Why Do People Defend The Harold?

It's Inspiring, Even If It Doesn't Work

Last week I wrote what I still think is a very mild critique of the improv form The Harold, saying it had too many scenes.

But according to the reaction online, I apparently was saying that all of long-form improv is an evil scourge that should be scrubbed from the Earth. That’s how hard people argued against my essay.

People have told me I don’t know what I’m talking about, that I haven’t done enough “proper” Harolds, or seen them done correctly, and that if I would just give it a chance, with the right team, I would be won over and would see how foolish I am! I’ve also been compared (unfavorably) to the emperor in the movie Amadeus.

I’ve read paragraphs and paragraphs about the beauty of second beats, the magic of openings, the preciousness of the rule of threes! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME, THAT I’M NOT IN LOVE WITH THE HAROLD?

People Who Defend The Harold Do Not Do Harolds

I was truly struck by the passion of the responses. After all, people definitely don’t like to do Harolds. My evidence for that statement is that of all of the Harold teams that have been created at UCB NY and UCB LA since 1999, the number of them that continue to do the Harold after they leave Harold Night is: zero.

Indeed the vast majority, if not the entire amount, of people who argued against my essay do not currently do Harolds. Most are not doing improv at all on a regular basis.

The ones who do improv do anything BUT Harolds. They do monoscenes, pretty flowers, movies, documentaries, Armandos, slackers, genre parodies and montages. They’ll make up their own forms. They’ll use openings, or they won’t. They’ll have connections at the end. They’ll do group scenes. Just not Harolds.

But they sure as heck will argue on its behalf.

Why?

I’ve thought about it. And the answer which I am able to wrap my head around is simple.

Inspiration

The Harold is… inspiring.

It’s not fun. It’s not entertaining. I continue to say it’s way too long. It might not even work (my opinion, maybe not anyone else’s)!

But it does inspire.

The idea of the Harold very strongly suggests — just by its existence — that improv can be more than a children’s game. The Harold has integrity, and complexity and depth. The idea of the Harold tells the people who love improv that they are right to love it, and that there is a holy grail at the end of their striving, and that holy grail is: true art.

There is no other form that invokes this reaction among improvisers.

This might be Del Close’s greatest genius: to inspire. Another essay I might write someday which I’m sure will piss everyone off even more is that I’m not so sure Del was a great analyzer of the mechanics of improv. Like, I don’t think his advice was that practical. I’m talking about a phrase like “treat your scene partners like poets and geniuses.” I’m not sure that works as practical advice. But it is inspiring. Like, I get it. Same with “play to the top of your intelligence.” Taken at face value, it’s not great mechanical advice. But it inspires.

Take improv’s king mantra “yes and.” “Yes and” is so simple you can use to defend whatever kind of improv you want. Brainless agreement, passionate arguing, cerebral heightening, broadly performed peas in a pod, whatever — there’s a way to defend it all as “yes and.” For such an easily applied phrase, “yes and” must be useless advice, practically speaking, right?

Except that it inspires.

Speaking very generally, the phrase “yes and” communicates a whole mindset of cooperation and group mind. It tells you to turn down the heat on your ego, and get along. Tell a group who did a bad show they need to “yes and” more, and no one argues. They might even do better just with that note.

I’ve never been an inspirational teacher. I’m an engineer by nature. I want to know how and why things really work. I like the phrase “accept offers” more than “yes and. “ It’s more practical and specific.

The Harold is not practical. Judged by people’s decisions of what forms they perform when it is up to them, no one even really likes doing it.

(You’re gonna really hate this, everyone, but do we really need second beats in shows? They’re great for training. But once you can do good first beat, do you really need a second? Cut to me as a Viennese emperor asking if we need second movements).

But if you get rid of The Harold — or apparently even dare to suggest that it is not perfect — and you’re taking away people’s inspiration. Which they will fight for.

So let me say, people of the Internet, who think I’m Judas, who will not read this essay and didn’t read the last one, that I applaud you keeping the Harold in your minds as a north star! Please, continue to look back fondly at your time being inspired by Harolds. I respect the form’s power to inspire!

I’m just not going to make my students do them anymore.

P.S. Actually, if you want to know the improv form which DID change the improv world forever, and DOES work, and in fact upended the comedy world again and again and again in multiple theaters over multiple decades — it’s not the Harold.

It’s ASSSSCAT.

I’m sure people won’t complain about that opinion.

Plugs, Fresh

• The Smokes at UCB: A Full Hour. My UCB team the Smokes is playing a late show Friday September 1 at 10:30pm. We are doing a full hour.

Plugs, Ongoing

• Screw It, We’re Just Gonna Talk About Comics - Comic book podcast, hosted by my brother Kevin and I. This week, Kevin and I continue to read John Byrne’s Fantastic Four comics and answer email. Next we’re going to read Grant Morrison’s run on Justice League of America.

• Clubhouse Fridays - WGIS’ weekly improv show. Fridays 7pm at The Clubhouse. Free!

• How to Be The Greatest Improviser On Earth - My improv book, available at Amazon. Kindle or print. It’s a hodge-podge of advice I wrote in 2016 about doing improv. If you’re broke and want a free PDF just email me and I’ll send it over.

Stuff I Like

• Movie Favor - This movie podcast from real life married people and great improvisers Andrew and Jessica Sproge is really fun. Each one picks a movie for the other one to watch as a favor, and then they talk about it. I like their taste, and I like their takes. Everyone go listen to all of the episodes. I suggest the Ladyhawke episode.

• Screw It, I’m Just Gonna Talk About Music Or Whatever - My friend (and really funny improviser) Katie Plattner has started a music podcast where she goes through a list of songs she likes. The first episode is about songs from her playlist “moving and groovin” and it is a GREAT EPISODE. She got the title from a Beatles podcast she does with me “Screw It, We’re Just Gonna Talk About The Beatles” so I’m allowed to promote it.