FIG 大：Level Up!

In an effort to continue growing the Taipei improv community, as well as providing more challenges for dedicated improv talent, members of Formosa Improv Group 福爾摩沙即興組合 (FIG) are wrapping up the third round of “FIG大”. FIG大 is the name the group gives to their intermediate level workshops offered to up and coming improvisers who have been devoted and active participants of the foundational improv community workshops that FIG continues to sustain and grow over time. This piece gives some of the background of how FIG大came to be and provides some perspective from some of FIG大‘s various facilitators and participants in anticipation for the next showcase on May 1st at Two Three Comedy.

Although called the “Level 2 Workshops” at the time of their inception, the first iteration of FIG大began in preparation for FIG’s one year anniversary show with the workshops culminating in a featured showcase at Social Innovation Lab in August of 2019. Pictured here is the first group in a practice session led by FIG members Miranda Wang 王敏儒 and Jeffrey Schwab.

FIG大 Before FIG大

Besides the performance group itself, the backbone of FIG’s existence has always rested upon the support of the Taipei community. One of the primary ways to give and receive this support is through the open improv workshops held every Monday from 7–9pm at Two Three Comedy. From its inception, FIG has continued to provide workshop participants with a robust and evolving curriculum of foundational improv learning that helps bring different members of the community together, provides new and seasoned improvisers with the tools to create collaborative scenes on stage, as well being an excellent space to promote events or shows spearheaded by FIG or Two Three Comedy. FIG大is the next step in these workshops for those members of the improv community who have shown that they are ready to dig a little deeper into improv, as well as giving them a chance to share the stage.

Monday open workshops are more of an introduction to improv, in which we rotate topics/themes every week and tend to focus more on group exercises. The open workshops are designed to allow people who’ve never tried improv to “test the waters”, so they don’t feel overwhelmed during their first try. Our workshops don’t require participants to have any previous improv experience, they just need to bring on that “yes, and” spirit. — FIG Finance Director, performer, and current FIG大 co-leader, Diana Liu

As a purely voluntary group, FIG has a healthy tradition of equal distribution of group responsibilities. In addition to a rotating roster of leaders for the foundational workshops held each Monday, each iteration of FIG大 has been led by a different pair of improvisers from the group. Seen here from left to right are Diana Liu and Andrei Veja, the leaders of the current and third version of FIG大.

In FIG大, we design intensive and continuous workshops with a smaller group. Thus, we will have ample opportunity to offer feedback to each participant. Also, we would invite participants to join FIG’s monthly show on stage. Being on stage with a trustworthy performing troupe is the most effective way for young improvisors to learn and take risk in a low-stakes scenario. — Miranda Wang 王敏儒 ，FIG performer and co-leader of the first FIG大

Teaser for FIG’s May 1st show, featuring current members of FIG大。“Fig大比較深入，會有指導；和同一群人一次次的練習，也會比每週一遇到不同的人放的開. 相信自己做得到，相信夥伴會支持我.” — current participant of FIG大，Annie Liu

Every step forward starts with the first step. The original incarnation of FIG’s intensive workshops before they were officially called “FIG大” began back in the summer of 2019 as members of the performance group looked ahead to the anniversary show which takes place each August and has become FIG’s most highly anticipated and attended event. In addition to inviting Taichung’s “Skits and Giggles” English performance group to join the show, FIG wanted to give longtime members of the community workshop a chance to shine on stage and showcase their continued efforts at improving their improv skills. While the Monday workshops provide a foot in the door for improvisers, as well as a comfortable safe space, in order to truly grow and develop group mind, there needed to be a dedicated and focused space with consistent members. That’s where FIG大 came in as an invitation only group with fixed member who could build chemistry as they learned together throughout the course.

The first FIG大 group who called themselves “A~~~” used the platform of FIG’s 1st anniversary to showcase their talent. “I learned that different sides can come out in people between the open workshops and in FIG大. When people are given that close-knit environment, they make different choices in scenes and take greater risks, which is always a pleasant surprise.” — FIG Venue Director, performer and current co-leader of FIG 大, Andrei Veja

FIG大 allows participants with more of an interest in performing to learn and practice the skills required for stage performance, and the more consistent attendance requirements give groups of people a chance to build trust and develop a group mind with each other, while hopefully giving them the momentum to continue practicing and seeking performance opportunities after the initial class and showcase is complete, if they decide to do so. — FIG Venue Director, performer and current co-leader of FIG大, Andrei Veja

FIG大 is Born

The first and most important tenet of improv is the concept of “yes, and…” or accepting the situation/idea, and then building on that situation/idea to create a narrative with momentum. After the success and positive reception of the first incarnation of the intensive workshops, there was a drive to build on this momentum and try a round two of intermediate level workshops. Rather than calling the workshops “intensive” or “level 2,” FIG member and co-leader of the 2nd round of FIG大 coined the term “FIG大,” emphasising the learning curve from the foundational Monday workshops to the higher level focus of FIG大.

Current FIG performer and co-leader of the 2nd round of FIG大，Liam Fanning, explains the origin of FIG 大. “When writing the curriculum for the course, I anticipated very different learning outcomes. But when we started practice the participants really brought a lot of themselves, and that changed the whole process.” — FIG Workshop Director, performer, and former co-leader of FIG大, Liam Fanning

In addition to being the FIG Workshop Director, Liam led the 2nd round of FIG大 with current member and FIG’s Marketing Director Woody Slion 陳家弘. As a co-leader of the first incarnation of FIG大, it was easy to see the sense of connection and closeness that these two improvisers and leaders had with their group of students. As the students “graduated” from the course with the culmination of the shining spotlight on stage during their showcase show, both the audience and the performers could sense a feeling of connectivity and group mind that already bound the group.

The 2nd group of FIG’s intermediate workshops, and the first one to call themselves “FIG 大.“ Seen third from the right staring upwards is FIG大 participant, Islah Jane, who later went on to be invited to join FIG’s official roster of performers and workshop leaders. “Before FIG大 and the open workshops, I had mainly been exposed to improv as a rehearsal or characterisation tool, whereas now I have a much heightened appreciation for improv as an art form in its own right.” —FIG member and former FIG大 participant, Islah Jane.

FIG大 Now

Although members of FIG would like to run more FIG大 courses, one of the challenges of sustaining a group consisting entirely of voluntary facilitators is the amount of time and resources needed to maintain the group and guarantee a top-notch course for participants. During 2020, FIG put calls to run another round of FIG大 on the back-burner, instead focusing on Covid-19 protocols, lifting up the overall level of the Monday open workshops, and exploring new artistic styles and venues along the way.

2021 has been a different and more ambitious narrative for FIG. In order to continue to help provide dedicated participants of the Monday workshops with more challenges and deepen community ties, FIG is currently finishing up its third round of FIG大 workshops which began in the early Spring of 2021. The culmination of the 6 week workshop series will take place in a showcase show during FIG’s May 1st performance, and the group is ready to light the stage ablaze with fresh energy.

A behind-the-scenes look at the current version of FIG大 in a practice session. “During FIG大, I was able to witness just how uniquely creative each participant was and clearly saw what they could bring to the group. I was especially surprised by the complexity of characters and stories they would make together, and most of all, the most fulfilling part was to see them working as a team and getting to know each other even better.” —FIG Finance Director, performer, and current FIG大 co-leader, Diana Liu

FIG大’s Lasting Mark and Future

Although the current round of FIG大 will soon wrap-up with the May 1st show, the group will no doubt continue to broaden its horizons and push members of the improv community to step out of their comfort zones with future opportunities to join FIG大. Should members of the improv community wish to take a chance and say yes to the FIG大 challenge, the group asks that all FIG大 participants first attend 4 Monday workshops of foundational improv in order to be invited. FIG members are eagerly looking forward to the chance to help nurture improv talent, as well as get to make new friends in the process. Below are some images and comments related to FIG大 from facilitators and participants of the workshops.

“I want to expand improv community in Taipei and hopeful FIG could eventually become an incubator for improv groups. Since Taiwan’s improv theatre ecology is still at the early stage of growing. I believe a thriving improv ecology will make FIG and all the improvisors in Taipei better. By offering FIG大 workshop, we would help those talented young improvisors grow and improve. As first batch of FIG大 facilitator, I am super excited to see how FIG is able to improv the overall experience for the participants and I wish we could keep running FIG大 regularly.” — FIG member and former co-leader of FIG大, Miranda Wang

The biggest take-away from FIG大 was the friendship we gained along the way. 看到這一群原本不熟或不相識的人們，在一系列的課程中漸漸地越來越熟悉彼此，互相間培養起良好的默契，以及最後能夠彼此支持在舞台上表演，it’s very moving. — FIG Marketing Director, performer, and former FIG大 co-leader, Woody Slion

“無論大家平常是做什麼的，可能也不清楚大家在生命中其實面對著什麼樣的困難，但在FIG大的時刻，就是看見與欣賞每個生命在綻放閃亮的樣子。” — former FIG大 participant Kristy 蔡岱軒

“With FIG大, learning is more structured, classes are smaller, meaning you have more performance time, and is good if you really want to hone your skills.” — FIG member and former FIG大 participant, Islah Jane

“Leading this course, I met friends I still have today. Connection with other people is at the heart of improv, and whatever direction this course takes you it’s rewarding to step into a community.” — FIG Workshop Director, performer, and former co-leader of FIG大, Liam Fanning

我認為FIG大不只是一個很好練習即興的機會，也是一個打造社群的方式。有機會的話我希望能夠有更多不同的FIG大，像是不同的level之類的。 — FIG Marketing Director, performer, and former FIG大 co-leader, Woody Slion

“FIG大 participants remind me of myself when I first started improv. I was hesitant and didn’t really know what I had got myself into. Despite the uncertainty and small mistakes I would do, I still saw everything as an opportunity to learn. I never would’ve known that I would be part of an improv group in this lifetime, but I’m so grateful that I did and will probably stick to improv for the rest of my life.” — FIG Finance Director, performer, and current FIG大 co-leader, Diana Liu