Local improv group to bring ‘mundane’ to life at CSPS Hall

Harrison Shaffer took the pillar of improvisation, "Say yes and..." literally from an early age.

When Shaffer was asked as a freshman at Washington High School in 2012 if he wanted to start an improv group, his response was "Yes and..."

Thirteen years later, Shaffer is still responding with the acceptance principle onstage. However, Shaffer does so with the group, Living Improverty, which formed in 2017 and will perform Saturday at CSPS Hall.

"We owe so much to Karen Krebs, who was our coach at Washington High," Shaffer said. "She was a volunteer and her son (Charles Krebs) was a senior during my freshman year. She came in to teach improv and made a huge impact on all of us"

After graduating from Washington High in 2016, Krebs asked Shaffer and fellow alums Jake Truemper and Seth Engen if they wanted to form a professional improv team.

"When Karen spoke with us about starting such a team, we said yes," Shaffer said. "She also asked some students from Mount Mercy (University's Beggin' for Mercy improv group) about being part of the team, and it happened. It's been amazing. Anything can happen when we're onstage."

Living Improverty, which also includes Mount Mercy alums Matthew Trueblood, Matthew Weihe and Bryce Althoff, is at its best with the mundane. During a recent show, an audience member suggested shovel, and the group went to work.

"Shovel sounds like a boring topic, but there are no boring topics with improv," Shaffer said. "Once we got started, we were digging a hole on the moon."

Shaffer is essentially the director of Living Improverty.

"I look toward trying to help everyone in the group find their strengths," Shaffer said. "There are two kinds of roles you can take in a scene. I help provide a grounded nature when the other person is doing the crazy stuff. You need both of those types to work in cooperation with each other. My strength is bringing a sense of logic and realism to a scene while keeping the craziness going."

Even though the members of Living Improverty act in the moment, the cast practices often.

"People often ask why we practice since it's not like we're doing lines like you would in a play," Shaffer said. "But what they need to understand is that improv is like a sport in that you work on your skills so when you perform you're sharp. To perform at our best, this group has to know what the other people are thinking. That way our partners can pick up where the action is going and take it to a good place."

Each of the members of Living Improverty has a day job. Shaffer is the community relations manager at Eastern Iowa Arts Academy.

"That's fine with us," Shaffer said. "We have our jobs, but we're still able to do what we love to do with improv. We perform in and around Eastern Iowa. I've always enjoyed the stage and improv."

As a child, Shaffer was a fan of the improv program, "Whose Line Is It Anyway" and was attracted to the stage courtesy of his mother, who was a performer.

"I grew up around theater," Shaffer said. "My mom did shows in the area and in Des Moines. She did dinner theater. She taught speech during that time, and I went to those speech competitions."

That exposure rubbed off on Shaffer, and now he and his troupe will perform at CSPS. "If you come out to the show, just expect the unexpected," Shaffer said.

For instance, if a member of the audience suggests “strip club," Living Improverty will not perform in an obvious manner.

"If someone gives you that, don't be a stripper," Shaffer said. "Odds are that I'll be the person who cleans the pole at the strip club. We're not going to do something offensive, gross or predictable."