Five Questions With Grace Presse

This is a post in our "Five Questions" series of interviews with Improv Conspiracy members.  During the 2013 Melbourne International Comedy Festival we'll be posting a new interview just about every day. You can find out more about our show "Our Friend Harold" and buy tickets by clicking here!

What was the first improv show you saw that made you think "wow, I'd like to do that!"?

When I was about 15 I went on a family trip to the states and we spent some time in New York. I didn't know my passion for the arts back then so luckily my parents took us to see a whole bunch of shows. One of the best things they did was take us to an improv gig at a small, dingy theater off broadway.  I don't know the name of the troupe or the theater but still to this day I remember how hard I laughed and the joy I felt watching it.

What aspects of the Harold do you find the most rewarding? The most challenging?

The most rewarding part of a Harold for me is when my scene partner(s) and I click and are both totally on the same page and roll with it. I feel the best when I'm confident and having fun.

The most challenging is if I have tried to help a scene out with some sort of input and it turns out to make the scene worse! Whoopsies!

What would you like your team to be capable of by the end of Comedy Festival? A year from now?

By the comedy festival I would like for us to be confident with all the different openings. I would also be really keen for us to work on focusing on relationships between out characters and their point on view.

A year from now I'd really love for each scene we do in the Harold to really pop. I want us to eliminate dead space and get really clever with our story telling.

Which Conspiracy members do you have improv crushes on, and why? What do they do that inspires you?

I have so many crushes now that I've started with The Improv Conspiracy.. where to begin?

It is such a pleasure to watch Wyatt with his positive attitude and cheeky characters always getting in to trouble. 

Emmet is such a supportive and encouraging coach. His scenes are clever and his gags are hilarious.

Damian Vosk makes such clear offers and has awesome scene ideas.

I LOVE April because she's smart and funny and always rocks out on the dance floor with me.

And Adam Kangas is a pretty cool dude.    

How has your improv training helped your non-improv life?

Improv has encouraged me to take a leap of faith and get outside my comfort zone. It's reminded me why I love acting and being on stage. It's taught me to support your fellow actors and fail together in a terrible heap and be ok with that and move on. It's taught me that if you hold back from something because you're scared of embarrassing yourself or stuffing up you'll also miss out on some of the funniest moments and the things that you can be really proud of.