinbetweenscenesandreferenc-inglocalfiguresandevents,BareBonesreallytriestostaycreative. “It’sallinhowyoutellit.Shortformisbuiltmoreforentertainment,forthepayoff,fortheaudience,forthe punchline. There are enough opportunities nowforpeopletowanttogetinvolvedandwe’vesortofhitthatcriticalmass,”Richgrubersaid. “Therearemoreoptionssomorepeopleareinterested.Youcanpullallsortsoflifelessonsfromit,butformeit’sjustfuntodo.”

EAU CLAIRE IMPROV AT A GLANCE

WHAT IS IMPROV?

Coached by Dernbach, bred many alumni that are performing improv professionally like Jacob Shuda and Jesse Woord

Shane Leonard, Amber Dernbach, Ian Jacoby; offshoot of BareBones

Currently: Tom Giffey, Ben Richgruber, John Shenk, Shane Leonard, Amber Dernbach

The monthly BareBones gig, meant to be open for new people and experimentation

Founded by Jake Shuda, related to Illocal Comedy, centralized in Chicago

UW-Eau Claire team of theater performers

EAU CLAIRE MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL TEAM

BAREBONES IMPROV

THE IMPROV LAB

THE BACKWARDS THINKERS SOCIETY

EAU CLAIRE IMPROV COMPANY

SHAMBLES

SHORT FORM VS. LONG FORM

The term improv comedy, then, serves as somewhat of an oxymoron because it’s not about being funny. Seasoned performers

like Dernbach will tell you it’s about tellinga good story, working together and

connecting with not only other performers,but with the audience as well.

BAREBONES AT THE STONES THROW

VolumeOne.org Nov. 15, 2012 38

FindingahomebaseforEauClaire’sconsistentlyexpandingscenehasn’tbeeneasy. “Itkindofisaproblem,”Richgrubersaid.“Thereareacoupleplacesthatareprettygood,andthereareacoupleplacesthatareonthevergeofbeingawesome,butit’shardtoputallofthattogether.” RichgrubersaidBareBonesperformedatSammy’sPizza on London Road and worked pretty well, butSammy’s has since scrapped their stage, so there’sbeenarotatingcastofvenuestryingtofitthemoldlikeTheStone’sThrowandtheHouseofRock. “WhenweweredoingshowsatTheStone’sThrow,itwasaprettydecentvenue for it,but soundwasanissue,” he said, for exam-ple. “For long form, theaudiencehastopayatten-tion,soyouneedasmallerroom.” Shambles performedat the House of Rock inOctober, which Dernbachsaid worked well enoughbypullingtablesovernearthestage forcabaret-styleseating,butit’sstillalargeroomtofillandimprovisgenerallymarkedly different than some of themetalbandsthevenueoccasionallyhosts. Shane Leonard performs with BareBonesand Shambles and also teaches improv along with

Richgruber for the Eau ClaireRegional Arts Center.HesaidhedefinitelyseesavenueissueinEauClaire. “Idon’tthinkthere’sanyonevenueinEauClairethat’s perfect for anything,” he said, but he said thatactuallymeans good things for the scene. “The factthatwe’vebeenchangingvenuesalothasbeenindica-tiveofustryingtogrowthesceneandtryingtofindthebestplacetohaveit.It’sapositivestruggle.” ButLeonardhasessentiallytakenthingsintohisownhands,whenhetransformedhisgarageonGilbertstreetintoanintimatevenueappropriatelycalledtheGilbertGarage. “Iwanted to have an all-ages, down-home venuethat has the atmosphere of a house show, but it wasmoreprofessionalandmoreorganizedthanacrummy

college house,” Leonardsaid. Leonard createdthespaceearlierthisyeartobeasortofcatch-allforimprov, music and evenart and has seen a lot ofpositives from it. It’s avery inclusive space: all-ages without drinkingrestrictions for of-agers,

intimacywithoutbeingcrampedandavarietyoftypesofperformances. Forthewinter,though,thecoldwillshutthedoorsof the Garage, but Dernbach said they’ll still haveshowsinherbasement.

IanJacobyofLaarkswasafanofimprovonalocallevelaswellaswidelyrenownedimproviserslikeBillMurray and the Upright Citizen’s Brigade before hestartedplayingmusicwiththeMemorialteamaswellasBareBonesandShambleshereinEauClaire. Buthehastobecarefulwhenheplayskeyboardsfor improv, because adding a layer of music adds awrinkletothewholeperformanceandcandrasticallychangeascene,intentionalornot. “Ilaybackalot.Ihavetheluxuryofwaitingandpickingmyspots,”Jacobysaid. “Oneofmystrengths

frombeinginbandsandstuffisI listentootherpeo-plesideasandthattranslatedreallywell.” Butmusicisn’talwaysdirectlyinvolvedinimprovperformances;italsoactsasitsownthing,apartfromit. Jacoby has been proactive about having perfor-mancesofbothwith theMemorial teamorShamblesplayingonthesamebillwithLaarks. Nottomentionmanyimprovfolksarealsomusicfolks,andviceversa. Jacoby switch-hits playing keyboards for severalimprovgroupswhilecaptainingLaarks.ShaneLeonardis an improv lynchpin, but also heads up Kalispell.Even Josh Ingersoll and Matt Haapala of The Heart

BUT WHERE CAN WE DO IT?

MUSIC AND IMPROV

“The fact that we’ve been changing venuesa lot has been indicative of us trying to grow the scene and trying to find the best place

to have it. It’s a positive struggle.”

Shane Leonard Shambles and BareBones

15 RULES FORDOING IMPROV

FROM “TRUTHIN COMEDY”

The world of improv can be extremely wide, but that doesn’t mean there

aren’t rules or guidelines.

So here are some things to keep in mind:

BE HONEST

DON’T GO FOR JOKES

THERE’S NOTHING FUNNIER THAN THE TRUTH

LET HUMOR ARISE OUT OF THE SITUATION

TAKE THE SCENE SERIOUSLY

RESPECT CHOICES MADE BY OTHERS

THERE ARE NO BAD IDEAS

THERE ARE NO MISTAKES — EVERYTHING IS JUSTIFIED

THE BEST WAY TO MAKE YOURSELFLOOK GOOD IS TO MAKE YOUR FELLOW PLAYERS LOOK GOOD

YES, AND — ACCEPT AND BUILD

MAKE ASSUMPTIONS — DON’T ASK QUESTIONS

LISTEN AND REMEMBER

AVOID PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS

KEEP IT SIMPLE — LESS IS MORE

REVEAL YOURSELF THROUGH YOUR CHARACTER

It’s not easy, but with these rules you’ll avoid flat jokes, disenfranchised audi-

ences, and annoyed teammates.

SHAMBLES AT THE GILBERT GARAGE

All of this will culminate in the first weekend ofDecember for the Eau Claire Improv Festival: venues,improvteams,styles,members,independentgroups,alum-ni,friends,workshops—allofit. In her nine years at Memorial, Dernbach has seenplenty of improv kids come and go, but something shefindsespeciallyrewardingaretheonesthatcontinuetodoimprovafterhighschool. “SomeofthemI’veknownsincetheywere14.Theystillloveit.That’samazing.Ilovethat,”shesaid. Soshe’snotshortonconnections. This was part of the inspiration forDernbach to start planning the festival in thefirst place. She’s kept good correspondencewithsomeimprovalumniandwillholda2-dayfestivalatdifferentvenuesalloverEauClairethatwillfeaturegroupsfromoutoftownandin. Forexample,herformerstudent,JacobShudaisnowworking forSecondCityoutofChicagoasamusicdirec-torandisreturningtoEauClaireforthefestival,bringingalongwithhimtwogroupsfromChicago,ChaosLifegaurdandPuppiesforDummies. EventhoughShudais,byallmeans,aprofessional,he said he’s excited to come back and be a part of thegrowingscene. “ThegrowthofimprovinEauClaireiswonderful,”Shudasaid.“Toseethescenethatfosteredmyskillsanddriveexpandisagreatfeeling.” Shuda’sfoundsuccessdoingimprovprofessionally,butinhistimehere,thespiritofthefestivalwasbeatingintheEauClaireImprovCompany,agrouphefoundedlastyearalongwith4otherimprovisersfrom4othercit-iestofocusonbringingmoreprofessionalimprovactsto

EauClaire. Notonlyisitaboutperforming,Shudasaid,butahugepartofwhatmakesimprovsospecial—andwhatwillmakereturningforthefestivalsoexciting—butreignitingsomeofthefriendshipsfosteredbyimprov. “Improvisamazinginthattherootoftheworkislisten-ing,accepting,andsupporting,”Shudasaid.“Participantsare actively focused on supporting one another, and thatleadsnotonlytoincrediblefeatsonstage,butgenerousandexcitingfriendships.”

Dernbach said one of the plannedeventsshe’smostexcitedforisanalumnishow,wherelotsofdifferentMemorialimprovalumswillshakeofftherustandperformtogether. “There are such tight bonds. There’ssuch a rich history with improv alumni fromMemorial,” she said. “Of course we’ll havesome rehearsing to do, but the vision is thatthere’ssomuchhang-outtimebuiltin.There’llbe so much energy and excitement from thealumni seeing each other, that will, in itself,

willcreateenergy.” Johnson said Dernbach has curated a culture ofimprovalumnithatisn’teasily—orevenpossibly—repli-cable. “She’s connected somany people and somany havegoneontodoreallygreatimprov. It’snot likethatotherplaces,” Johnsonsaid. “She’s tapped into something thatcouldn’tbetappedintoeverywhere,here.” Dernbach said thiswas the perfect time to organizesomething like this,now that the improvscene isgainingsomeserioustraction.ThisisanopportunetimeforsomeseriouslygoodimprovtohitEauClaire. “IfeellikeIhavetoseizethistime.TherearesomanypeoplethatIhavethegoodfortuneofbeingconnectedwithwhoarestilldoingimprov.Ican’texpresshowmuchthatmeanstome.”

200 Main Street, Eau Claire WI715-855-8280

www.tworiversclinic.com2riversclinic@att.com

most insurances acceptedIncluding Medicare

Paul Schlosser, M.D.Integrative MedicineMedical Acupuncture

VolumeOne.org Nov. 15, 2012 39

Pillsare formerMemorial improv-ers (saysDernbach,“onlyimprovkidswouldthinktoreadCraigslistMissedConnectionsonstage”). Soit’snotlikethetwoscenesaremutuallyexclu-sive,butLeonardsaidthereareadvantagestoboth. “Whenyouplayamusicshow,alotofthepeopletherearealso localmusiciansor significant others ofmusicians or buddies ofmusicians. So it’s great andthere’s an awesome scene, but it starts to feel claus-trophobictoperformtothesamepeopleoverandoveragain,”hesaid. “IlikeimprovbecauseitseemstobedrawingacrowdthatIneverseeatTheMousetrap.” JesseJohnsonwasonMemorial’simprovteamforthreeyearsandnowcoachestheB-team.Afanofboth,hesaidactivelycombiningthetwoissomewhatofano-brainer. “If you have improv that’s good andmusic that’sgood, you have something really special,” he said.“Improvshowshavealwaysbeenkindofanichethingfor people that really, really like it, in thewaymusicisaveryopenniche.ThereasontheEauClairemusicsceneissogoodisyouhaveabunchoffriendsthatwanttohavefun.(Youcan)treattheimprovscenethesameway.” JacobysaidDernbachhasbeenreallygoodaboutbothgettingthemusicsceneinvolvedwithimprov,butalsoinvolvingthetwoscenes,sidebyside. Dernbachsaidthetwoarecomparableinaway. “The music scene around here is so rich and ifyou’vebeenapartofitinanyway,youfeellikeyou’remissing out if you’renot here,”Dernbach said. “Andnowtheimprovscenehasjustbeengrowing(thatway).” ButforJohnson,it’slessabouttheactsthemselvesandmoreaboutthecommunitythatsupportsit. “Thethingsthatareamazingaboutimprovandthethings that I loveaboutEauClaireare really similar:Theopennessofthepeoplearoundhere,(theyare)non-exclusive,ambitious,excitingandfun,butsupportive,”hesaid.“It’swhatdefinesEauClaireingeneral.”

EAU CLAIRE IMPROV FESTIVAL

SEE THE FULLFESTIVAL

SCHEDULE FOR NOV. 30 - DEC. 1 ON

PAGE 3