If you improvise, getting back into things when restrictions ease might be a bit weird. After so long without in-person rehearsals, jams and shows, it is going to be a transition we have never had to make before.
When the pandemic began, improv in Nottingham and Leicester was thriving. There were multiple organisations, teams and opportunities to learn and play. Improv was performed at a variety of venues and it was showing no signs of slowing down.
We have now had over a year of in-person improv being impossible. While online options have suited some, they haven’t suited others and the variety of shows has dwindled.
When things change suddenly, it’s pretty normal to feel unsettled. I think many of us have had a lot that has left us feeling peculiar over the course of the current pandemic. The move back to in-person improv may well also produce concerns and anxieties.
We all want to be safe and while the vaccine rollout is going well, there are going to be different people wanting to go at different speeds. Some will want to get on stage or into a rehearsal room as soon as possible. Others will be keen to take things slow, maintain social distancing for a bit longer and exercise caution.
I believe the thriving East Midlands improv scene will come back stronger in the long term but I don’t believe the end of the restrictions will bring us back to where we were at the beginning of 2020 in terms of activity levels.
I think that is going to take a fair bit longer but that’s no
bad thing if we are letting everyone emerge at their own pace.
However you choose to ‘get back to normal’ – we look forward to seeing you when you are ready.
– Lloydie, Artistic Director, Rhymes Against Humanity
