Good Luck, Barbara! – english improv longform in Berlin

to the german version

Good Luck, Barbara!
Good Luck, Barbara! Andrew, Noah, Tess und Josh (Foto: macro)

by macro (translation by Claudia Hoppe*)
BERLIN – Good Luck, Barbara! is the name of a five-person improv ensemble from Berlin. As of now, these guys are going to perform an improvised long form regulary in their native language, English. On 1st of May, I had the pleasure of meeting four of them for a short interview at a BBQ on Tempelhofer Feld.

Gathered around the microphone were Noah Telson and his brother Josh from Woodstock, New York, as well as Andrew Reid and Tess Degenstein from Canada. Noah, Josh, Andrew and Chris Rock (who was travelling that day) have performed regulary at ComedySportz Berlin for some time already. Tess, who was part of the IMPRO 2014 cast and as such, mesmerized the audience as an outstanding player, calls Bad Dog Repertory Players in Toronto her improv home.

DOWNLOAD (18.3 MB) **

Tailored Harold and Asscat

Good Luck, Barbara! im Schloss Neuschweinsteiger
Good Luck, Barbara! im Schloss Neuschweinsteiger (Foto: macro)

Good Luck, Barbara! are now playing every last Friday of the month in a bar in Neukölln called “Schloss Neuschweinsteiger”. In the first half, they play “Asscat 3000“, which was developed by UCB and which Noah and Josh often watched during their time in New York. The Asscat format is based on true monologues which serve as the inspiration for free scenes. The difference to the Armando is that each player can do monologues, as well as perform – a concept that serves a small group well.

The Harold follows in the second half. This is not the typical “Teaching Harold”, but an adapted form. This group uses a scene as an opening, then three times three scenes follow, without any group games in between. They do this to decrease the complexity of the form, because their audience often has little experience with that. And that’s good, because Del Close’s basic idea was that the form should always change. He only created that fixed structure in order to explain what he actually meant. Modern Harold variants are sometimes quite significantly altered, as this format is a living being, not a fixed set of rules. There should only be a general topic, which can be interpreted in different ways and which can influence everything else. These changes to the typical format also made it very easy for Tess to get on board, as she played her first show with Good Luck, Barbara! in April.

English improv in Berlin

An interesting topic in the interview was also performing in English. The main difference is the lack of cultural references. At the same time the players are actually observing and gathering typical Berlin or German behaviours. Even in this situation, incorporating them into the show is difficult, because the audience has not necessarily been living here for long. Nevertheless, they are also paying attention to using a clear and simple language, so that non-native speakers can follow just as easily. Tess mentioned that both of these factors lead to a slower and more physical play, which actually is a good thing. And I can conform that the show in April was not at all “Talking Heads”, but very nice to watch.

Conclusion: Berlin offers a wide bandwith when it comes to improv, and Good Luck, Barbara! is adding to that. Exciting, a definite recommendation.

Facebook Page for show dates and further info: https://www.facebook.com/GoodLuckBarbara


* Thanks for a corrections, Summer Banks.
** Unfortunately, the recording device switched itself off after the first half, so that you can only listen to a part of the interview.

macro
Follow