Take six comedic actors, one standup bass player, a jazz drummer, a keyboardist and a guy on sax-throw them into a NYC art space, label them "FACE," and what'll you get? Well, I couldn't tell you.
FACE Improv is a 12-piece troupe that has been performing around NYC for the past eight months-their long-form improvised theatre is combined with free-form jazz for a show unprecedented by even the most avant-garde acts. The group's name is derived from both the mnemonic device used to identify the musical notes in the treble staff (paying homage to the group's musicians) and the primary tool for human expression, the face (paying homage to the group's actors).
FACE Improv's Jan. 18 performance at Galapagos Art Space in Williamsburg screamed of talent overload, with music, laughter and spontaneity pouring out the door of the tiny space. Their jokes ebbed and flowed sporadically, as the musicians embellished each minute of
the show with their equally theatrical and relevant jazz. The actors often collectively referred back to jokes made earlier in the show, which was impressive.
To even the most seasoned show-goer, FACE will throw the idea of improvisation into a new light. "People should want to come out and see the show because it's literally a play, a musical and a live jazz/rock show all at the same time!" said FACE actor Henry Kaiser. The jazz
accentuates the performance, with a quality of the musicianship that is definitely above average.
"I think what really sets FACE apart from other improv shows is its devotion to letting the band do its thing," Kaiser added. "In other words, we let the band lead most of the improv and go from there." Upright Citizens Brigade and other improv shows might now seem slightly bare in comparison, and I'm not sure that I would exactly trade FACE for a night at the Blue Note. It's the combination of both that makes the show so unique, and for five bucks it's pretty much just a sweet deal all around.
The idea for FACE came to founder Duncan Murdoch while he was performing with the Magnet Theatre, where actors improvised to popular songs during shows. "The combination of improv and movement was very exciting for both the performers and the audience," Murdoch said. "Then I thought, 'how would things go if the music was a live performance as well, with a band?'"
After proposing the idea to a group of music school graduates who had been performing regularly throughout NYC, the artists assembled under Murdoch's original director, and the group began to explore their new medium. "It was very raw, packed with potential energy," Murdoch said
Duncan explained that, at rehearsals, the group works predominantly on group mind and thinking exercises, allowing for the deeply ingrained sense of trust in FACE's spontaneous expression. The members are inspired by each other and the energies of the audience and the space.
I could describe the man picking invisible apples before the audience, the law school songs and artist gags, the suspender-clad actors intermittently transforming their bodies into ocean waves, the drunken wedding speeches, the appearance of a Satanic soul and his bug-eyed
father who flees to Broadway, but my details unfortunately won't do you much good. Although you won't see the exact performance that I witnessed last weekend, because nothing that FACE Improv puts together on the stage is ever pre-planned or repeated, you can count on an
equally ridiculous and
intimate show.
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