The Spontaneity Shop: Performance and training Improvisation company
Home > About > Q And A > Jonathan Pitts
- In 2003 The Spontaneity Shop were invited to perform at the Chicago Improvisation Festival. What is the CIF?
- The Chicago Improv Festival is produced by the Chicago Improv Foundation, a not-for-profit organization. In 2007, we will be celebrating the 10th annual Chicago Improv Festival. In the first nine years, we've been fortunate to be able to present improvisationally based acts and ensembles from all over the world, as well as highlight Chicago acts and ensembles to our audiences. We also bring in a fair amount of improv based comedy celebrities, many of whom got their start in Chicago. We have grown from having all our programming at 1 venue and showcasing 24 acts, and getting to where we have programming at 9 or 10 different venues and showcasing over 125 different acts and ensembles.
Every year we also have workshops during the festival for beginnners to professionals, as well as having unique events such as our Awards Night, the Super Cage Match Championships, 1 World on 1 Stage, and Improv All Night. In the last two years, we have also added on a college and high school component to the festival week.
In the last two years, since becoming an not-for-profit organization, we have also added on a thriving educational outreach program, several exciting new partnerships with Chicago area organizations, and a very prestigeous board of directors.
- What's your role in the CIF?
- I am the co-founder of the Chicago Improv Festival (with Frances Callier) and the Executive Director of the Chicago Improv Foundation.
- What was the inspiration behind it?
- Prior to CIF's debut in 1998, I had been producing, curating, and coordinating several other theatre arts-related festivals around the midwest. In the summer of 1997 while working on a children's theatre festival in Chicago I had the realization that while Chicago had (and still does has) a ton of different kinds of festivals, there had never been an improvisation comedy festival and that was amazing to me.
I found myself thinking with Chicago's long and vital history of modern improvisational theatre (Viola Spolin, Paul Sills, David Shepherd, The Compass, The Second City, Del Close, Improv Olympic, Martin de Matt, Mick Napier, Annoyance Theater) as a guidepost, this could be a really great festival, a world class festival, that would showcase the work as an art form, while expanding the audience base for both improvisational theatre and improv artists. My goal was to make CIF similar to the Newport Jazz Festival in terms of artistic importance and vibrancy, but much funnier.
- Why do you love improvisation?
- I love improvisation because I love creating. Improvisation showed me that it was okay to play. Improvisation taught me another language, another way of looking at things, and another way of experiencing life. My improvisational training transformed me into being an intuitive theatre artist.
- What's your favourite improv memory?
- The first time I successfully played to a huge audience of 750 people and making them laugh. It was electric.
- What's your favourite CIF memory?
- The night in 2003 when I gave a CIF Lifetime Achievement Award to former Second City musical director Fred Kaz (roughly 1964-'87). One of The Second City's classic casts (with Cheer's George Wendt & SNL alums Mary Gross & Tim Kazursinky) reunited just for the chance to perform again on-stage with Fred. After the show ended, several of the cast members and few other Second City alum spoke on-stage about Fred. We had a sold-out show of 950 people, and when I gave the award to Fred, the audience gave Fred a five minute long standing ovation. I was thrilled to be able to honor Fred and his lifetime's work.
Also on the main stage bill for that night was Auckland, New Zealand's The Improv Bandits. They had a great show on-stage, and then later backstage they said to me, "Hey, Jonathan, we just met 'Norm' from Cheers!" It was that kind of night. Great work on-stage, great energy off-stage, and tons of fun for the audience and the artists. Everything that night gave honor to both the art and the artists.
- What inspired you to invite The Spontaneity Shop to the Festival?
- I'd been bringing improv ensembles from other countries to CIF, and I knew there was a growing impro scene in London because of Keith Johnstone's work. I thought it would be a great treat to bring over London's best impro team. I asked around and the feedback I got was that The Spontaneity Shop was the ensemble to bring over.
- What did they add to the festival?
- The Spontaneity Shop added a wonderfully interactive theatrical take on Johnstone's narrative work through their unique, engaging and original show, "Dream Date". They brought two members of the audience up on-stage and they built their show around the process of dating. The Spontaneity Shop cast members ably demostrated both their impro chops and their theatrically trained talents.
- After the festival you visited London and taught some very successful workshops for The Shop. What was your London experience like?
- I loved being in London. I found myself wishing I could live there for a year or two. I really enjoyed the multi-culti international culture of London. I was thrilled to be able to teach two workshops for The Shop. It was a great treat to work with such smart and talented people. This was true for me with both The Spon Shop's students and The Spon Shop's wonderful company members. The only thing I didn't get to do there that I'd still like to do is perform on-stage there. Maybe sometime in the future.
- Do you see The Spontaneity Shop having a continuing relationship with CIF and if so how?
- I certainly look forward to continuing an ongoing relationship between CIF and The Spontaneity Shop. It is possible that we one day might get grants or sponsorships for us to co-create and tour a new show to both countries. If The Spon Shop hosts it's own festival, I'd be happy to bring a "Best of CIF" show or shows, or an ensemble of Chicago all-stars to the party. I can also see a wide range of possibilities. Esepcially now that Deborah Frances-White is an Artistic Associate with CIF.
- Recently you asked Spontaneity Shop Artistic Director Deborah Frances-White to be an Artistic Associate of the CIF. What is an Artistic Associate and what is Deborah's role?
- The CIF Artistic Associates are new addition to CIF. We now have 27 Artistic Associates from all over the world. Each Artistic Associate is a improv leader in their city/country. Once we get our new webiste up and going, the CIF Artistic Associates are going to be able to post on-line and share their work and ideas with each other, other improvisers, and improv fans. The Artistic Associates will also represent CIF to their various cities/countries; they will also be our eyes in the sky letting us know what is happening and going on in their neck of the woods. If they attend the festival, they will be able to give us feedback on the festival as an artistic whole. Their feedback, suggestions, and ideas will help assure the continued vitality of CIF's artistic excellence.
- What advice would you give a group or individual who would like to attend the CIF?
- It all depends on why you want to attend. If you want to perform, then please send us a submission and let us get to know who you are and what you do. If you want to learn, come take our weekend workshops, as you can register by signing up on-line. If you want to see some great work by the world's finest improvisers, then buy yourself a ticket, fly over and come see the shows.
- Why should every improviser make a pilgrimage to the CIF?
- Rightly or wrongly, we in Chicago tend to believe that Chicago is the birthplace of modern improvisational theatre. We certainly see Chicago as Improv Mecca, so a "pilgrimage" to CIF is what every improviserought to do at least once in their lives. :)
- When you look at anormal week of improv/sketch shows in Chicago, you'll see a scene that it is equal in range and size to most improv comedy festival's full schedules. When you add on to that everything that happens during CIF, especially our roster of brilliant acts and ensembles, there are many more reasons to come here than to stay there.
- As original "SNL" cast member Laraine Newman once said about CIF, afterperforming here in 2004, "It's the Olympics of improv!"
Plus we have deep-dish pizza, great blues clubs, very good public transportation, and fantastic downtown architecture.
- What's your maxim for improvisation?
- Listen and respond. Bring a brick and not a house. Remember that the golden rule of threes always, always, always works.
- What's your maxim for life?
- Follow your bliss. Life is about possiblities. In nature there are no straight lines.
- How many degrees of separation are you from Kevin Bacon?
- Two degrees. He did the movie "Planes, Trains & Automobiles" in 1987. Edie McClurg was also in that movie. In 2004 Edie McClurg performed at CIF with The Groundlings (Los Angeles' longest running improv/sketch troupe).
- And finally... would you rather accept an Oscar or wield a light saber?
- An Oscar.
But if I won an Oscar, I would wield it like a light saber.
