The Nursery Presents: A manifesto for online improv shows

16 Apr The Nursery Presents: A manifesto for online improv shows

This is one for the nurds, for the people who first identify as improvisers, those sunk too deep to let a bit of physical distance get in the way. This is one for the folks who always wanted to be part of a movement, a fauve, a surrealist or a futurist. This is a short post, but it took quite a bit of writing. Thanks for reading it. 

In April 2020, in response to the Covid-19 crisis and the explosion of online improv, the Nursery started to broadcast online improv shows. This is a manifesto for what we will be trying to do, explore and discover. It is not complete, final or necessarily a list of the right questions, but it’s a start. 

The Nursery Live – A manifesto for online improv shows

We Will:

1. Leverage the possibilities of online platforms to explore how connection and artistic aspiration can coexist at distance.
   
2. Examine the meaning and application of ‘here and now’ in a recordable medium. 
   
3. Use and adapt our existing skills, structures and taste, doing our best to be honest with ourselves and each other, neither discarding nor retaining anything for no reason. 
   
4. Build and nurture a diverse core group of improvisers and collaborate with other people from other theatres, countries and art forms. 
   
5. Publish, stream and share what we learn, experimenting and failing publicly.

Shows will be streamed live on Saturdays at 7pm UK time. See Nursery social media for weekly listings and details. 

Take care of yourselves folks, and thanks for reading.