Harold (improvisation)
Harold is a structure used in long-form improvisational theatre that is performed by improv troupes and teams across the world. In the Harold structure, characters and themes are introduced and then recur in a series of connected scenes.[1] It was first performed in California by The Committee in 1967.
History
[edit]The Committee, a San Francisco improv group, performed the first Harold in Concord, California, in 1967.[2] They were invited to a high school and decided to do their improvisations on the war in Vietnam. On the way home in a Volkswagen bus, they were discussing the performance, when one of them asked what they should call it. Allaudin (Bill) Mathieu (W.A. Mathieu) called out "Harold",[2] which was a joking reference to a line from A Hard Day's Night where a reporter asks George Harrison what he calls his haircut and he answers "Arthur".[3][1]e.
The 1994 book Truth in Comedy[4] describes a "training wheels Harold" as three acts (or "beats"), each with three scenes and a group segment. With each beat, the three scenes return. By the end of the piece, the three scenes have converged.
Modified Harolds
[edit]Some modern improv forms are Harolds with an added requirement. These include:
- Monoscene – Originally and occasionally still Harold set in one location
- Sybil – Harold performed by a solo performer
- The Bat – Harold performed in the dark
- The Armando – A Harold performed with a guest monologist telling true stories[5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Del Close". ImprovComedy.org. Archived from the original on February 23, 2001. Retrieved 2007-10-09.
- ^ a b Kim "Howard" Johnson (2008). The Funniest One in the Room: The Lives and Legends of Del Close. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978-1-55652-712-8.
- ^ George P. Garrett; O. B. Hardison, Jr.; Jane R. Gelfman, eds. (2013). Film Scripts (Book 4): A Hard Day's Night, The Best Man, Darling - Classic Screenplays. Applause Theatre and Cinema Books. p. Scene 39 (Ballroom - Press Conference). ISBN 978-1480342064.
- ^ Charna Halpern; Del Close; Kim Johnson (1994). Truth in Comedy. Meriwether Pub. ISBN 978-1-56608-003-3.
- ^ "iO Theater show". iO Theater.
Bibliography
[edit]- Fotis, Matt (2014). Long Form Improvisation and American Comedy: The Harold. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9781137376589.