On Jan. 23, a hybrid theatre-style improv performance had an entire audience on the edge of their seat at the Black Box Theatre.
For a full hour, Jean-Michel Cliché and Alex Rioux captivated a packed theatre, keeping their audience laughing from start to finish with their quick wit and acting skills.
TILT is a blend of theatre and improv created by Cliché and Rioux. The play depicts a couple whose relationship is turned upside down by a ‘secret’. However, the secret is up to the audience to decide.
At the start of the show, stage manager Georgia Priestley-Brown asked the audience to think of any prompt that started with ‘I am.’ This prompt would determine the secret that Cliché and Rioux would have to implement in their storyline once it’s screened to everyone mid-show.
“I love theatre and I’m an improviser … I’ve always wanted to merge the forms together,” said Cliché.
Cliché, also an associate artistic director for Solo Chicken Productions, said he and Rioux decided to pitch the idea of doing a show that began as a play and then transitioned into an improv show to achieve a low-cost production.
He said performing was exhilarating as the audience began to wonder how the characters were going to push through to the end.
“Even during the play portion of the show, they know more about the story than we do. So, they’re laughing at certain points and you don’t even know why they’re laughing.”
He also described their first show and their experience approaching the halfway point that would determine the end of the play.
“There’s this really electric sensation, both for the audience and for the performers, because everyone knows we’re about to switch gears,” he said. “It starts with movement in poetry and then the show ends with movement in poetry. But obviously, that end portion is improvised.”
Cliché believes his chemistry with Rioux is a crucial part of the show, considering their history working together in theatre.
“Alex is one of my best friends and so we understand each other’s humour and we understand what each other is interested in. And with all that combined, it makes for a really exciting and organic process.”
The moment the secret is revealed on screen is “a moment of real joy” for both performers.
Some of the most memorable prompts they have had during a show include “I am a secret Loblaws cheese thief” and “I am wearing a dinosaur costume underneath these clothes.”
It is in these moments that Cliché and Rioux have to come up with a way to carry their relationship storyline to the next level and bring emotion to the dark room.
TILT collaborated with Strike Pictures, a local film company, to create a promotional video for the show and raise funds to take it on the road, leading to the decision to record it with a live audience at the Black Box Theatre.
Cliché hopes the performance inspires aspiring artists and reassures them that “there’s a place for them in Fredericton.”
Mimi Martin, a second-year student, attended the show with her friends and was excited to see how they would use the secret to carry on with the show.
The secret of the audience wave was “I’m doing shady deals behind the Payless Shoes.”
“The level of the show surpassed my expectations. It was incredible,” said Martin. “I was very excited to see how they were gonna play this off … they just had so many shoe puns to tell and it felt like it was still rehearsed.”
Martin shared that the show deepened her love for theatre, especially improv, which she was scared of in high school.
“I think my favourite moment of the play was when, as the audience, we chose what the big secret was, but what we didn’t know was the second actor also had a secret that I think they improved on the spot.”
Martin also gives credit to the improv workshop that was offered at STU with Cliché through Solo Chicken Productions.
“Now that I’m in university and being able to experience improv within shows and workshops that I’ve done makes me even more excited.”
