Lena Breuer is the founder of ImproKöln. In an interview with FAIL IN LOVE NIGHTS, she explains what improvisational theater is, why this art form feels particularly "real" to Lena and what America has to do with the fact that she has opened her own theater in Cologne.
What exactly is improv theater?
I always call improv theater scenes from the moment. So we improvise entire evenings of theater in any form. So it can be very quick comedy, but it can also be a full-length story that might not just be funny. It can be something with music. So improv theater is just as colorful as any other theater art form, but the only thing that makes it improv theater is that we don't have a script. In other words, we go on stage and what happens on stage is created in that very moment.
And when and why did you found Impro Köln?
Improv theater in Germany is strongly anchored in the amateur scene. That was one of the reasons why I founded Impro Cologne. I actually come from a classical theater background and then at some point thought that acting wasn't for me and studied journalism. A little later, I discovered improv as a hobby and quickly realized that it was what I had always missed in classical theater. Because at classical drama schools, improv is only ever done as a warm-up exercise, but not taught as an art form in its own right. At the same time, however, there is a very well-connected improv theater scene where many workshops are offered. I ended up doing a lot of them and then went to America for real training in improv theater.
In America, there are entire theaters where only improv comedy takes place. Unlike here in Europe, in Germany, improv is simply hugely respected in the USA. There are a lot of stars who come from improv.
Back in Germany, I took the first step towards founding Impro Köln in 2019 with the vision in mind: I want to be a place and a brand for professional improvisational theater. After a break due to corona, I restarted in 2022 and today we have our own improv theater house. I would like people to say at some point, as they do in America, as a matter of course: we go to STUDIO A for improv because we know that improv is fun!
I could now say critically that improv theater is so profane. You also said yourself at the beginning: "Yes, it's just like theater, only improvised." What makes it special for you?
I love it. So when things are going well in improv theater, everyone involved - and by that I mean the triangle of me, my scene partner and the audience - these three people are in such a flow. Then it not only looks real what we are performing, but it also feels real at that moment, because it simply is real at that moment. Because we approach each other and discover this story together in real life. If I have a scripted play, for example, then I know in advance that my character will fall in love with your character. And then my acting work is to make it as real as possible. In improv, I don't even know if I'm going to fall in love with you. I don't know beforehand. That means I'm actually on stage and my character realizes at the same moment as me, Lena, the actress, perhaps at some point during the scene - there's something there, there's love, I feel something! And that makes it so much more real. I find that totally fascinating. It creates such an amazing connection with the audience, which I've never felt with classical acting.
And what role does spontaneity play for you?
So we do spontaneous theater, which means we are spontaneous, of course. People often ask, what do you rehearse when it's improvised? I always like to compare our rehearsals to soccer. I used to play a lot of soccer. In soccer, you practice playing soccer, but you never practice the game that's in front of you. You can't train that at all.
Nice comparison.
In other words, what do you do during soccer training? You train your muscles, you train your stamina, but you also train technique, you train how to play together. All these things. And that's what we do in improv theater too. Of course we are spontaneous, but in the end we are well prepared for spontaneity.
Who does improv theater? Who comes here? For whom is it interesting?
There are actually very, very different people who come. There are people who use improv as a self-awareness tool, who want to do it because they want to become more spontaneous and quick-witted, because they want to get out of their comfort zone. We have a lot of them and it's always nice to see what happens with people. Then there are improv nerds who simply love the art form. There are people who just want to have fun, who like funny things, who come to us. And then we have a lot of people who just want to be on stage.
Why should I do improv theater?
I believe that if everyone in the world did improv theater, the world would be a better place.
Why?
One of the basic rules of improvisational theater is to say "yes". That doesn't always mean literally, but it does mean approaching the impulse, my partner's idea, with a positive attitude. So you give me a little something, I add something and so on. This leads to us creating something together that we wouldn't have created on our own. You can transfer that very well to many other things in life and it's something that can simply become a way of life, which I find very nice. And apart from that, it's just fun to play.
We adults always say that play is totally important for children and that role play should be actively encouraged in children. But then you just stop at a certain age and that's totally stupid. Because it's great fun to just play funny games. I see it time and time again that people come in here knocked out after a long day at work and leave here relaxed after two hours because they've had a good time.
How can I join you?
We offer Improbasic A to D and stage courses. For people who want to get started, we recommend the Improbasic A course, because this is the place where you start to learn the techniques of improvisation together as a group.
We also offer taster courses where you can get an impression of what we do here within two and a half hours. And I also recommend actually coming to a show to get to know improv theater.
Where and when do the shows take place?
STUDIO A usually has a show every Saturday, always at 8pm in our - still fairly new - location at Aachener Straße 65 in Cologne.
From time to time there are also shows on Fridays and Sundays.
Further information about ImproKöln is available at: https://improkoeln.de