The Tinderellas on improv, Edinburgh and the upcoming Festival 7 - 10 February

Have you got your ticket yet for the 'all female' improv performers? The Tinderellas will be at The Edinburgh International Improv Festival which is from the 7th to the 10th of February. The Tinderellas kindly gave an interview revealing their thoughts on the improv scene, Edinburgh and well, whatever crops up....

So ladies, what can the audience expect at the performance in February at the Scottish Story Telling center?

Well it’s improv, so we don’t know what to expect yet either!! Everything you see on stage will be completely made up on the spot. But what you can expect is the kind of humour that you can only get when you put a group of 4 women who are great friends together. Scenes full of silliness, heartfelt relationships, and definitely some bawdy jokes.

There will be over 75 performers! Is improv growing in popularity?

Definitely! Improv in the US is huge, in cities like New York, LA and Chicago, but in Edinburgh we are still growing. When we started doing improv in Edinburgh 4 years ago, the scene was quite small and there were maybe 2-5 groups. Now we can enjoy weekly improv performances at the Monkey Barrel Comedy Club as well as jams organised by Kinki Fish.

In your opinion, is improv something you can learn as a skill or is it an inbuilt personality trait?

It is definitely something you can learn. By taking a workshop in improv, you start to lose inhibitions, and you learn to listen and support your scene partners to build a story together. Those are the most important skills you will learn.

The performances play a central part in your life. How easy is it to switch off and deal with the more mundane aspects of life?

Improv is a welcome escape to our day to day lives! It lets you live in a world where anything is possible for a few hours. Coming off stage back into reality is always a bit odd, but discussing and laughing about the show with each other is a nice way back into reality.

Edinburgh is the arts hub of the world with the Festival/Fringe. Has it been an ideal city to thrive in artistically?

Definitely. We get a lot of opportunities living in Edinburgh that we wouldn’t have had elsewhere. Many performers need to invest a great amount of money, time and effort into setting up a show at the Fringe, whereas residents have it much easier.

With scenes, sketches and instant stories – would it be fair to say that the improv scene is more accessible to future performers than some of the other performing arts?

We think the improv scene is incredibly accessible, friendly and welcoming to new people. Not sure how it compares to the accessibility of other performing arts, we’re too busy with improv! 😉

Who would you say have been the people who have influenced you the most with regards to performing in improv?

One of our inspirations is Tina Fey, she started with improv in Chicago and now is, well you all know her I imagine! And we have to mention the teachers of TBC Improv & Spontaneous Players here: Paul Connolly, Mara Joy Craig, Will Naameh and Sam Irving. Go check out their shows!

Do you think there is enough encouragement and associations in Edinburgh to mentor and support young aspiring improv performers to flourish and grow?

For sure, the improv scene is a warm bath! In Edinburgh, there are regular 101 classes taught by TBC Improv, that teach you the basic concepts of improv and introduce you to the improv scene in Edinburgh. And then we have the workshops and jams that are organised by Kinki Fish, a great opportunity for people who want to try out doing improv in front of an audience.

A big warm thanks to The Tinderellas for sharing their thoughts!!

For further information www.edimprovfest.com