‘Improvised Shakespeare’ opens at Des Moines’ Temple Theater Thursday

Impov and Shakespeare combine for a hilarious night of theater when the Improvised Shakespeare Company rolls into Des Moines for four performances April 28-30.

Founded in Chicago in 2005, The Improvised Shakespeare Company offers a unique theater experience with a play that unfolds on the spot all from an audience suggestion of a title. Mixed in each performance is the language and themes of William Shakespeare, and a lot of off-the-cuff comedy.

“We ask the audience for a title and from that first moment of inspiration we just build from there,” said Joey Bland, who has been with the Improvised Shakespeare Company for 10 years.

With a decade of performing improvised plays from audience suggestion, Bland said they’ve heard just about everything.

"From 'Romeo and Julio' to Chris Christie or someone yelling out parking garage it doesn't matter what they yell out," he said. "The first thing we hear clearly is the title of the play."
During the 2016 campaign, many suggestions have been linked to the candidates and other current events in the nation.

“Last six months we’ve had a lot of Donald Trump,” Bland said. “While we would do a Donald Trump play we now have to kindly decline because we’ve done so many that it wouldn’t hold up to our promise of performing a completely improvised play.”

Since the title of the play is based on an audience suggestion Bland said things can get interesting quickly. Some audience members come ready with several ideas hoping to get their idea selected from a spin on “Midnight Summers Dream” to “Hamlet.” At other times an audience is so shy the cast has to wait several minutes for someone to speak up. On the flip side, Bland said other audiences become competitive in hopes of getting their idea chosen and one man went so far as to bring a poster to hold up.

“The fun of it for me is the audience is constantly surprised and shocked that we can take a suggestion (and turn it into a play),” he said. “They don’t realize that what is surprising the audience is probably surprising us as well.”

The Improvised Shakespeare Company will be taking the stage at the Temple Theater at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and 5 and 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets start at $20 each and are available at DesMoinesPerformingArts.org, the Civic Center Ticket Office, all Ticketmaster locations or by phone at 800-745-3000.

Bland said he hopes people will come ready for a fun night of theater.

“It’s like playing when you are a kid but all the kids you are playing with are super smart,” said Bland of his fellow improve team. “It still feels fresh, new and fun and like it is the first time (stepping on stage).”