Amy catches up with Adam Meggido, a Theatre Director known for his work with Mischief Comedy, he is also a core member of the Showstopper! team. He’s heading to the Edinburgh Fringe this year with a new show – Starship Improvise, a sci-fi based improvisational comedy!
Hi, how are you feeling ahead of the Fringe?
Thrilled to be back. It’s the greatest Arts festival in the world and being forced away from it for the last two years has been difficult. I am up with three shows – Starship Improvise, of course, but I have also written a play called Boris the Third, and I am delighted to be back with Showstopper! The Improvised Musical.
What can people expect from Starship Improvise?
Fun and laughs – in space! We begin at a sci-fi convention as the actors from hit show ‘Celestia 7’ ask the audience about their ‘favourite episode’ and hope they play along. We ask for the title and what sort of things appear in the episode, and then we improvise the entire story. It’s a soap opera, a comedy, and a DVD directors’ commentary all rolled into one.
What inspired the show?
Me and Henry Shields were talking about doing some kind of improvised fantasy/D&D-style show, but somehow it morphed into this idea and we decided to run with it.
What’s the secret of great improv?
Relaxation. Good listening. Trust. Knowing when to leave the stage. Working with what you have rather than what you wished you had. Knowing how to lead and follow in equal measure.
Mischief Comedy, Showstopper! and Austentatious have all joined forces for this show – what prompted this collaboration?
Mutual love and respect. We have all encouraged, supported, and inspired each other over the last ten years. It’s wonderful to finally come together on something new like this.
The Fringe is renowned for great Comedy – why do you think the Fringe is so important for new comedy acts?
Exposure. It’s the greatest marketplace in the world. And the acts all get to see each other’s work, hang out, share stories, learn from each other, and maybe work with each other in exciting new collaborations in the future.
What is the best and worst thing about performing at the Fringe?
Sometimes it can be hard to be around that many people for so long. It’s important to have a good base where you can relax and centre yourself. I love the sheer ‘pot luck’ element of picking something almost at random because you have an hour to kill and it just happens to be on and looks interesting!
What shows will you be seeing whilst you’re in Edinburgh?
The Mischief Shows – Mind Mangler, and Charlie Russell Aims To Please. McKellen’s Hamlet, and Nina Conti.
With such a huge programme of shows to choose from, why should people come along to Starship Improvise?
We plan to make you laugh. You don’t need to love sci-fi or know anything about it – we’re simply having an hour of fun on a spaceship called The Celestia. Each episode is completely improvised and different every day, but the characters we play will continue throughout the whole run. You can watch any single episode or come back for more to see how it all develops.
And finally, where can people see the show and how can they buy tickets?
It’s on every day from the 6th – 21st August at the Pleasance Dome at 3pm. Tickets from https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/starship-improvise#overview or edfringe.com
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