What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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MARCH 14-20, 2021 WHAT'S UP! 5 Making Up A Musical Improvisers invent never-before-seen Broadway show JOCELYN MURPHY NWA Democrat-Gazette F or two nights only, you can be among the first audiences to experience the next musical sensation to take the theater world by storm. It's a show no one's even seen yet — because the actors will make it up on the spot. "Broadway's Next Hit Musical" blends "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" with the Tony Awards as a troupe of master improvisers creates a new, completely improvised show each night. When audience members arrive, they are welcomed to the prestigious Phony Awards, where they are about to see performances of four Phony-nominated songs from four of Broadway's (fake) musicals this year. Each song is improvised based on a previously submitted audience suggestion, and the cast and talented piano player bring it to life in dramatic fashion. After the performances, and some fun moments with the emcee, the audience will vote on the nominees to choose the winner of the Phony Award for Best Song. In the show's second act, they'll see the winning song's whole "show." "So, if 'Mirror' from the musical 'Bedroom' won, in the second half, we would see the musical 'Bedroom.' But the crazy part is, at some point, we have to get back and sing that song 'Mirror,' again. And that's a fun challenge for an improviser," shares Rob Schiffmann, co-artistic director and a 20-year cast member. As a seasoned improviser, Schiffmann reveals that the process for pulling out the best material is more straightforward than people may think. Almost everyone has heard of the "yes, and" rule — a guide to improv where the receiver of the action does not disagree with the speaker's last action, even if it contradicts his own initial vision for the scene and, instead, builds on that action. But, Schiffmann reveals, no one on stage is trying to do anything that is inherently interesting. The best scenes come from a place where each performer is just trying to do something simple and predictable. "But what makes it fun is that we're all different people. So what's predictable to me might not be predictable to you. And suddenly, we hit these moments where we get to the unexpected simply because of our differences," he outlines. When a performer is just starting out in improv, "yes, and" can be a difficult rule to accept — it's hard to let go of one's expectations for the scene, Schiffmann says. Experience, and a solid trust within the group, though, will eventually change the outlook on "mistakes." There are no bad suggestions in improv, assures Rob Schiffmann, master improv performer and co-artistic director of "Broadway's Next Hit Musical." Schiffmann does have a tip, though: You can't go wrong by keeping things simple. "For myself, the more that the audience tries to be clever with the suggestion … it's almost like someone already gave you a punch line and now you've got to make a new joke out of it, which is a fun challenge. But what I love is the open, the exploration. So if someone just writes, 'there's a bird on my window sill,' that to me is gold because I can go anywhere with this. And you just discover what that means to you." (Courtesy Photo/Brian Hotaling Photography) FAYETTEVILLE FAQ 'Broadway's Next Hit Musical' WHEN — 7 p.m. March 18 & 19 WHERE — Walton Arts Center, 495 W. Dickson St. in Fayetteville COST — $25 INFO — 443-5600, waltonartscenter.org See Musical Page 6