SPIT takes: No script, no rehearsals, just plenty of fun with improv

With a list of words and a tune, members of Silly People's Improv Theater make up a song on the spot, leaving the audience laughing. Of course, there are highs and lows in the performance — some of it is side-splittingly funny, while some of it is only worth a soft chuckle. But it's all fun, and as SPIT explains, it's best when you just go with it. Improv, as SPIT's founder Gabe Mercado explained, is "basically mounting a stage with nothing prepared, doing things unscripted, and unrehearsed in front of an audience." The audience isn't passive, either, as they are encouraged to participate. "It's 50 percent our show, and 50 percent the audience's show, because we ask the audience for suggestions," contributed Aryn Cristobal, one of SPIT's members.

The art of winging it isn't as easy as it sounds. While there may not be a script, or blocking, there is plenty of preparation before the actual performance. In SPIT's case, they've had ten years of experience and preparation, which includes exercises where some of them act as audience members as well as non-SPIT-related activities, such as watching a movie together or going on a picnic. Such activities are necessary to build rapport, which the group said plays a big part in how effective their performances are. Considering their regular gigs (weekly performances at Jill's at The Fort Strip in Bonifacio Global City), it's highly important that they like each other. However, those who might think it's just like hanging out with a big barkada would be mistaken. As one member, Kenneth Keng said, the members "apply a lot of theater craft into it." On the other hand, not all of SPIT's members have a background in theater, which also adds to the performance. "The nice thing with improv is no matter what background you're from, it's so easy to bring that to your performance, and it just enriches it. Half of SPIT has no theater training whatsoever and we find that that enriches their whole performance because they're bringing that real, truthful experience to the stage," Keng told GMA News Online at a press conference on May 7. Since SPIT is by no means a reliable source of income, the members all have day jobs, which range from running a small construction firm to being a travel agent. The members note that SPIT is what keeps them sane. In fact, improv is found to be helpful even for people who don't regularly perform, and part of SPIT's work is conducting workshops in the corporate setting. According to Mercado, not everyone can do the kind of improv that deserves an audience, but everyone can do improv. He admitted that SPIT even "kind of sucked" when they started out in 2002. "Improv is the kind of art where you will be bad for the first six months to the first year. And then suddenly, because kumapal ang mukha mo, because you start liking each other more, the chemistry just grows and you become a lot better," he said. The value of improv, according to Mercado, is to make people learn the art of being in the moment again, and to let people truly be in the spirit of play. "Kasi ang naging gawain na sa Filipino comedy is laglagan, pahiyaan, insultuhan. In improv it's the total opposite," Mercado said, adding that improv is about making your co-actor look good, and building on whatever your co-actor offers. When it comes to the games, Mercado explained that it isn't completely spontaneous. For instance, one game requires the performers to compose a song based on suggestions from the audience, who are supplied with a theme. "It was the content that we improvised. So you still improvise within a structure," Mercado said, noting that there was already a set tune and a set number of singers. In another game called Alphabet Soap, the audience thinks of a long word, which serves as a guide for the performers who must act a scene patterned after the soap opera format. "The words will change all the time, but we know that we can rely on turn-taking," Mercado said. Mercado, who set up SPIT in 2002, recalled the lesson he learned some ten years ago, when he first entered showbiz, from the late comedian Redford White. "He told me very pointedly, prepare for the day na malalaos ka. Because it happens to everybody," said Mercado. Following his mentor's advice to take as many workshops and to read as much as he could, Mercado stumbled upon "Truth in Comedy," a book by Del Close and Charna Halpern. "Ang comedy na nalaman ko sa Pilipinas, laglagan, insultuhan. So the concept of truth in comedy was so groundbreaking for me. And when I read it, it was about improv, and because of that, saka na ako nag workshops sa US," Mercado said. While improv is not like the typical comedy in the Philippines, SPIT makes it a point to tweak the games, incorporating local details in order to appeal to Pinoy taste.  Examples of this are games that are patterned after the soap opera and beauty contest format. "May mga laro na mas patok sa panlasang Pilipino, at mas Pilipinong Pilipino," Mercado said, adding that they performed the beauty contest at the Beijing Improv Festival, where the audience was appreciative despite not being as fascinated with beauty contests as Filipinos are. "Pumatok naman ang format, I think because they saw how certain games can be devised, na very culturally rooted doon sa gumagawa ng improv," he said. Now that they've been around for a decade, what SPIT wants is for more improv groups to form in the Philippines. "We want other groups to compete with us. You can't have an improv scene if there's only one improv group. So we want people to challenge us and be better than us," Mercado said, adding that SPIT is willing to train new groups for free. One new group, Switch, was formed by audience members who would participate in the Rookie Nights during some of SPIT's performances. Switch will be performing for the first time at the 2nd Manila Improv Festival, which will run at the PETA Theater Center from June 26 to 30. "We want to encourage more people, that's why we're also giving workshops as part of the festival," Mercado said. According to Mercado, doing the festival at the PETA center is their way of coming home. "PETA, to the best of our research and knowledge was the very first group that brought improv to the Philippines in the early 70s," he said. PETA's artistic director Maribel Legarda said a lot of PETA's work was based on improvisation. "We had scenes where we just had sketches and all the actors just had to develop it. It's still very much part of our continuing tradition," she said. The festival will feature workshops during the day and performances at night from the following groups: People's Liberation Improv and 3 Dudes Improv (Hong Kong), Beijing Improv (Beijing), Taichung Improv (Taiwan), Xiamen Improv (Xiamen), Zmack (Shanghai), Pirates of Tokyo Bay (Tokyo) and SPIT (Manila). There will also be an Applied Improvisation Network Conference from June 25 to 26, which will be led by Paul Z. Jackson, one of AIN's founders, Kay Ross, a Hong Kong-based marketing consultant and coach and member of People's Liberation Improv, and Curt Mabry of Zmack. The festival is themed "Follow Your Feet," a principle in improv which SPIT explained means you keep moving forward. Asked how they see SPIT in the future, Mercado said they hope to move toward a legacy of being trainers. "We'll still be around. We don't know if we'll still be in demand, but we'll still be around," he said. For more information, check out SPIT on Facebook or on their website. — BM, GMA News Photos by Manix Abrera