Katie Hill
Wellington’s Pāua Ballads are back off a sold-out Improv Fest show, and a Christmas special with High School: (The Improvised) Musical. Improvising veteran, Austin Harrison opens the show as a ruthlessly cheerful school principal, normally I’d anticipate some kind of audience-rousing activity, but it’s not necessary, this Tuesday night is crowd is warm, particularly a patch in the bottom right who whoop and holler before Harrison gets his second syllable in.
The concept is in the title, Wellington’s Pāua Ballads, are going back to the high school, albeit the more americanised version and despite Zac Efron’s heeds of warning, they will be breaking out into (improvised) song. Costume dictates various high school archetypes, as Harrison asks the audience for just two provocations. The opening night crowd will see the rise of the nerds, with a looming Bingo Fundraising tournament — high stakes stuff.
We’re treated in the first two minutes or so, to what seems like a somewhat pre-rehearsed show opener. It highlights what the Pāua Ballards do best, a ballad with a few prominent voices and some quirky improvised echoes by the chorus line.
The cast, and musician, Finn McKinlay are committed to the niche genre that is improvised musicals. I’ve seen a few fair improvised shows with musical segments, but to put a scene to song every few beats is another level of difficulty. Megan Connolly and Lydia Sainsbury make a nice pair of nerd best friends, with Sainsbury showing real competency with rhyme and pace in her musical offerings. And soon, Harrison and Lam add zing to the narrative with a 12-year long bingo rivalry. I enjoy Lam’s contributions, he bounces between deadpan and self-referential quips, bringing light and shade to the narrative.
There’s some great one-liners, in and out of song, and the audience’s laughter is sustained. Harrison has a good handle on pace, and shows the mark of an experienced improviser by slipping in a few meta jokes to keep the audience within arm’s reach. Bethany Miller has some impressive vocals, and Matt Hutton and Malcolm Morrison play a fun spectrum of low status. I’m having fun, and so are they – but there seems to be a communication issue with progressing the show. I’m not quite sure how the scenes are supposed to be cut, initially it seems like the power is in Lighting Operator D’woods’ hands, but the cast don’t take this as their cue and keep on singing. Most scene endings rely on each song reaching a crescendo, which takes a few verses and choruses to achieve – it disrupts the pace of the show, and has a few of the improvisers really driving home the meaning of a chorus. I could feel the players waiting on the side stage fighting the urge to jump on and keep the show moving, but this would have been hard to do without completely cutting another player. It certainly needs a work-around, but I’m not sure what the solution would be.
High School: (The Improvised) Musical is merriment! The Pāua Ballads are all likeable and have great chemistry. Their season has wrapped up, but if you’re looking to keep an eye on their next project, I’m sure I’d recommend it!
We’re treated in the first two minutes or so, to what seems like a somewhat pre-rehearsed show opener. It highlights what the Pāua Ballards do best, a ballad with a few prominent voices and some quirky improvised echoes by the chorus line.
The cast, and musician, Finn McKinlay are committed to the niche genre that is improvised musicals. I’ve seen a few fair improvised shows with musical segments, but to put a scene to song every few beats is another level of difficulty. Megan Connolly and Lydia Sainsbury make a nice pair of nerd best friends, with Sainsbury showing real competency with rhyme and pace in her musical offerings. And soon, Harrison and Lam add zing to the narrative with a 12-year long bingo rivalry. I enjoy Lam’s contributions, he bounces between deadpan and self-referential quips, bringing light and shade to the narrative.
There’s some great one-liners, in and out of song, and the audience’s laughter is sustained. Harrison has a good handle on pace, and shows the mark of an experienced improviser by slipping in a few meta jokes to keep the audience within arm’s reach. Bethany Miller has some impressive vocals, and Matt Hutton and Malcolm Morrison play a fun spectrum of low status. I’m having fun, and so are they – but there seems to be a communication issue with progressing the show. I’m not quite sure how the scenes are supposed to be cut, initially it seems like the power is in Lighting Operator D’woods’ hands, but the cast don’t take this as their cue and keep on singing. Most scene endings rely on each song reaching a crescendo, which takes a few verses and choruses to achieve – it disrupts the pace of the show, and has a few of the improvisers really driving home the meaning of a chorus. I could feel the players waiting on the side stage fighting the urge to jump on and keep the show moving, but this would have been hard to do without completely cutting another player. It certainly needs a work-around, but I’m not sure what the solution would be.
High School: (The Improvised) Musical is merriment! The Pāua Ballads are all likeable and have great chemistry. Their season has wrapped up, but if you’re looking to keep an eye on their next project, I’m sure I’d recommend it!