LITTLE ROCK — Just as there are no fleas in a flea circus, nobody ropes any actual armadillos at an Armadillo Rodeo show.
Armadillo Rodeo is the name of a teen improvisational comedy troupe, which puts on shows every couple of months at the Public Theatre on Little Rock’s Center Street. The next is at 7 p.m. Sunday, Halloween night. Tickets are $8; call (501) 374-7529 (PLAY).
Onstage Sept. 24 for one of the troupe’s two most recent shows were Ira “Dramasaurus-Rex” Grace, Jalin Wesley, Emily Hill, Kate Edwards, Allie Vogler, George Elrod and Sarah Mowery.Former member Joel Ludford also showed up, ostensibly to play guitar for some musical segments but then getting in on the action as well. Emily Prigmore joined them onstage Sept. 25.
The troupe formed in the summer of 2007 under the guidance of accomplished improvisers Josh Rice andKatherine Campbell, then both members of the Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre and adult improvisation troupe ImprovLittleRock. The youth troupe is sort an offshoot of both - thenine members, who rotate in and out depending on their schedules, are all Children’s Theatre veterans.
Rice and Campbell have taken new jobs out of state, although Campbell is dueback in Little Rock, probably in December, so the youngsters have been operating so far this season without adult supervision.
“It’s our first time on our own,” Wesley says just before their Sept. 24 show at the Public.
“Josh Rice has really prepared us,” Elrod adds.
“We create sort of a group mind,” Mowery explains. “We know each other well enough to finish each other’s sentences.”
All but Mowery, who joined two years ago, have been with the troupe from the beginning. Four of the original troupe members graduated from high school last year; most of them have left the area and are no longer involved.
In the absence of mentors, the troupe members take turns stepping out of the show to watch and critique. They also take turns acting as master of ceremonies.
The master of ceremonies introduces the show and explains the premise. Most shows have a theme, whether they’re short-form - a series of skits tied to audience suggestions - or long-form, also known as the “Harold,” essentially an improvised play, also based on audience suggestions. And it’s the master of ceremonies’ job to step in and take control in the unlikely instance that an improvisational bit just isn’t working. At any time, a company member can step in and “cut” a bit, like cutting a movie take, stepping in and making the “cut” sign, a chopping motion with one arm.
The purpose of the shows is comedic, but it’s not just getting up there and telling jokes, Edwards says. There’s some rehearsal involved, to establish astructure and format - “We’re taught to make lists,” Grace explains, “but the rest is based on inspiration, made up on the spot.”
That can involve word association, Vogler says, or, in the case of the Sept. 24 show, music. The performance was based on three tiers, the first involving “songalogues,” monologues set to music, based on audience responses to a theme thrown out from the stage, followed by scenes based on them, and then improvisational games, some of them involving members of the audience invited onstage.
The performers admit that although they’ve never had a bad show, every once in a while something just plain doesn’t click.
“We just plow through,” Grace says. “And we improve as a group,” Wesley adds.
“We’re our own critics,” Mowery explains, adding that while they might not feel a bit was quite up to scratch, “the audience just knows what’s funny.”
“We’ve never had an unfunny show,” Grace says, but, Vogler adds, “Sometimes oneor two have left us unsatisfied. But audiences are very forgiving. If something isn’t working, we just cut it and move on.”
Family, Pages 31 on 10/27/2010