FST’s improv shows put the audience in the driver’s seat

FSW Improv cast members from “Sheer Madness” interact with the audience. COURTESY PHOTO

When audiences attend a theater performance, usually the show is scripted, directed and rehearsed.

Florida Studio Theater has been turning that traditional concept on its ear this summer with a series of improvisational shows. And audiences, though tenuous at first, seem to embrace it — some would say, love it.

“We just had a new show open up this summer called ‘Directors Cut,’ which was a totally new and different show for our audience,” said Will Luera, director of improvisation at Florida Studio Theatre, who will have been at the helm 10 years this November.

He didn’t want to use the word “skeptical” to describe audiences’ initial reaction, but he did confess it took them a little time to understand what was going on.

“It was the first time we had ever done the show, and there were a lot of questions, like, ‘What is this? This is different!’ By the end of the run, they absolutely loved it, and it was very well received — especially being the first time we did something like that.”

ABOVE: Kathryn Parks, Tayler Bungo, Christian Corpora, Sarah Durham and Joshua Thomason in “Treble in Paradise.” RIGHT: The FST Improv Festival audience. COURTESY PHOTO

Luera is responsible for directing productions, putting together curricula for classes, and performing in FST shows year-round. He enjoys putting together brand-new productions, conceptualizing them, teaching them to the cast and rehearsing with them, and then seeing the show come to life.

“Another fun part of it is teaching audiences about it because a lot of these improv shows can be new concepts for our audiences,” he explained. “It might be improv concepts they have never seen before.”

Rules of the game

Something different FST does is “Comedy Roulette,” which is a whole other style of improv they call “freeform” — a kind of a hybrid of all the improv styles mixed into one show.

“It’s probably the most fast-paced show that we do all year. We call it roulette because we have a roulette wheel that has 15 to 18 suggestions from the audience, and we use the wheel as much as we can throughout the show. At random points in the show, we spin the wheel and integrate whatever comes out,” Luera explained.

He then described an example of what goes down.

“We always start the show by asking the audience, ‘What’s something that brings you joy?’ People might say puppies … chocolate … wine … the beach … music, etc., and we will pick one word to get us started and then start the show. But then throughout the 90-minute show, we will go back to the roulette wheel to get more.”

The 2024 summer Improv season will close with one of FST’s lineups, “Comedy Lottery,” which leaves the improviser’s fate in the audience’s hands.

It’s what they call a “short form,” which includes shorter scenes that are about 3 to 5 minutes, with 10 shorter stories commencing a 90-minute show, Luera explained. It also includes a 10–15-minute intermission.

Inside those scenes are different games that are going to be played.

Sara Burns and Patrick Parhiala in “Big Bang Improv.”

“It’s one of the scariest shows that we do, kind of like ‘Comedy Roulette,’” he added. “It’s really unpredictable.”

Shows like “The End of the World” and “Fast Times at John Hughes High,” which were one-night-only performances earlier this summer, are known as “longform” shows, where audiences help piece together the story from the top and it’s only one story that lasts 90 minutes.

“With other shows like ‘End of the World,’ there’s a controllable element,” Luera said. “But with ‘Comedy Lottery,’ you have no idea where this show will go. Before the show even begins, we go to the audience, and we have a bucket of about 70 games, and we have to pick out about 12 games. And just the math of that alone … means every comedy show is unique.

“We don’t know what games are going to be coming out, or what the audience is going to pick, and so five minutes before showtime, with the audiences giving us the games, we have to quickly put together a lineup, we have to cast it, and then do a show — and we have about 5 minutes to do that.”

Stephanie Rae and Douglas Widick in “North Coast.”

The improvisation director explained that, with the other shows, there’s a strategy going into it, but with “Comedy Lottery,” it’s almost pure improvisation.

Starting with “yes”

“That kind of variety is important for our audiences,” Luera noted, adding that he thinks they really love it.

“We have a lot of regulars. They go there almost every single week, which is amazing. And we have regulars coming in every other week or every month, but I know they are enjoying the variety of shows.”

Luera explained that improvisation is about collaborating and supporting each other, while comedy is the byproduct.

“In fact, the first class of any program that we run, the first thing we do is — the No. 1 job is — to make the other person look good. That’s really important to us. I’ve been doing this for about 30 years, and when you think that way every single day, you can’t help but let it spill out into your everyday life.”

Tara DeFrancisco and Rance Rizzutto in “Here/ The (Improvised) Musical.”

So, how do they make the magic come alive on stage? What’s the improv guide or its mantra?

Improvisers follow the golden rule: to say “Yes, and?”

It means that if they hear any idea, there’s no judgment.

“We say, ‘Yes, and?’ and we accept your idea, and we build off of it. And even if I don’t think it’s the best idea, my job is to support it,” Luera said.

For improvisers, if you try to pre-plan something, it works against you, he added. All the improvisers can do is practice being in the moment and leave their minds open to an infinite number of responses from the audience.

Comedian Tina Fey once said, “Start with a yes and see where that takes you.”

“We’re very proud to have one of the premier improv theaters around — not only in Florida but in the country,” Luera said. “It’s a program we really try to thrive on professionalism and really good improvisation theater.”

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