Amy Shostak is an internationally renowned improviser, but when faced with sexist remarks during an improv scene on stage, she struggles with how to flip the script.
As both an organizer of the (Oct. 11-14), and an instructor at , Shostak is taking decisive steps to make improv a more inclusive space for trans people, women and femmes.
Sitting at a caf茅 in the Olympic Village with the characteristically confident posture of an actor, Shostak recounts an experience where she was relegated to a stereotypically feminine role.
Once, during an improv skit, one of her teammates said he needed a doctor. Shostak promptly entered the scene, assuming she would fill the role. Instead, her teammate greeted her by saying, 鈥�Nurse, could you go get the doctor?鈥� Put on the spot, she acquiesced.
鈥淲hat else could I have said?鈥� she recalls. One of the issues, she says, is that, in improv, in order to keep a scene rolling, the standard response to your teammate鈥檚 suggestion is supposed to be 鈥測es, and...鈥� As such, sometimes improvisers feel pressure to accept a story line or instruction even when it marginalizes themselves or others.
Conversely, Shostak has also had success in biting back. Once during a scene where she and her male teammate were playing farmers and ploughing a field, a third performer on the stage referred to her as the 鈥渇armer鈥檚 wife,鈥� rather than a farmer. Playing with the gender stereotype, Shostak stopped the ploughing motion abruptly, and made a fuss about how weak and tired she felt, insisting she needed to recline on a chaise lounge.
The 32-year-old is among a group of performers pushing back. Shostak鈥檚 newest course, Women Centre Stage, is aimed at women and non-binary performers at the intermediate level, which, among other things, explores how performers can say 鈥渘o鈥� while on stage, and encourages participants to explore diverse stories, valuing female, trans and non-binary experiences.
Shostak and Blind Tiger Comedy鈥檚 efforts to create empowering and inclusive improv spaces have inspired offshoots, too. The latest is a group called , an all-female, multi-racial improv troupe, which includes seven alumni from the progressive improv school. This troupe will perform at the improv festival on Oct. 12, and, thanks to its runaway success, has secured a regular performance night at the Biltmore Cabaret.
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鈥� Women Centre Stage runs on Tuesdays from Nov. 14 until Dec. 5, 5-7:30 p.m., and costs $125. Visit
鈥� Nasty Women perform Thursday, Oct. 12, 7:30 p.m. at Waterfront Theatre (1412 Cartwright St.) . Visit听麻豆传媒映画International Improv Festival runs Oct. 11-14 at various locations on Granville Island. Tickets start at $15. Visit .
