Improvisation is a form of theater which
challenges the performer and wows the audience with the performers’ abilities
to formulate a witty script on the spot. According to The World of Theater, this form of theater places more of an
emphasis on, “the improvisational creativity of the actor rather than…the playwright’s
written words for dialogue and dramatic action” (Filner and Orenstein 150). Bored Shorts TV is a group that was created in
Utah by brothers, “John, Brett, and Randy Roberts, plus Randy's former NYU
roommate Richard Sharrah and a whole slew of kids from the greater Provo area” who
put a twist on improvisation (Hoffberger, “Youtube- where fathers get praised
for acting like children”). This group uses
the hilarious talk of children as a script. They operate by giving either two
or three children a prompt. One such prompt would be, “teach [your] sister how
to do math” (BoredShortsTV.tv). The video is posted below.
The children are
recorded while they are responding to the prompt. The adults/parents of the
children then act out the scenario the children have just created. The adults’
voices cannot be heard, however. Instead, the recording is used as a voice over
to make it seem as though there are a bunch of grown men and women who are
speaking and acting like children. Due to the way children form their sentences
and phrase their words, this kind of improvisation thrives on “the spontaneity and
virtuosity of the actors as they interact in performance” (Filner and Orenstein
152). The actors, in this case, are children who are simply reacting to each
other while responding to the prompt. In
an article written for “The Daily Dot,” Chase Hoffberger quotes Brett Roberts
on how the children react to the acting. “They loved it. They have a good time.
It’s simple. They just tell a story” (Hoffberger, “Youtube- where fathers get
praised for acting like children”).
Even though I don’t like children, I
occasionally find their antics and speech impediments hysterical. This group
really puts to good use some of the best things that can come out of a child’s
mouth. I love the acting that the adults of Bored Shorts TV use in order to portray
the words of the children. This kind of
improvisation, in my opinion, is so natural since the children are not truly
performing for an audience, but are simply using their fantastic imaginations
in front of a camera.
A few of my favorite BoredShortsTV videos are posted below.
Citations:
Bored Shorts TV. Bored Shorts TV. n.d. Web. 4 March 2013.
BoredShortsTV. “Kid
Snippets: ‘Basketball Class.’” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 23
Jul. 2012.
Web. 4 March 2013.
BoredShortsTV. “Kid
Snippets: ‘Driver’s Ed.’” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 3 Dec.
2012.
Web. 4 March 2013.
BoredShortsTV. “Kid
Snippets: ‘Lunch.’” Online video clip. YouTube.
YouTube, 9 Jul. 2012.
Web. 4
March 2013.
BoredShortsTV. “Kid
Snippets: ‘Math Class.’”Online video clip. YouTube.
YouTube, 15 Oct.
2012.
Web. 4 March 2013.
BoredShortsTV. “Kid
Snippets: ‘Mean School Nurse.’” Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 7
Jan.
2013. Web. 4 March 2013.
Filner,
Mira, and Claudia Orenstein. The World of
Theater. Boston: Pearson, 2006. Print.
Hoffberger, Chase. “Youtube-
where fathers get praised for acting like children.” The Daily Dot,
Aug. 2012.
Web. 4 March 2013.
Rachel,
ReplyDeleteThis is hilarious and it does have an improvisational quality, when the children record their initial track... but the actual performers are needing to follow the script of the kids. Just something to consider, but it definitely follows the logic of some of the work that we saw from the ensemble groups in class. Also... technically this isn't "theatre." It isn't live, it is recorded. So, if I am going to be a stickler, this is something to consider. It is very, very clever, but not theatre.