A different Festival concept
Imagine an Improv partnership not between two cities, but between four, or more. Imagine 90 improvisers from different countries, getting together in Brussels, shuffling in different classes with different teachers, and improvising together.
This is the #brushu.
In 2024, starring Coffee Brecht from Naples, El Club De La Impro from Madrid, Vienna Sprouts from Vienna, Impro Nation from The Hague and of course Impro Brussels from… you know. Brussels.
BruShu story
Some stories don’t have a precise starting point. We could say it all started in Brussels in 2018, with the first partnership between us (“us” is Impro Brussels) and Verba Volant, one of Rome’s Improv schools, the one I studied Improv in for my first 5 years. (“I” is Pierpaolo. Hi.)
But it wouldn’t be accurate, because these twinnings already existed, and when I was living in Italy, I took part in all those I could get my hands on.
So I guess we’ll just have to start the story in the middle, with partnerships between cities already established, and Improv festivals already happening all over the world.
When I moved to Belgium, I couldn’t wait to start doing the same with Impro Brussels. I always loved Improv partnerships between cities, for a combination of factors: being an introvert, plus having never really grown out of my teens.
For example: traditional Improv festivals can be difficult for introverts. You often find yourself in rooms full of people you don’t know, who just like you have travelled on their own but unlike you know most other festival attendees, with whom you have to mingle. You know? Chat, socialize, make public relations. Jokes aside, this can be challenging for folks like me.
And no, it’s no use looking for the other introverts. Just like you, they’re hiding.
On the other hand though, when you’re travelling with your group, you are already with the people you invested months getting comfortable around.
Plus, the added value of travelling like a school trip. Getting tickets together, running to catch the train, sitting in the back of the bus to talk about naughty stuff we don’t want the teacher to hear, these things. More often than not now the teacher is me, but you see what I mean.
Then visiting a new city with your group, or showing your own city to another group. Sightseeing, tasting the local food… I mean the romantic aspect of all this is off the charts.
Over the years, we had a number of partnerships with Italian cities.
We went to Rome twice, and the Romans came twice to visit us, representing the schools of Verba Volant and Art You.
We regularly go to Naples since 2023, visiting the local school Coffee Brecht, and we have the time of our lives. We eat so much pizza we could explode.
Which is why I thought: if a partnership can work between two cities, why couldn’t it work between multiple? The math is all there.
So here we are: the idea of making Brussels a sort of “hub” where different schools from all over the world can gather, annually, exchange teachers and work with different scene partners.
This brings us to the second edition of the Brussels Shuffle. We’re getting started, from Oct 31st to Nov 3rd, 2024. We’ll improvise together, we’ll go for food and drinks, we’ll socialize not being overwhelmed by it.
Last year it went well. Fingers crossed it will work again.
This is an example of what I mean.
Rome, 2019. We were 6 in a car (the car had just been broken into but ok, that’s another story), and we were trying to get Emma to point the camera in the right direction to capture the Colosseum.