Past Challenges
Week of January 2, 2009 - Improv Festivals
Know of any improv festivals popular or obscure? Then put them up. Include a website or any info you know about it as well... or don't. It's up to you.
Week of November 10th, 2008 - Improv Wiki Challenge: The Del Close Marathon
Ok, I have a new challenge for everyone. The Del Close Marathon. There is a page for it, but it's quite limited at the moment. I'm thinking this should be a pretty chunky page with lots of information on it. There are many, many threads here on the IRC which could be used for research, plus blog posts all over the net, links to pictures and more. And of course personal recollections are very welcome.
This is the next official Improv Wiki challenge: the Del Close Marathon page.
Week of October 13, 2008 - Improv Wiki Challenge: Influential Shows
We did a great job getting groups up a couple weeks back, especially the current groups who are now performing in New York. I'd like to get some pages up for some of the more influential shows that have happened over the last 20 years or so. Of course, we all have different opinions about what is influential, and that ok. With a wiki, we don't have to decide on a list beforehand. What's important is that the show was influential on YOU.
Think about the shows you saw when you were starting out. The shows that got you jazzed about improv in the first place, the shows inspired you to take class or to start a group of your own.
When I was starting out, the two pivotal shows were Three Mad Rituals and Jazz Freddy, and I can still see the wide affect those two shows have had. Anyone who has tried the movie in NYC for instance, owes something to Three Mad Rituals which first laid out that form. Jazz Freddy on the other hand was a huge influence on a generation of improvisors who watched it. It clearly established for us that improv belonged in the theatre, not just comedy clubs and backs of bars.
Q: Do I have to have been in this show to add to the wiki?
A: Of course not! If you think it belongs there, get it up. Make a stub if nothing else. Put up the bare bones of information that you can find from the web (or from memory). Plant the seed, so others can add to it.
Q: Can I put my own show up?
A: Yes! Please do. There have been lots of shows that have been influential on me. Almost every show I've been involved in has influenced me in some way, so don't feel like you can't put your own show up there. I'll probably put up a few that I was involved in.
Q: How else can I help?
A: Well some of you might want to take on the job of journalist/historian. If you know of show that should be represented, but don't know of the facts, find people who do. Interview them about the show and then post it up on the site.
What should we put up? Dates, cast, venues, description of the show, for starters.
The fastest way to create a page: put the exact title you want in the search box on the left and hit enter. If nothing is found, click the link to create the page.
Feel free to ask questions in the wiki thread on the IRC. You can also click "edit" at the top of any other page to see the "source" and get an idea how wiki formatting works.
