hello yes my name is Adam Megiddo I am
the co-creator and director of show stop
at the improvised musical now show
stopper has everything that you could
possibly want from a musical
it has song and dance routines it’s got
big sweeping storylines it’s got
characters that you can care about it’s
got plenty of pizazz the only difference
is that what we’re doing is entirely
made up on the spot it is forged fresh
in the moment and it is 100% improvised
and we’re going to improvise a bit of a
musical for you right now now Lamy zurab
is set on the streets of
nineteenth-century Paris
Little Shop of Horrors is set in a
rundown flower shop in New York City so
could one of you suggest a setting for a
new musical somewhere where you would
genuinely love to see a brand-new
musical a setting a location or
something like that what was that one
Budapest
now can you be even more specific where
in Budapest like what kind of place
would do they meet in Budapest in a bar
fantastic ladies and gentlemen for one
night only your musical entitled a bar
in Budapest
[Music]
I like to drink in the Budapest I like
to drink something that’s fine back to
drinking Budapest
the only place for very good wine but a
grain does the grape and all in between
everything you could desire but take
yourself your passion and even
this little bar in Budapest
[Music]
we know the place that is
this little bar in maybe you want to
love us someone to hold you close
someone who is about nothing in your ear
maybe want to be all we saw the baba
ghanoush and a little snack on the side
so if you long for Eastern Europe your
wishes cannot be denied we know the
place that is the best body
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
okay so what just happened and how did
they do that
if you imagine a flock of birds or a
shoal of fish it looks like they are all
moving on mass as one it looks like they
have almost telepathic communication
with each other and they just move as
one unit but if you look more closely
the fish at the front or the bird at the
front moves and the very next fish or
bird makes a decision to immediately
copy that and embrace the change and so
on down through all the fish in the flow
in the show or all the birds in the
flock and it looks like they’re all
moving with a hive mind but actually
what they’re doing is responding to a
number of tiny little changes in the
moment and this willingness to embrace
change in the moment lies at the heart
of everything we do we’re going to try
and make it a little bit more apparent
so showstoppers could you come back up
and give us the chorus again if you can
remember it if you can’t remember it
just come up with something else
and this time could you make some
changes to the dynamic and the tempo and
the mood so that you can see how they
instigate change from within
we know the bar that is the best this
little place in the past we know the
best
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Music]
great laughs stay here for a moment
because that’s obviously an example of
them instigating change from within but
we can also instigate change from
without so could somebody suggest their
favorite musical preferably something
that most of the people in this room
might know because it would be more
entertaining that way a musical a
musical that you’re aware of Chicago
Chicago I heard here
Chicago’s great so they’re gonna do it
now in the style of Chicago
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
thank you very much now okay that is
just one song an example of one song so
how do we put together something which
is more than a song a scene or a story
an entire narrative that goes on for 90
minutes or two hours or even more well
to do this we need to observe some basic
principles firstly we need to accept we
need to accept each other’s ideas
suggestions and offers and we need to
accept them immediately because if we’re
creating a brand new reality forged
fresh in the moment all we have is the
acceptance of each other’s ideas and we
do that as quickly as we can ideally
immediately also in order to do that we
need to listen to each other and we
don’t just mean listening without ears
we mean observing each other paying
attention and being in attendance being
present to in fact the best definition
of listening I know comes from
improvisers and it is listening is the
willingness to be changed listening is
the willingness to be changed and this
willingness to be changed this
willingness to embrace change
immediately and in the moment lies
absolutely at the heart of everything
that we do so we’re gonna play another
little game to demonstrate that and this
one if Ruth and PIPA could come and play
this game this is a game called new
choice it’s a very popular improv games
quite common and basically what happens
is they’re going to play a scene and
whenever I hit the bell during the scene
they’ve got two arrays what they just
said or did and come up with something
else instead I’m going to hit the bell a
lot so this is going to force them into
some very unexpected change and you’re
going to see that the scene will open up
into some very unexpected areas so to
begin with just to give them a bit of a
launch into the scene could someone
suggest a place where two people might
work the government yeah the government
to government workers in a new choice
game another lovely dead the government
isn’t it I do love working at the
government g2 I put some laws here
take them off put them into action
team.o okay you need a cup of tea when
you work at the government don’t you
oh yes because government
oh I can’t tell you how tiring sometimes
it is to work for the government now I
know all those people need guidance and
we give it to them they need governing
they do need governing I’m sorry right
Marian Thank You Claudette
Lady Grey always lovely how are the
children
oh they’re delightful I don’t have any I
forgot I like them I’m very happy in my
life with the children and my husband I
I had no idea why don’t you ever talk
about these things because I’m so busy
governing I forget about me it’s true
that’s the problem with working in the
government you’re always thinking about
other people in Livia you’re obviously
you about yourself now you’re always
putting in laws that really benefit
yourself you’re always looking out of
the window going why did I choose this
you’re always asking to yellow lines and
a red root what’s that all about I broke
my heart in San Francisco you broke your
own heart yes going on one of those
sabbaticals you know what you find
yourself and I found myself and I broke
up with myself and that’s why you’re
back governing again that’s right that’s
why I’m back here in Westminster looking
at the people and thinking one day I
will be Prime Minister one day I will be
Lord Bentley one day I will clean up
England yes thank you
so change can open up things and all
sorts of unexpected ways and by
embracing it actually it can be
extremely joyous so why don’t we do it
more
well change can often take us into the
unknown and the unknown can be a scary
and a frightening place and a lot of
people always say well I’m frightened of
making a mistake and particularly in
this kind of work we encounter that a
lot with people who are learning to
improvise for the first time they are
frightened of making a mistake but
really in improvisation we say that
there is no such thing as a mistake a
mistake in fact is an opportunity we’ve
often heard it said that a mistake is a
gift from the impro gods if you look at
jazz musicians when they play together
jazz musicians might hit what we call a
bum note and if they leave it at that
it will feel very much like a mistake
but if they play it three more times
it becomes an angular new tune for those
of you who might been watching the
documentary series chefs table I’d like
to talk a little bit about a chef called
Massimo Bottura who is a chef in it in
Madinah and Italy he’s got a three
Michelin star restaurant now as you can
imagine from a three Michelin star
restaurant the standards are pretty high
and extremely exacting so when one of
his kitchen staff drops a lemon tart and
it splatters across the plate he is
quite rightly horrified and most of the
kitchen staff are horrified this is an
error this is a terrible mistake how
could such a mistake happen in such a
worthy institution but to Massimo
Bottura it’s not a mistake it’s an
opportunity
he immediately renames the dish oops I
dropped the lemon tart and it’s spread
out across the plate just as it was when
it was dropped he makes all of his
chef’s make it in exactly the same way
this now has a story this now has a
personality it has history it is fun it
is vibrant and presumably it tastes just
as good as it did before so embracing a
mistake can often lead to an opportunity
we talked a little bit about some of the
principles that we play by listening and
accepting and I just want to talk about
a third and final one which is
committing
because we commit fully to what we do in
the moment right now even if we don’t
know what’s going on we commit to it in
fact a commitment to the process is
often more effective than an attachment
to the outcome we’re going to
demonstrate that with another game so if
we could have the showstoppers back up
please this is another common
improvisation game it’s called speaking
in one voice and they are going to speak
as one person in one voice I’m going to
ask them what their name is then you’re
going to say my name is and after that
they’re improvising so hello nice to
meet you what’s your name
so high so what’s your surname
[Music]
Bentley how old do you saw and what do
you do for a living so how long have you
been in the accountancy game maybe 15
years yeah give or take
now what was it that really got you into
accountancy how I see it runs in the
family
now I also heard that your mother taught
you a song when you were young what was
the title of that song that the title of
the song that Saul Bentley’s mother
taught him a title for a song
keep on counting and what was yours
maths is everything it’s got both lyrics
in it keep on counting maths is
everything ladies and gentlemen the
showstoppers
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
and finally they’re going to sing that
fantastic Accountancy song one more time
in the style of any musical of your
choosing a musical please Calamity Jane
here it is the calamity jane Accountancy
musical as our finale thank you very
much my mama always said to go and get
yourself into
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
named German booth brags just in Brent’s
Andrew Pugsley Kippur Evans and on the
keyboard Duncan Watkins
I’m Adam Megiddo and we’ve been the
showstoppers thank you very much
[Music]
[Applause]
the co-creator and director of show stop
at the improvised musical now show
stopper has everything that you could
possibly want from a musical
it has song and dance routines it’s got
big sweeping storylines it’s got
characters that you can care about it’s
got plenty of pizazz the only difference
is that what we’re doing is entirely
made up on the spot it is forged fresh
in the moment and it is 100% improvised
and we’re going to improvise a bit of a
musical for you right now now Lamy zurab
is set on the streets of
nineteenth-century Paris
Little Shop of Horrors is set in a
rundown flower shop in New York City so
could one of you suggest a setting for a
new musical somewhere where you would
genuinely love to see a brand-new
musical a setting a location or
something like that what was that one
Budapest
now can you be even more specific where
in Budapest like what kind of place
would do they meet in Budapest in a bar
fantastic ladies and gentlemen for one
night only your musical entitled a bar
in Budapest
[Music]
I like to drink in the Budapest I like
to drink something that’s fine back to
drinking Budapest
the only place for very good wine but a
grain does the grape and all in between
everything you could desire but take
yourself your passion and even
this little bar in Budapest
[Music]
we know the place that is
this little bar in maybe you want to
love us someone to hold you close
someone who is about nothing in your ear
maybe want to be all we saw the baba
ghanoush and a little snack on the side
so if you long for Eastern Europe your
wishes cannot be denied we know the
place that is the best body
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
okay so what just happened and how did
they do that
if you imagine a flock of birds or a
shoal of fish it looks like they are all
moving on mass as one it looks like they
have almost telepathic communication
with each other and they just move as
one unit but if you look more closely
the fish at the front or the bird at the
front moves and the very next fish or
bird makes a decision to immediately
copy that and embrace the change and so
on down through all the fish in the flow
in the show or all the birds in the
flock and it looks like they’re all
moving with a hive mind but actually
what they’re doing is responding to a
number of tiny little changes in the
moment and this willingness to embrace
change in the moment lies at the heart
of everything we do we’re going to try
and make it a little bit more apparent
so showstoppers could you come back up
and give us the chorus again if you can
remember it if you can’t remember it
just come up with something else
and this time could you make some
changes to the dynamic and the tempo and
the mood so that you can see how they
instigate change from within
we know the bar that is the best this
little place in the past we know the
best
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Music]
great laughs stay here for a moment
because that’s obviously an example of
them instigating change from within but
we can also instigate change from
without so could somebody suggest their
favorite musical preferably something
that most of the people in this room
might know because it would be more
entertaining that way a musical a
musical that you’re aware of Chicago
Chicago I heard here
Chicago’s great so they’re gonna do it
now in the style of Chicago
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
thank you very much now okay that is
just one song an example of one song so
how do we put together something which
is more than a song a scene or a story
an entire narrative that goes on for 90
minutes or two hours or even more well
to do this we need to observe some basic
principles firstly we need to accept we
need to accept each other’s ideas
suggestions and offers and we need to
accept them immediately because if we’re
creating a brand new reality forged
fresh in the moment all we have is the
acceptance of each other’s ideas and we
do that as quickly as we can ideally
immediately also in order to do that we
need to listen to each other and we
don’t just mean listening without ears
we mean observing each other paying
attention and being in attendance being
present to in fact the best definition
of listening I know comes from
improvisers and it is listening is the
willingness to be changed listening is
the willingness to be changed and this
willingness to be changed this
willingness to embrace change
immediately and in the moment lies
absolutely at the heart of everything
that we do so we’re gonna play another
little game to demonstrate that and this
one if Ruth and PIPA could come and play
this game this is a game called new
choice it’s a very popular improv games
quite common and basically what happens
is they’re going to play a scene and
whenever I hit the bell during the scene
they’ve got two arrays what they just
said or did and come up with something
else instead I’m going to hit the bell a
lot so this is going to force them into
some very unexpected change and you’re
going to see that the scene will open up
into some very unexpected areas so to
begin with just to give them a bit of a
launch into the scene could someone
suggest a place where two people might
work the government yeah the government
to government workers in a new choice
game another lovely dead the government
isn’t it I do love working at the
government g2 I put some laws here
take them off put them into action
team.o okay you need a cup of tea when
you work at the government don’t you
oh yes because government
oh I can’t tell you how tiring sometimes
it is to work for the government now I
know all those people need guidance and
we give it to them they need governing
they do need governing I’m sorry right
Marian Thank You Claudette
Lady Grey always lovely how are the
children
oh they’re delightful I don’t have any I
forgot I like them I’m very happy in my
life with the children and my husband I
I had no idea why don’t you ever talk
about these things because I’m so busy
governing I forget about me it’s true
that’s the problem with working in the
government you’re always thinking about
other people in Livia you’re obviously
you about yourself now you’re always
putting in laws that really benefit
yourself you’re always looking out of
the window going why did I choose this
you’re always asking to yellow lines and
a red root what’s that all about I broke
my heart in San Francisco you broke your
own heart yes going on one of those
sabbaticals you know what you find
yourself and I found myself and I broke
up with myself and that’s why you’re
back governing again that’s right that’s
why I’m back here in Westminster looking
at the people and thinking one day I
will be Prime Minister one day I will be
Lord Bentley one day I will clean up
England yes thank you
so change can open up things and all
sorts of unexpected ways and by
embracing it actually it can be
extremely joyous so why don’t we do it
more
well change can often take us into the
unknown and the unknown can be a scary
and a frightening place and a lot of
people always say well I’m frightened of
making a mistake and particularly in
this kind of work we encounter that a
lot with people who are learning to
improvise for the first time they are
frightened of making a mistake but
really in improvisation we say that
there is no such thing as a mistake a
mistake in fact is an opportunity we’ve
often heard it said that a mistake is a
gift from the impro gods if you look at
jazz musicians when they play together
jazz musicians might hit what we call a
bum note and if they leave it at that
it will feel very much like a mistake
but if they play it three more times
it becomes an angular new tune for those
of you who might been watching the
documentary series chefs table I’d like
to talk a little bit about a chef called
Massimo Bottura who is a chef in it in
Madinah and Italy he’s got a three
Michelin star restaurant now as you can
imagine from a three Michelin star
restaurant the standards are pretty high
and extremely exacting so when one of
his kitchen staff drops a lemon tart and
it splatters across the plate he is
quite rightly horrified and most of the
kitchen staff are horrified this is an
error this is a terrible mistake how
could such a mistake happen in such a
worthy institution but to Massimo
Bottura it’s not a mistake it’s an
opportunity
he immediately renames the dish oops I
dropped the lemon tart and it’s spread
out across the plate just as it was when
it was dropped he makes all of his
chef’s make it in exactly the same way
this now has a story this now has a
personality it has history it is fun it
is vibrant and presumably it tastes just
as good as it did before so embracing a
mistake can often lead to an opportunity
we talked a little bit about some of the
principles that we play by listening and
accepting and I just want to talk about
a third and final one which is
committing
because we commit fully to what we do in
the moment right now even if we don’t
know what’s going on we commit to it in
fact a commitment to the process is
often more effective than an attachment
to the outcome we’re going to
demonstrate that with another game so if
we could have the showstoppers back up
please this is another common
improvisation game it’s called speaking
in one voice and they are going to speak
as one person in one voice I’m going to
ask them what their name is then you’re
going to say my name is and after that
they’re improvising so hello nice to
meet you what’s your name
so high so what’s your surname
[Music]
Bentley how old do you saw and what do
you do for a living so how long have you
been in the accountancy game maybe 15
years yeah give or take
now what was it that really got you into
accountancy how I see it runs in the
family
now I also heard that your mother taught
you a song when you were young what was
the title of that song that the title of
the song that Saul Bentley’s mother
taught him a title for a song
keep on counting and what was yours
maths is everything it’s got both lyrics
in it keep on counting maths is
everything ladies and gentlemen the
showstoppers
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
and finally they’re going to sing that
fantastic Accountancy song one more time
in the style of any musical of your
choosing a musical please Calamity Jane
here it is the calamity jane Accountancy
musical as our finale thank you very
much my mama always said to go and get
yourself into
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
named German booth brags just in Brent’s
Andrew Pugsley Kippur Evans and on the
keyboard Duncan Watkins
I’m Adam Megiddo and we’ve been the
showstoppers thank you very much
[Music]
[Applause]
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