Let’s put the typical theatrical experience aside, because ImproTaza is changing that. A group of four gentlemen have formed a theatrical group that performs shows based solely on improvisation.
The name is derived from two words, “impro” from improvisation and “taza” which means fresh in Arabic. Each member has a nickname: Nagui (Mostafa Nagui), Rakishi (Ahmed Mahmoud), Abomosalam (Mohamed Ahmed) and Jamika (Abdelhamid Maher).
So, here’s what they do. Each show Nagui, the team leader, comes to the stage and explains how the show is going to go. The audience are asked to pick a topic that could be a word, character or place and after five topics are suggested, the audience votes for one. Following the selection of the topic, ImproTaza creates a 10-minute comedy sketch about that topic. Nothing is prepared. All roles, characters and lines are created on the spot, which results in every sketch being performed once. There’s a total of three to four sketches per show.
VIA ImproTaza
The group always brings props and clothes along, since they never know what their performance will be about prior to the show. ImproTaza have done a total of nine shows so far in venues like Dawar, Studio Zat and KMT.
Since ImproTaza’s shows rely on instant creativity and intuition, intensive practice is required. “Most of us work or have other commitments at night, so we usually train in the morning. We train three days a week, but if we have a show then we train five/six days a week. Training consists of imagination and improvisation exercises. At home, each one of us practices writing comedy scripts,” said Nagui.
Another challenge that faces the group is that people still do not understand what they do, which makes booking a show harder. “Our biggest challenge is that most of the venues we contact do not understand our idea, so it takes us a lot of time to explain to them what we do. Other venues say they are afraid they might face censorship problems since we never have a written script to show them beforehand.”
In all acting-related shows, actors prefer dramatic sketches when it comes to improvisation, because it’s easier to make people emotional. “Some people ask us why we choose comedy. Well, first because comedy is harder. Secondly, we love to laugh and before we started as a group, we decided that our main goal is to spread happiness, because people have had enough of drama,” said Nagui. In an attempt to minimize drama on their followers’ timelines, ImproTaza has launched a campaign on Instagram titled “Enough with All the Black.”
Spreading laughter and shifting people’s focus away from drama are goals that pave ImproTaza’s way to achieving their ultimate dream. “Our dream is to change the typical view people have about the comedy genre in Egypt – that it’s all based on bullying and demeaning. We hope one day we could be able to make people of different cultures laugh too, not just Egyptians,” said Nagui.
