Right before the opening night of their play, a writer and director realize that things aren’t exactly going as planned. Now We’re In It follows the pair as they try to save the show — but the lines between real life and theatre start to blur as the characters cross boundaries and are forced to decide how much they’re willing to sacrifice for excellence.
Now We’re In It, which will be performed at The Cultch’s Vancity Culture Lab on April 25 and 26, is an improvised play starring Madeleine Humeny, Ivy Padmos and UBC alum Thomas McLeod.
Humeny and Padmos are the co-founders of Espoused Productions. This is the company’s first independently produced show, but they’ve co-produced shows with other improv companies using a creative process similar to how Now We’re In It came to be.
“We do a brand-new format every single month, completely original, and we never, ever do it again,” said Humeny. “We always work with a thesis question. And the thesis for this particular show is ‘Building something requires faith that it will be something beautiful for at least one moment.’”
“I think there's a real hunger right now for improv that is out of the norm,” said Padmos. “What we like to do is experiment with improv as a form, and this is just another way to do that, by putting it in the context of a play.”
All three actors worked together to outline the format of the play, but are leaving most of the storyline to emerge organically from interacting with the audience. Not only is this production different from others Espoused has previously produced — each night of this play will be a completely unique experience.
“Other than some key given circumstances, nothing is pre-written. I think that offers a real, authentic voice to this show, since in real life, we don't have a script,” said director Diego Arciniega.
“It was critical we figured out what the improv elements were and how we can best incorporate the audience to create truly believable characters without defining them too much and taking away our players’ agency.”
McLeod places Now We’re In It at the intersection of long-form improv and traditional playwriting — the actors have rough outlines of the trajectory of the story, certain beats to hit and character archetypes they plan to incorporate, so the work isn’t entirely crafted on the spot. However, it’s up to the audience to flesh these characters out. At the top of the show, each character will ask a set of questions, to which the audience must respond with “yes” or “no” — these answers will guide the trajectory of the show.
“Preparation [for the play] is being honest with ourselves and with each other, and … removing the hesitation between being ourselves and telling the truth and serving the characters as best as possible,” said McLeod.
Humeny said that Arciniega wants his actors to have the “thinnest skin possible” and let themselves be shocked by things that may come up throughout the show.
“These roles are ephemeral … they're constantly changing,” said Padmos. “It's always a writer and a director, but they have different personality traits based off of what the audience will give us.”
McLeod plays the writer, and Padmos and Humeny share the role of director, so the actors are required to make adjustments on the fly.
“[Thomas] gets to work with both of us, which also creates a very, very different dynamic — a very different performance from Thomas, a different performance from Maddie and I,” Padmos said. “It's really lovely to have somebody else coming in and really challenging us to think differently, pay attention and match energy.”
Things could go wrong, and they probably will. The actors pointed out that while there’s value in seeing a piece of theatre that’s been carefully choreographed and set in stone, improv reflects the imperfect experience of being human.
“It does tap into our humanity a little bit,” said Humeny. “As beautiful as it is to see something pristine and polished … it's also so funny to watch somebody be totally lost and trying to get out of the weeds.”
Tickets for Now We’re In It are available here.
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