25m Harold. You just get going, to the good stuff, you found it, you’re feeling it, oh yeah… I know… I’m gonna… “edit”. Fuck! Fast is fun but exploration makes all things deep and better. Oh wow I hear myself now.
Harold is improv gatekeeping? In so many spaces it’s true, yeah. If you don’t like/do/teach Zumba (specifically) or haven’t instructed in this region before — you aren’t a real dance fitness instructor at all, JEN, I’m looking at you! *cut to jen ghosting and starting her own better-for-her format and finding her people* Invalidation and pushing others down to make self feel better happens in all the things. Threat, safety, clique BS, ego, whatever.
The fear of going too far from OG = core purist gatekeeper req? But a Harold mod… it needs those punches you’re giving it.
Demonstrating that there are other, perhaps better, ways of being creative and just getting out there and doing it? SHOW em and win. Use that teaching tool, branch out, do different things that make sense utilizing those same skills. Penta-stuff makes sense. In all of these arenas - sports, fitness, improv, insert-skill-based-community here - post-learning it’s about the people enjoying what they’re doing and/or watching. If not… why, again? ESPECIALLY improv?
Is: Quality? Makes sense? Fills some need? Has direction? Good. Does it take you to the edge and kick you out of the room before it’s over and everyone is all “wha just happened” so a purist could stick a label on it and call it a thing? Get outta here. Please.
Wow can I parallel and apply this to online improv too? Hell yeah I can. And will. Or just did. Maybe.
BTW I have no idea what I’m doing. OMG self-gatekeeping.
Great read Will, thanks. Couldn’t agree more. There’s definitely value in The Harold as a teaching tool as you say, and it feels absolutely right and proper that improvisers keep rethinking the Harold’s place in performance now there’s tons more watchable and playable formats to choose from.
As someone who grew up playing and watching cricket, and was there when the T20 (this is how we generally write it) came about, this analogy works great! One of the biggest things it changed about the style of play is that players would take bigger swings, literally. It even made it more appealing for non-hardcode cricket watchers to be able to watch. So here's to taking bigger swings on stage.
I believe I heard in some old interview that Harold was originally "The training wheels Harold" and people just forgot that they were supposed to take the wheels off eventually. So maybe you are just asking for the original purpose to be remembered and restored.
I don't know jack shit about cricket but I know a bit about weightlifting so I'll use that as an analogy.
You start with advice like "do heavy compound lifts 2-3 times weekly" which is pretty good advice IMO but the issue is when that advice turns into dogma and the solution to every weightlifting problem is "did you squat more?" .
So the point of squatting is to increase your leg strength (and it's good at that!) but the issue is when you think squatting solves every problem (it's arguably not that sports specific for example https://rugbystrengthcoach.com/top-speed-sprinting/) or that it's objectively "Better" than lunges, hill sprints, kettlebell swings, sled pulls etc because there is a big opportunity cost in terms of general athletic development when you spend 80% of your time doing one fucking thing.
So maybe Harold's like squatting are slightly overrated.
I was producing/hosting a beloved open mic with a 15 min feature to close out here in the PNW and it was surprisingly packed every Wednesday night. . I decided to let a local improv team close out one night. Just hoping to be supportive to other comedy performers in my community (and because I love improv.)
17 min into their 15 min “set,” it dawned on me that comics grab the mic stand and put the mic back in when they are getting ready to close. This ragtag group of 4 just got into a kayak and realized - they only have ONE oar. I had no idea how to tell they were closing soon and I got the impression that information was a secret to them as well.
This wasn’t related to Harolds but it made me think of that night. The last night I booked local improv from Evergreen College on my stand-up show.
Having been in the cast when Del Close first introduced Harold at The Second City it was meant to generate material that could be finessed for use in a revue. It was only used in the improvised ‘set’ (30-35’) after a show and would begin with an audience suggestion answering the question, “Why I can’t I?” Only later did it become a stand alone performance piece exhibiting many of the flaws David expressed.
If you are telling people you can only perform at this theater if you show proficiency at this one form when there are lots of other forms out there, you're doing it wrong. I love Harolds. I am on a Harold team. I have an indie team looking to return to doing Harolds. But it shouldn't be the determining factor for everyone. Teach it. Perform it. But don't make it sacrosanct.
My initial thoughts are that the Harold 9 scenes shouldn't feel like 9 scenes if done right, right? All of the initial scenes should have established the base reality and characters so that you can heighten and explore in the latter 6 scenes. Plus connections can be built slowly throughout the Harold
I did a Harold variant as an experimental show recently, where we packed an entire Harold into 5 minutes (less than that, when you took into account the time to get on stage). We skipped the opener, and for our third beat we leaned into a chaotic tornado of just put everything we just saw on stage again. It ended up being one of the most entertaining and joyful Harolds I've ever done, and I think this is why. We knew we were playing with nothing but initiations, knew if we wanted to explore we had to do it quick. Definitely something I'll be taking with me as I continue to practice this format and more.
25m Harold. You just get going, to the good stuff, you found it, you’re feeling it, oh yeah… I know… I’m gonna… “edit”. Fuck! Fast is fun but exploration makes all things deep and better. Oh wow I hear myself now.
Harold is improv gatekeeping? In so many spaces it’s true, yeah. If you don’t like/do/teach Zumba (specifically) or haven’t instructed in this region before — you aren’t a real dance fitness instructor at all, JEN, I’m looking at you! *cut to jen ghosting and starting her own better-for-her format and finding her people* Invalidation and pushing others down to make self feel better happens in all the things. Threat, safety, clique BS, ego, whatever.
The fear of going too far from OG = core purist gatekeeper req? But a Harold mod… it needs those punches you’re giving it.
Demonstrating that there are other, perhaps better, ways of being creative and just getting out there and doing it? SHOW em and win. Use that teaching tool, branch out, do different things that make sense utilizing those same skills. Penta-stuff makes sense. In all of these arenas - sports, fitness, improv, insert-skill-based-community here - post-learning it’s about the people enjoying what they’re doing and/or watching. If not… why, again? ESPECIALLY improv?
Is: Quality? Makes sense? Fills some need? Has direction? Good. Does it take you to the edge and kick you out of the room before it’s over and everyone is all “wha just happened” so a purist could stick a label on it and call it a thing? Get outta here. Please.
Wow can I parallel and apply this to online improv too? Hell yeah I can. And will. Or just did. Maybe.
BTW I have no idea what I’m doing. OMG self-gatekeeping.
Great read Will, thanks. Couldn’t agree more. There’s definitely value in The Harold as a teaching tool as you say, and it feels absolutely right and proper that improvisers keep rethinking the Harold’s place in performance now there’s tons more watchable and playable formats to choose from.
Also if you don’t mind me piggy backing shamelessly on your post, here’s one I wrote on another surprisingly strong link between cricket and improv🏏 https://suggestionboxbyshaunlowthian.substack.com/p/the-cricket-forward-defensive-and
You’re welcome?
Will, I wrote a long, passionate comment and then accidentally deleted it.
TLDR: I like Harolds.
As someone who grew up playing and watching cricket, and was there when the T20 (this is how we generally write it) came about, this analogy works great! One of the biggest things it changed about the style of play is that players would take bigger swings, literally. It even made it more appealing for non-hardcode cricket watchers to be able to watch. So here's to taking bigger swings on stage.
I believe I heard in some old interview that Harold was originally "The training wheels Harold" and people just forgot that they were supposed to take the wheels off eventually. So maybe you are just asking for the original purpose to be remembered and restored.
I miss improv
My Substack is the complete opposite of yours
Yes but your improv coaching helped me say yes to having a Dom
Yes and****
Really interesting.
I don't know jack shit about cricket but I know a bit about weightlifting so I'll use that as an analogy.
You start with advice like "do heavy compound lifts 2-3 times weekly" which is pretty good advice IMO but the issue is when that advice turns into dogma and the solution to every weightlifting problem is "did you squat more?" .
So the point of squatting is to increase your leg strength (and it's good at that!) but the issue is when you think squatting solves every problem (it's arguably not that sports specific for example https://rugbystrengthcoach.com/top-speed-sprinting/) or that it's objectively "Better" than lunges, hill sprints, kettlebell swings, sled pulls etc because there is a big opportunity cost in terms of general athletic development when you spend 80% of your time doing one fucking thing.
So maybe Harold's like squatting are slightly overrated.
I was producing/hosting a beloved open mic with a 15 min feature to close out here in the PNW and it was surprisingly packed every Wednesday night. . I decided to let a local improv team close out one night. Just hoping to be supportive to other comedy performers in my community (and because I love improv.)
17 min into their 15 min “set,” it dawned on me that comics grab the mic stand and put the mic back in when they are getting ready to close. This ragtag group of 4 just got into a kayak and realized - they only have ONE oar. I had no idea how to tell they were closing soon and I got the impression that information was a secret to them as well.
This wasn’t related to Harolds but it made me think of that night. The last night I booked local improv from Evergreen College on my stand-up show.
Having been in the cast when Del Close first introduced Harold at The Second City it was meant to generate material that could be finessed for use in a revue. It was only used in the improvised ‘set’ (30-35’) after a show and would begin with an audience suggestion answering the question, “Why I can’t I?” Only later did it become a stand alone performance piece exhibiting many of the flaws David expressed.
If you are telling people you can only perform at this theater if you show proficiency at this one form when there are lots of other forms out there, you're doing it wrong. I love Harolds. I am on a Harold team. I have an indie team looking to return to doing Harolds. But it shouldn't be the determining factor for everyone. Teach it. Perform it. But don't make it sacrosanct.
My initial thoughts are that the Harold 9 scenes shouldn't feel like 9 scenes if done right, right? All of the initial scenes should have established the base reality and characters so that you can heighten and explore in the latter 6 scenes. Plus connections can be built slowly throughout the Harold
I did a Harold variant as an experimental show recently, where we packed an entire Harold into 5 minutes (less than that, when you took into account the time to get on stage). We skipped the opener, and for our third beat we leaned into a chaotic tornado of just put everything we just saw on stage again. It ended up being one of the most entertaining and joyful Harolds I've ever done, and I think this is why. We knew we were playing with nothing but initiations, knew if we wanted to explore we had to do it quick. Definitely something I'll be taking with me as I continue to practice this format and more.
I agree with Will Hines.