Performing on the fly

ALLEGRA LEVY

Ever meet an actor who won't act? Vancouver is teeming with them. They're called improv artists. Aviva Levin is one of a 10-member team of such actors. She co-captains Tickle Me Pickle Improv, a place where the actors have no lines and they do only shows, never plays. They are one of several highly successful Vancouver-based improvisation troupes who can be seen on a regular basis for reliable laughs.

Levin, 22, has been with the group since she was 15 and said that the most important function the group performs has nothing to do with hilarity, it's all about Richmond.

"Improv has a community component," said Levin, "Tickle Me Pickle donates their time to community events whenever possible and being a recognizable name is very helpful. We are from Richmond and we identify with Richmond. We are sponsored by the city of Richmond." This group is dedicated to their hometown and Levin said they are trying their best to give back.

Shows have become such a monthly staple that it is not unusual to see Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie in the audience or enjoying the group's performance at community events, some of which have come to generate quite a buzz.

Among their community service endeavors, Pickle holds an annual fundraiser called Laughter is the Best Medicine. The show, held every April, donates all of its proceeds to a medical charity. Last year, it benefited the Richmond General Hospital and, this year, Pickle will be donating to Canuck Place, which provides a place to stay for families with children in B.C. Children's Hospital.

In addition to this longstanding tradition, Levin has taken a new cause under her own governance. Currently enrolled in the University of British Columbia faculty of education and hoping to teach in the Richmond School District, Levin has devised with her teammates a high school tournament-style competition.

"Right now we're still gauging interest and trying to figure out a fair and constructive system of judging," said Levin. "We want to help prepare kids for four or five days in their schools."

Although Pickle happily does shows for hire, improv is rarely a lucrative career choice. For Levin, the payoff is in the experience.

"Improv is humor. Humor is what gets everybody through something," said, Levin. "Improv also gives everyone a chance to be both a leader and a follower, and you become conscious of your own presentation."

As part of their community involvement goals, Pickle offers open drop-in practices where hopeful improvisers can come to hone their craft. And like in anything else, in improv, practise makes perfect, although Levin makes it clear that there is no such thing as a perfect improv show.

"Anything can happen!" she said.

Shows at the Richmond Cultural Centre are well attended and feature an interactive system of play that draws from audience suggestions and then improvises scenes about them. The shows are standard improv but, as with most theatre, it is the players that make it come alive.

Improv, although not technically a fine art, is a growing attraction in the theatre world. Founded in New York and made famous by TV offerings like Whose Line is it Anyways?, improv has become a mainstay of the teenage drama crowd and a favorite for evenings out. Venues like the Granville Island New Revue Stage house more mainstream improv offerings, such as the Vancouver TheatreSports League, a kind of grown-up extension of the Canadian Improv Games.

Over the past 10 years, Vancouver has quietly been growing a thriving community of improvisers, including an annual international improv festival which, this year, attracted some of the most highly rated groups from around the world. Featuring more than 40 shows, the festival allowed for many aspiring improvisers of all ages to get an idea of where improv can take them.

Allegra Levy is a Vancouver freelance writer.

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