Yellow Submarine Improv Troupe (YSIT)
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The Yellow Submarine Improv Troupe (YSIT) is a longform improvisational comedy troupe composed of students from the Boston Latin School. The troupe is somewhat unique in that many of its alumni go on to form professional troupes local to the Boston area, including Midnight Snack and Improv Jones Boston. Although it has worked with individuals from ImprovBoston, New York theater, and even Jane Curtin of SNL fame, YSIT is largely run by the students themselves. The troupe is named after the song by the Beatles, and most of the shows have had names based on other Beatles songs.
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[edit] Principles
The Yellow Submarine Improv troupe prides itself on being only student-run and on allowing entrance to any member who wants to participate. There are no auditions or restrictions on membership.
[edit] Leadership
The troupe is run by three or four student co-captains, who report back the afterschool drama teacher. The co-captains provide exercises to teach new members about long-form, arrange for shows, and direct rehearsals, but on the whole, the troupe employs a collaborative method of rehearsal that values the input of all its members.
[edit] Early History
The troupe was formed in late 1999, after the BLS drama club offered an improv workshop designed to prepare students for a single night of scenes. After the performance was over, those that had participated in the workshop wanted to continue doing improv, and formed their own afterschool club under the supervision of the drama instructor, Sarah Teasdale. Because of the construction going on at the time, the troupe often had to rehearse in the nearby park. The first co-captains were chosen through election by the troupe itself.
While it's earliest performance after the initial night of scenes was actually a short play written by one of the members, the troupe quickly moved on to improvisational comedy. It began with shortform comedy hosted by a moderator, similar to the show Whose Line Is It Anyway?, but moved on to practice based on the principles of longform presented in Del Close's Truth in Comedy. The troupe now experiments with its own, invented long-forms and continues to put on shows in the performance space in Boston Latin school's arts wing.
[edit] Shows
The following is a list of some of the shows the Yellow Sumbarine Improv Troupe has performed, and the dates on which they were performed:
- Night of Scenes- December 1st, 1999
- The Wizard of Zo (a play)- March 17th, 2000
- The Magical Mystery Show- February 9th, 2001
- SIT Back- May 4th & 5th, 2001
- The Fab Fourth Improv Show- November 2nd & 3rd, 2001
- Cabaret Night- January 18th, 2002
- Here Come the Subs (also known as the George Harrison Show)- April 6th, 2002
- Whatever Gets You Through the Night- May, 2002
- Improv in the Sky with Diamonds- November 8th & 9th, 2002
- Improv! With the Subs!- February, 2004
- A Day in the Life- May 28th and 29th, 2004
- Revolution Improv- December 18th, 2004
- Eleanor Rigby's Comedy Bash - December, 2005
- Harry Plotter and the Goblet of Improv- February, 2006
- Improv in the USSR - April, 2006
- Here they come the Fabulous Subs- December 1st, 2006
The following shows are planned for the future:
- The Continuing Story of the Improv Troupe- January 26th, 2007
- Hello, Goodbye- March 23rd, 2007
