Upclose with Improv All-Stars
Comedian Niki Lindgren is part of US troupe the Improv All-Stars. She talks to Natasha Stokes about how to make funny.
HK Magazine: So improv is spontaneous, but are there any guidelines for spontaneity?
Niki Lindgren: The only one is, always support your fellow actors and always say yes to whatever they create. There are no off-limits topics.
HK: Can you work hungover?
NL: No. Some people can drink and improvise, but even that is hard for me. At a bar, I’m the quiet person trying to socialize. Offstage, I have no idea how to start a conversation. There’s no way I could ever do standup.
HK: Are women less funny than men?
NL: Maybe we just don’t get as much publicity, but there are a lot of female comedians, funny as hell, and aggressive too. It’s partly the perception of the audience. And that feeds into what the bigwigs think – they’re not necessarily comedians and they don’t necessarily know what’s funny. It’s a society thing that will turn around eventually.
HK: How did you get into improv theater?
NL: I saw a sketch comedy show once, was instantly hooked and went on to study improv.
HK: Main lesson from improv school?
NL: Improv really forces you to live in the moment. It’s a wonderful philosophy for life.
HK: Have you dissected the essence of humor?
NL: Being unexpected is a part of it. But the humor industry is diverse – traditional fish-out-of-water stuff like sitcoms, The Office-style awkward social interaction, big characters in mundane worlds like with Christopher Guest... And blue humor is always funny. Though it’s so easy to get a laugh out of a fart joke, that’s the one thing we stay away from.