Improvisers Assemble! by Shellshock Improv takes you on a wild journey into a universe of odd superheroes and even odder villains. Starting from a simple show concept with some extra bells, whistles, and outtakes, Shellshock! create a fun superhero movie that you certainly wouldn’t see on the big screen, but that you will want to see on a relatively small stage. Commit yourself to the madness of improv, watch this group do the same, and you are in for a hilarious show.
Improvisers Assemble! is a mostly straight-forward narrative longform format pitting superheroes against villains. The audience gets to choose one superhero power and a word of inspiration for the villain. The format is otherwise freeform, allowing for a variety of scenes and encounters that let the plot come alive. From classic fight and chase scenes to fun little views into the world of the narrative, the troupe established a strong narrative and comedic flow. True to the idea of a superhero movie were the “outtakes” that follow the main show: The improvisers use the show they created for a number of impressive quickfire scenes and gags akin to the post-credit scenes of a Marvel movie. This is not only a nice nod to the genre but also a good finishing touch overall.
The plot took off with a monologue by the Dairy Man, the night’s milk-based supervillain, who came up with an impressive number of portmanteaus involving the word milk (including Milkonomics and a wild variety of Batmobiles Milkmobiles). His sidekick, fittingly, was a 5-out-of-10-evil cow. The suggestion of immortality as a superhero power was dealt with enjoyably differently, with a 2000-year old Roman man angry at his own powers and his far more excitable sidekick. The rest of the cast appeared as a number of smaller characters throughout, which were well-chosen and differentiated. The victory of the heroes at the end appeared a little forced – after all the villain had proven himself to be surprisingly resilient – and I would have loved to see a “Milknado” hit the downtown, but what is a superhero movie without a fantastic turnaround for the hero in the last 10 minutes. Anyway, the absolutely hilarious final scene of the improvised movie more than made up for it!
The cast of Improvisers Assemble form a very good team, creating a wild, fantastic, and exciting narrative with a good dose of humor and silliness. The chemistry and skill of most of the cast members is impressive. There were some a-little-too-obvious differences in skill level amongst the troupe – however, this only affected a few scenes and the overall quality of the show did not suffer much for it. The energy and commitment to the madcap plot (creating a Milknado to hit downtown) showcased the casts’ skill and trust in each other. Something incredibly satisfying about this show was to see the long-term payoff of jokes and oddities that became running gags thoughout the longform – the cast work together fantastically in that aspect.
Improvisers Assemble! is a fun hour of odd and hilarious superheroes, villains and cattle ranch farmers. The casts’ commitment to their madcap characters and plot is what makes this a great improvised version of a Marvel movie. The chases, fights, and kerfuffles – done very well for improvised fights! – add a good amount of action to the show; and the outtakes are a lovely cherry on top of the superhero cake. The sass and energy throughout (“Why did you rig this milking machine to kill me?” – “It’s called incentive!”) easily get the show out of the few slumps in energy. I would definitely recommend this show to anyone who enjoys the wilder side of improv – Improvisers Assemble! may not always be very grounded, but it sure is a lot of fun to watch!
Review by CGE
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