Impro Melbourne's Patti Stiles
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Patti Stiles would like to apologize for not having an Australian accent. While the artistic director of Impro Melbourne currently lives down under, she was born in New Jersey and raised in another dominion of the British Empire: Canada. It was there that she learned the tricks of the improv trade from improvisational pioneer Keith Johnstone, during an apprenticeship at Johnstone's Loose Moose Theatre. Today, Stiles is a highly sought-after performer and teacher, spreading the principles developed by Johnstone across the globe. Together with her Impro Melbourne castmate Sean Fabri, Stiles headlines the Out Of Bounds Comedy Festival this weekend, performing a spontaneous story-generating show called Publishers. Stiles traversed a 15-hour time difference to speak to The A.V. Club via telephone, touching on the "impro" scene in Australia, her work at Loose Moose, and how she once turned down an improv project because it didn't involve enough improv.
The A.V. Club: Would you be coming all this way if Impro Melbourne weren't headlining?
Patti Stiles: [Laughs.] Yes. It's very flattering and terrifying to be headliner. Australia's very, very far away, and we don't get the same cross-pollination that the American groups get. And we really miss it. To be able to go to different cities and festivals and see the different styles and types of shows people are working on, what philosophies they're working with or concepts they're currently exploring, that's very exciting for us. It's stimulating for us as performers, and it's stimulating for the company because you bring back those ideas. And it's hard for people to come here, because it's a very long flight and it's not cheap.
AVC: How does the Australian improv scene compare with those in the U.S. or Canada?
PS: It's definitely different than the American or Canadian environments. In Melbourne, which is a city of about 4 million people, Impro Melbourne is pretty much the main impro company. There are some smaller groups, but they're not really established. For the city this size to only have one thriving impro company is quite different than cities in the U.S. or Canada. I mean, L.A. has like what, 20? And Austin has five? It's a good scene. It's just not a large scene.
AVC: Did you go into your apprenticeship with Keith Johnstone looking to make a career out of improvising?
PS: Just by chance and fate, I was placed there. I hadn't thought of improvisation as a career, because I thought of acting as a career—I wasn't aware enough of the different elements of the performance arts. Within a week of being at Loose Moose, I was absolutely in love with everything the theater offered. It's a completely different style of improvisation company. When I began working there, we were training in improvisation, and we'd be performing [Johnstone's signature format] Theatresports. But you'd also be doing children's shows based on improvisation. We'd be doing sketch comedy that we would write. We would be doing scripted plays, but doing improvisation to develop the text. Everything was inspiration, everything was development, everything was creativity. It was such an unbelievable, exciting time.
AVC: Your résumé ended up expanding beyond improv—for instance, you had a brief story arc on the popular Australian soap opera Neighbours. What keeps you coming back to improvising?
PS: I've never really thought about what keeps me coming back, because it's just such a part of what I do—it's not a choice to step away or step back. It's very much the foundation of how I work. And I don't think I could continue working in theater if improvisation wasn't a part of what I do. To look into the eyes of people that you know and trust, and to metaphorically hold each other's hands and jump off the cliff just to see where you will go—that's creation. And the arts about creation, and storytelling, and that's what we do as actors. So I don't see it as a big step away. I see the other things as a continuation of improvisation. Besides, I'd miss all the parties. [Laughs.]
AVC: Have you ever had to turn down a project because there wasn't enough room for improv?
PS: I turned down an improvisation product because I didn't think there was enough improvisation in it. I was asked to be involved in a show, and I liked the concept, and the person who was doing it had a long history of working in improvisation. But on the first rehearsal, all my "spider senses" went off that the development process and the performance process was going to be based on a lot of "you must get these things right." I was presented with a list of terminology that must be used. Everything was structured to the point that I thought it was inhibiting the improvisation. It just felt wrong for me, so I turned it down. And I'm glad I did, because when I went and saw it, I didn't see inspired and happy improvisers. I saw improvisers who were so busy trying to get it right that they weren't playing and living in the present moment.
