Yale-NUS Improv performs at international festivals in Hanoi and Manila

The Yale-NUS Improv troupe took their show on the road and performed at two international improv festivals this year. While some students had previously performed at the Singapore Improv Festival 2022, the Hanoi and Manila stints were the first-ever international performances for most of the troupe. Our students had the invaluable opportunity to interact with, learn from, and perform alongside improvisers from across the world ranging from United States to the Philippines.

‘Improv’, short for improvisational theatre, is a form of live unscripted theatre where the performers create scenes spontaneously without any prior preparation. The dialogue, characters, story, and action are created collaboratively by the performers.

Their first stop was Hanoi for the Vietnam Improv Festival 2023 which was held from 11 May to 14 May 2023. Over 110 performers from 20 different troupes took part in Vietnam’s inaugural improv festival, with Yale-NUS Improv sharing the stage with them. “We learnt a lot of interesting games and new ways of doing improv from watching and playing with other troupes,” Ryan Yeo (Class of 2024) shared.

For their 25-minute show, the troupe performed a series of short form improv games in a similar style to their annual end-of-year performances at Yale-NUS. “I’m proud that some folks came up to us and said that they enjoyed our original games. Jonathan Pitts, a well-known improv coach, also said he liked our style of performance,” Ryan added.

Additionally, multiple improv workshops were led by experienced improvisers from around the world. Ryan took part in one called “How to Coach Improv” taught by Matt Folliott, a veteran improviser from Canada. “It was eye-opening to hear about new techniques of how to approach humour that were quite different from what we usually specialise in,” Ryan said. Back at the College, the troupe conducted rehearsals dedicated to members sharing what they had learnt from the various workshops.

Manisha Saigal (Class of 2024) reflected on the trip, “I really enjoyed interacting with the international improv community! We made a lot of friends whom I’ll be looking forward to seeing in future festivals. After the festival ended, a few of us met some improvisers from Vietnam and the Philippines, ate ice cream with them, and chatted for hours.”

The next stop on their Southeast Asia tour was the Philippines for the Manila Improv Festival 2023 that took place from 7 September to 10 September 2023. Manila hosted over 300 improvisers from over 15 countries, making it one of Asia’s biggest improv festivals.

“People recognised us and Yale-NUS Improv when we went to Manila. They remembered us as the young college improv troupe,” Sabrina Eng (Class of 2025) said. At the festival, the team also caught up with various Yale-NUS alumni who are either based in Manila or performing at the festival as part of external improv troupes.

On top of their performances, some participated in an international short form jam, in which participants from various improv troupes and countries collaborated to put on a show. “It was so exciting to be on stage with improvisers we had just met and work together despite our different backgrounds,” Manisha shared.

Reflecting on her experiences at both festivals, Sabrina enjoyed discovering how improv troupes create comedy in the context of the wider Southeast Asian region. “What interested me the most was the casual bilingualism thrown into the games, creating another layer of humour for speakers of both languages,” she shared.

Looking ahead, the troupe intends to experiment with new formats of improv that they have learnt during their time abroad. One example is the ‘Armando’, a long form, storytelling-style format in which scenes are inspired by monologues from audience members. Moreover, they intend to perform at more improv festivals to hone their craft and present their show to others.

“I’m proud to have the Yale-NUS legacy live on in the international improv community,” Ryan said.