Cover image: Naturally Freaking Talented by improv group SABOsTAGE at Flipside 2022.

Don’t all actors follow a script? Well, in the world of improv, that’s never the case!

Improv, short for improvisation, is a form of theatre where actors make up lines of dialogue and scenes on the spot. In other words, it’s like fixing a plane as it’s flying. Sounds like a recipe for disaster? Improvisers would say, “Yes, and… bring it on!”

Using a single suggestion from the audience, actors develop short scenes or even hour-long shows with the help of a guiding principle, “Yes, and”. 

Actors accept offers and add new offers, building on the earlier ones that their scene partners have given them. This creates rich dialogue, complex characters and new worlds for improvisers to ‘play’ in.

There’s two types of improv, short form and long form. Although the former focuses on shorter scenes and the latter on longer ones, the driving force behind every scene is the actors’ abilities to create well-defined characters, relationships, plot objectives and a specific setting.

Improvisational theatre has also influenced cult-favourites like American sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm and TV show Whose Line Is It Anyway?. With no script, except for an outline or a one-word suggestion, the possibilities for character and plot development are endless!

Back in Singapore, the improv scene has grown steadily over the years, with groups like The Improv Company, New Kitten Party and Larks Improv Theatre (among many others!) bringing the joy of spontaneous storytelling to both young and old. 

Bringing Yes-and-ergy to new audiences

Can you perform a scene about a mismanaged TV studio, or even a police-department-based murder-mystery, without a script or a rehearsal?

As long as you follow the fun, you’re all set and ready to go!

Improvper Conduct has been delighting audiences since 2019 with their infectious energy, wildly theatrical elements and improvised scenes.

In this 2025 edition of Flipside, Improvper Conduct brings unscripted comedic chaos to Esplanade Concourse with Players’ Choice, a fully improvised show where seven game studios vie for the coveted prize of Game of the Century.

After five years of performing together, the troupe knows the secret to achieving improvised fun. With a strong understanding of who’s best for each role, members know when to lead or support each scene narratively. 

Supporting your scene partner, or in improv speak, ‘making your partner look good’, is what drives scenes forward and helps the team “end up with a story where every character serves a purpose.” 

The audience is king

“Without them (the audience), there is no play.”

That’s what Ross and Michelle from How Drama have said about the importance of audience engagement, and how it plays an integral role in the success of their performances.

In fact, their mainstay production, Fat Kids Are Harder To Kidnap, which was first staged at Flipside 2010, features 31 plays in an hour. What makes things even more interesting is that the audience has to choose the order of the plays.

The audience’s participation is critical in Table Read: One Square—when a demanding director decides that sound effects are absolutely necessary at a table read. Who knows what the audience will decide or what sounds they will make during their upcoming performance at Flipside 2025?

Not knowing what audiences will say gives any performer new variables to work with. While this can seem very chaotic, How Drama believes they have unlocked the secret to engaging audiences in a positive way. 

“We want the audience to feel like they have a stake in the production and we want them to engage with the performers, yet we don’t want to put them on the spot. So the key is for the audience to feel like they are working with the actors instead of against the actors throughout the show."

Going to an improv show for the first time? Be prepared to participate actively in creating scenes together with the actors on stage! Actors may ask the audience to suggest non-geographical locations or random words as inspiration for their scene. Sometimes, they invite audience members to share a story, and that becomes the source of comedy for whatever is to follow.  Above all, you’re in for a night of comedy and great storytelling.

From personal experience, I find that there’s a strange sort of beauty in any improvised scene. Not knowing what’s going to happen next means that you, the audience, will never see the same show twice. And it starts with a simple ”Yes, and!”