Jean-Michel Cliche is one-third (along with Alex Rioux and Georgia Brown) of the team of gifted improvisors from Solo Chicken Productions bringing their unique half-scripted, half improv show TILT to NotaBle Acts’ mainstage Thursday July 24 and Friday July 25. This will be a new version of the show, which won the Audience Choice Award at last summer’s Fundy Fringe Festival. We asked Jean-Michel a few questions about what audiences should expect from the show, and how TILT is uniquely challenging for the performers.

Tell us a bit about TILT. What should audiences expect from the show?

TILT is an experimental theatre show that starts as a fully scripted, rehearsed and choreographed performance following a couple experiencing a communication breakdown in their relationship. There’s obviously something that is going unsaid between them and it’s beginning to fester. What makes TILT unique is that the secret causing this rift is different every night. Before the show even begins, our stage manager gets the audience to choose the big secret for the night. Then, the scripted portion of the show is performed and ends with the secret being revealed to us (the performers) for the first time. From there, the show continues with all the same elements as before (physical theatre, tech, poetry) but now it’s all completely improvised.

The half-scripted, half-improvised concept for TILT is very unconventional. How did you come up with the idea, and based on your previous performances, would you say it’s turned out as well as and like you expected, or have you been surprised in any ways?

TILT is a reaction to our last show, Fruit Machine, in some ways. That show took 7 years to create, and has resulted in this spectacular, highly technical production that demands a lot of our company, our creative team, and even our audiences. We wanted our next show to be lighter for all involved and more nimble for touring, but without sacrificing the polish that is really important for Solo Chicken. I’ve had this concept of creating a show that started off scripted and switched into improv in the back of my head for years, so we took that idea and the title TILT into the studio and made the show in two weeks… A real record for us!

The biggest surprise for us in creating this show was discovering how movement fit into it. As a physical theatre company, we knew stylized movement was going to be a big part of the show, but it wasn’t immediately clear how to make that happen, especially in the improvised section. We discovered that movement can serve as a way of creating the conventions in the show. A specific movement phrase might send us into a monologue, while another might trigger a flashback. Improv comedy has these conventions already — You might run across the stage to “sweep” into a new scene or tap someone on the shoulder to trade places with them. What’s fun is that these movement conventions are established in the scripted section, so when the same movement vocabulary appears in the improvised half, the audience and performers all know what’s happening.

You are all experienced improvisors, but is there something about this show that tested you in new ways or forced you to develop a new skill set?

In a normal improv show, you organically create your “base reality” — Basically, the world your characters live in. That means that silliness is often baked right into your scene. If you’re an alien on a planet made of Fruit-by-the-Foot, your story starts off being unusual.

What’s challenging about TILT is that the world of our show is very grounded. Their problems are normal, every-day problems, at least on the surface. That means the audience can throw us real curveballs. If the secret is “I am the neighbour’s cat” (a real example from a past show!), we have to work extra hard to justify how that can be true. It’s a balancing act between committing to whatever wild offer the audience has thrown our way and staying true to these realistic characters we’ve been playing for 30 minutes. It’s harder and more rewarding than any improv I’ve done before!

I gather even the tech in the show is improvised. How does that work, and does Georgia follow Alex and Jean-Michel, or vice versa? Or a little of both?

Yes, even the tech is improvised in the second half! Georgia is improvising with whatever lights are at her disposal and has a giant bank of sound effects and songs she can pull out at a moment’s notice. We’re even going to be playing with projections more this time around (more on that later!). We see Georgia as a third improviser in the scene. Sometimes she makes the offer that we accept, and sometimes we offer something that she picks up on. We know that if we mention storm clouds, Georgia’s going bring the thunder, and if she fires a gunshot, one of us is getting shot.

Is there anything in particular you’re especially looking forward to about performing the show at NotaBle Acts?

TILT was made in a real pressure cooker back last summer before we premiered the show at the Fundy Fringe Festival. We’ve learned a lot about the show, and we’re excited to have a bit of rehearsal time to try a few things! We’re going to spend some time creating new movement to heighten the physical theatre elements, as well as play around with projections. Right now, we’re using the projector to reveal the secret during the show, but since it’s available to us, we want to incorporate projections throughout the show, especially the improvised part. Obviously the show is always different, but audiences who have seen the show a few times already should expect some surprises in the scripted section too! We’re super excited to bring this refreshed version of TILT to our hometown audiences before taking it on tour!