Diary Of A Festival

The Robin Hood International Improv Festival 2024

The Robin Hood International Improv Festival just ran from 4th - 8th September and I’ve been keeping short notes about key things I noticed while it was going on.

The festival is now in its third year but the idea was born while sitting in the bar at iO in Chicago with Liam Webber, my friend and collaborator. Stacey Smith, who was at iO at the time (now Boom Chicago) turned to me and Liam and said “so when are the two of you going to run a festival in Nottingham?”. When we returned from Chicago, Liam messaged me and said “so…about that festival”. Fast forward through a pandemic and the Robin Hood International Improv Festival debuted in September 2022.

The run up to each festival is an anxious time for me. Liam and I have always wanted to put together a festival that has the artists and participants in mind, and that also opens improv up to new people in Nottingham. Out of the three years we’ve done, this latest one seemed closest to that vision.

As people arrived, I got my first sense of excitement. On a personal level, there were returning friends. On a practical level, it meant we had once again provided an experience people wanted to actively engage in.

This year we had an opening night party… with a twist. Somehow we managed to keep it secret that the party would also include the renewal of marriage vows between two huge supporters of the festival - Joe and Kathy Rinaldi. They have been with us every year and made such incredible friends through the festival. When they were thinking of where they wanted to renew their vows, and they called me a month before the festival and asked if they could provide a party where it could happen.

Liam and I officiated the renewal of Joe and Kathy’s vows. There was a lot of happy crying all round.

There was a real variety of workshops this year; from physicality and how to use your body more on stage through to point of view and musical improv, I feel like we had something for any improviser looking to up their game.

As ever, so much of what makes a festival happened in between shows and workshops. People processing what they had experienced and comparing notes. The buzz of the theatre at festival time is always special. It’s that hum of people thinking and conversing about something that lights them up. I could feed off that energy for days, and I suspect that energy is what keeps people going more than the energy drinks and coffee that get consumed.

That energy was taken into this year’s panel session. I’m so glad we created a formal space for people to discuss what they do and so grateful we could have David Escobedo, who is doing a Phd in improv, to provide the academic space at our festival.

Living.Dying.Dead - pic: Rae Downling

This year we had shows that ranged from improvised musicals to a show about death. Living.Dying.Dead stopped us all in our tracks. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a show where people cry and hug each other afterwards. The show tries to promote an honest conversation about death and is incredibly powerful. Not once did it seem contrived or hammy, instead it felt honest, grounded, emotional and incredibly real. The light and shade within it kept us laughing, crying and thinking. I’m still thinking about it.

We also saw wonderful silliness on stage. Sexy Yoga Improv Boys showed how clowning is influencing improv and Somewhat Theatre gave us the most wonderful meta theatre show. I have laughed so much.

I can’t list every show right now, that’s not what this is about, but I have to mention our Saturday night headliner, Shamilton - the improvised hip hop musical. This is a show that reached beyond improvisers watching improv. It brought in people who had never seen improv before, it packed out our 260 seat theatre, and it won improv some new fans with its improvised musical about children’s TV character Postman Pat. One audience member, who had never seen improv before, wandered out of the theatre saying “that was incredible. I didn’t know that was possible”.

Shamilton - pic: Rae Downling

So what am I trying to say in this long ramble? I think I’m trying to say that sometimes the reward of doing something difficult is huge. Liam, myself and our passionate team of volunteers have created something way bigger than ourselves. We might have provided a spark for this, but the festival goes way beyond what we bring. I was cautious about committing to a fourth year. I feel like I still could do with an element of caution, however my mind can’t help but think about what we could do next. I might get some sleep first though.

If you came along this year, thank you. If you’ve read this far, then I’m guessing you really love people talking nonsense about improv. If you have friends who feel the same, feel free to forward this email to them.

Have a great week,

Lloydie