As many more people explore the field of comedy and consider taking it up as a career option, here is another chance for city folks to pause, unwind and relax from their daily routine as they let the world wait. A group of five — Richa Kapoor, Darius Sunawala — Tim Schultz, Abel Mathews, Saad Khan performed in the city to guffaws and laughter on Friday, and have other shows planned in the coming months as well. Having performed over a 100 shows in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sweden, the comedians left everyone in fits of laughter with their improv comedy. The next Improv Shows will be held on November 23 with stand-up comics Neeti Palta, Cyrus Sahukar, Danish Sait and Darius Sunawala promising more of the same comedy.
Saad Khan, the host, film maker and director of the Friday session of LOLs, says, “To be honest, I still don’t consider myself a comedian. I’d like to believe that I’m a filmmaker who has been learning and having fun as an Improv artist these past six years. I’ve been in awe of Ryan Stiles and Colin Mochrie who are reputed improvisers, and watching them make audiences laugh on the spot without any preparation inspired me to dive into Improv comedy.”
The show was an improv, where audiences gave suggestions to the hosts. Their involvement made the show fun, special, engaging and entertaining.
Delving deeper, he adds, “It is exciting! Travelling to different cities with Improv comedy is a rewarding experience. With The Improv, every show is new. Every show is different because there is never a script. Improvisers have to be on top of their game, because being funny and spontaneous at the same time is a craft that requires persistent practice. That to me is living life — persistent practice.”
Ever wondered how an artist comes up with that perfect script, to hit all the right chords and get a bunch of very different people set off on a laughter riot?
Well, here is a mystery solved, “writing a script is a combination of having a story structure in place, extensive research about the story/idea one wants to write, lots of patience, openness and sounding boards (people) who give you honest unadulterated feedback about your script. I have tried following this process every time I write a script.”
He signs off by giving a piece of advice to all the upcoming comedians. He says, “Please keep learning. Nobody can perfect comedy. Observe people, situations, and scenarios, watch a lot of content, and listen to podcasts, improve your delivery if you are a stand-up comedian and improve your thirst if you want to be an improv comedian.” The artist is currently working on his next feature film for KFI which will be announced soon and will also be directing a Hindi web series.
