Review: ODDITY IMPROV at Mockingbird Theater

Welcome to the world of Improv! Improv or improvisational theater is a live performance of actors embodying various characters and creating scenarios and dialogue to frame an impromptu story. Often, suggestions for themes are incorporated from the audience. This gives the actors a wide birth to be skillfully quick-witted and play off each other’s cues in real time. The improv art form lends itself to the hilariously unpredictable and sometimes deeply moving interactive experience between cast members and the audience. Unlike a scripted play, improv allows the actor to be highly attuned to fellow castmates and the audience, reacting authentically to what's happening around them.

Attending a recent performance of Oddity Improv was nothing short of an exhilarating and laughter-filled evening. Out of fifteen Main Cast members, seven performed in this program, including founders Kelsey Cooke and Chris Guerra who acted, hosted, and kept a lively pace flowing. Brian Jones is particularly clever, engaging, and mischievous. From the moment the show began it was clear that this group of performers knew how to play off one another's strengths craft hilarious and unpredictable scenes out of seemingly ordinary audience suggestions. The cast bios alone read like the who’s who of stage, film, and television.

One of the night’s standouts was the use of the “switch” game where the performers are stopped mid-scene and have to suddenly switch characters when cued by the host. This showcased not only their comedic chops but also their impressive ability to think on their feet. The speed by which they adapt to new roles, accents, and entirely different personalities was nothing short of mind-boggling. What made the night particularly special was the ability to involve the audience without it feeling forced. During several stops, they invited audience members to shout out random words which they seamlessly integrated into the ongoing scenes maintaining a flow while keeping the audience part of the creative process. The cast’s energy was infectious and was easy to see how much they enjoyed surprising not only the audience but each other with their clever lines and unexpected scenarios

Overall Oddity delivered an impressive display of improvisational theater. Their ability to turn mundane audience suggestions into brilliant comedic gold and seamless teamwork made for a thoroughly entertaining and engaging show. If you're looking for a night of unexpected twists, belly laughs, and pure creativity, this troope is definitely worth seeing.

Founders Kelsey Cooke and Chris Guerra took some time to answer a few questions for our BroadwayWorld readers.

Give our followers some background on how Oddity Improv was founded.

We moved to Franklin for Burbank, CA two years ago and had seen for some time that comedy as an art form was suffering due to cheap laughs. We immediately knew we were supposed to do something in the community, that would bring professionals together right here in our backyard and set a new standard for talent in our area, to help bolster and build the growing filmmaking community. Because of our experience with improv in the past (Chris was an artistic director and main company member at the Groundlings, Kelsey trained at the Groundlings, UCB, and Second City), we wanted to create that opportunity for actors and performers here as well.

What is your company’s mission?

We are a joy-infused community that builds confidence, creativity, and teamwork. At Oddity Improv, our mission is to provide a diverse range of classes tailored to all skill levels, from beginners to seasoned performers. Through our carefully designed curriculum, we aim to nurture the development of comedic instincts, build unwavering confidence, and enhance quick thinking on one's feet.  Our overarching objective is to establish Oddity Improv as the foremost establishment in Tennessee for improv training, sketch comedy, and a boundless source of laughter and encouragement. Additionally, we aim to foster and strengthen the filmmaking community in the southeastern region of the United States.

What is your approach to improv? Do you follow any specific styles or philosophies?

There are a lot of schools-of-thought out there when it comes to teaching and performing improv. Audiences are used to what you see on the show “Whose Line is it Anyway?”, which focuses on the “game” and we have done a lot of games in our shows this first year because we are really training the community here in Williamson County, who by and large have never seen improv before. Some audience members we have found have never been to a comedy show ever before, so we are doing what audiences love and sprinkling in scenes, musical improv, and long-form improv as well. What sets us apart from the rest is that we focus on grounded performances, first. In addition, we focus on character creation and the art of bringing those characters to life.

How do you handle mistakes or when someone draws a blank on stage?

What’s great about improv is, that everything is a blank - we start with a blank canvas and don’t plan anything at all. There are no lines to memorize, and although for some that might make them nervous, many see that as freeing! You just show up as you are and get to play. We say “there are no mistakes” in improv, you take what you get and go with the flow. Second-guessing yourself and learning to not edit yourself too much is something that comes with practice, but its a good skill for everyone to learn. Improv grants you the permission to embrace failure, learn from it, and persevere toward success. It is an invaluable lifelong asset that empowers individuals and promotes creativity within our community. In our workshops and classes, our goal is to equip improvisers not only with performance skills but also with life skills and unwavering self-assurance.

Does the audience play a role in shaping your performances and if so, how?

They absolutely do! We ask for suggestions from the audience before a scene begins such as “Where do these two characters hang out?”, or “what are these people looking at?”. We even have a scene that requires actors to move their whole face in funny ways until the audience calls out “STOP!”, and the actors must create an entirely new character for the scene, based on how their facial expressions landed. Sometimes we ask audience members about their family and friends and try to recreate those people on stage for them in a scene, you just never know what we’ll do, but we love that this brings a special customization to each show. No show is ever the same and each audience gets their own individualized show based on their suggestions!

It’s been said that improv classes can help people build confidence. Please elaborate if you have found that to be true.

There are many studies that show how improv improves one's confidence, speaking, and social skills, it's really incredible. A study by Oracle found that 90% of people are likely to remember an ad if it’s funny, but only 18% of brands are using humor in their advertising. We do corporate events and training because companies have seen these benefits amongst their employees and seen how it is a team-building experience. Teambuilding through improv fosters effective communication boosts creativity, and cultivates a collaborative mindset, ultimately enhancing overall business performance. On a more personal note, it’s something we wish we had when we were a lot younger just to get out of our skin. We have seen the power of improv in our own family as it has helped our ten-year-old daughter handle her anxiety and build confidence. We’ve seen kids and teens who have said they “found their people” after taking youth classes, and within our adult training program, we have a student who almost left Nashville because he wasn’t finding connection locally, found the sense of community he was seeking through an improv class.

As an employee of BrightStone, I’ve enjoyed seeing you teach classes and interact with our special needs adults on stage. How did you get involved with people with special needs and what is your approach to training and encouraging their performances?

Since we started offering public classes we have been approached by several parents of special needs kids and adults, asking if we would provide training or accept their students into our current classes, and we of course we worked immediately to make that happen. There have been several students who we accommodated in our regular classes with teachers trained to integrate those with special needs, and we have partnered with amazing organizations like Backlight Productions, where we did a recent Comedy Club show at Williamson County Performing Arts Center, and of course at BrightStone where we trained participants to open their recent fundraiser at the Fisher Center with Nate Bargatze! We hope to bring more training to BrightStone in the spring, and partner on much more in the future.  The special needs community holds a very special place in our hearts, as we ourselves have a child with neurodivergent challenges, we understand the need for programs that focus on integration and comedy is the perfect outlet for helping these individuals gain confidence and experience so much joy!

What is on the horizon for Oddity Improv? 

We have just announced our Main Cast of players which will be rotating performances weekly, and our holiday shows have been known to sell out very quickly! We bring in occasional special guests and guest performers, who bring an element of fun to the stage.  We are currently looking for a more permanent home for Oddity in Franklin, where we can both train students and provide weekly performances as well as student showcases. Our long-term vision is to create a wide range of shows for the community, including a sketch show much like a local version of Saturday Night Live. We also hope to host a yearly comedy film festival, and so much more. Our vision is big, but we definitely need help from the community to make it happen.

For more information visit www.oddityimprov.com

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