17 June 2013

A history of Theatresports

Improvisor Jennifer O'Sullivan talks to drama on the waterfront about the current season of Theatresports.



Back when I was in third form (remember forms?) at Upper Hutt College, I responded to a school notice inviting anyone interested in playing something called Theatresports to meet in the library at lunchtime. I didn’t know what Theatresports was, but being the ridiculous, overcommitted overachiever I was, it sounded to me like a) something else to add to my school CV and b) something a lot less sweaty than netball but just as competitive.
Fast forward five years and I am in my last year of high school. I have competed and played in Theatresports - the energetic, hilarious, sometimes touching, always surprising improvised theatre show - every year since that fateful school notice. I am in the Wellington team, being taken on tour by Steve Wrigley and Sully O’Sullivan to Hawkes Bay. I have dropped most of my sports and I am growing the reputation of being one of those weird theatre kids. And I am utterly smitten.
Fast forward yet another ten years and we’re at the present day. I’ve improvised with companies and players in Wellington, Melbourne, Canberra and London, and my affair with the unwritten word has been my passion for 17 years. And here I am, playing Theatresports with the people who introduced me to it all. I’m rather chuffed to be honest.
The Improvisors have been performing Theatresports at Circa for over 20 years and it’s still going strong, and this season is no different. Its longevity rests on the fact that each and every single show is always going to be different, with new games and players mixing it up with old favourites and performing legends. Check us out every Sunday til 7 July at Circa, and watch theatre history get created on the spot!

Jennifer O’Sullivan 



To book, call the Circa Box Office on 801-7992 or visit www.circa.co.nz.

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