Isaac Thomas stands frozen in front of an audience in Nelson’s Theatre Royal. But it isn’t fear that holds him statue-like.
A fellow actor, Jim, dashes in and takes up a position. He introduces an off-the-cuff line of dialogue and the scene sparks into action. Where it ends up is anyone’s guess. This is the mind-boggling world of improvised theatre. Isaac says he feels a “gut-wrenching” fear as he waits to enter from the wings.
Stepping out beneath the Theatre Royal’s ornate proscenium arch, he risks public humiliation in front of the hundreds of eyes watching and waiting for him to fail. Most of us would deem this the stuff of nightmares.
Yet Isaac takes this risk on a regular basis at Nelson’s improvised comedy show the Deep End. The secret to his success is the ability to turn moments of failure into opportunities for comedy.
During the final week of October Isaac will head to Wellington with his company, Body in Space, to perform at the National Improv Festival. Like his improvised performances, he doesn’t know what lies around the corner for him — one thing is for certain — the improviser’s philosophy holds important lessons for living.
This content was brought to you with funding support from New Zealand On Air.
