Thinking outside the box. Performing in front of a live audience. Making it up on the spot; all fun life skills Newington Impro students embrace with gusto and on the fly.

Speaking out of turn comes easily to Finn D, Year 12 student and Captain of Drama.

Finn is a long-time member of Newington’s drama and Improv (improvisation) program. Seasoned at treading the boards in College productions (five plays, one musical and counting), toss Finn a throwaway line or plonk him in an unscripted scene on stage, throw in a time limit and a team of his fellow ad-libbing thespians, and he is in unchartered, spontaneous heaven.

‘Improv teaches you to think on your feet like nothing else,’ says Finn.

‘It’s about learning to solve problems on stage. To get around those forgotten lines or something not going to plan during a production and freezing. It’s about understanding the audience doesn’t have a script and learning to quickly change direction and cover something up, so the audience remains unaware.’

Come next Sunday June 22, Finn and the rest of the fast-thinking Newington Senior Improv troupe (Gill G, Jonathan F, Archie F, Henry C and Tristan H) take to the Enmore Theatre as grand finalists in the annual Impro Australia Theatresports School Challenge.

Here they will match bravado, adaptability and extemporaneity against eight fellow finalists teams from schools around Sydney, in an effort to retain the championship title won last year. Our Newington Intermediate team (Tom B, Nick S, Jasper F, Aiden P and Sam E) which was just outperformed by a single point last year, is also back as a finalist, keener than ever to be awarded first place. Newington’s Junior Theatresports Impro team, which consists of Year 7 and 8 players, competes later in the year.

‘Some people who have never done improv might view it is as part brave and part terrifying but improvisation is actually very important for an actor,’ explains Finn.

‘It allows you to learn to adapt to the circumstances on stage in that moment, for instance someone forgets a line, or something goes wrong with a set, and in live theatre that happens. But basically, for all the skill it requires, the TheatreSports Schools Challenge is about having fun and putting on a show for the audience.’

Each year, Impro Australia’s Theatresports School Challenge attracts up to 200 state and independent schools across greater metropolitan Sydney, all keen to test their unprompted mettle. A knock-out competition, teams are challenged to create one, two and three minute improvised scenarios live on stage. Performances are judged by three improvisation professionals and scored from one to five points, with one being a raspberry and five a standing ovation.

Theatresports first emerged in Canada in the late 1970s and found a following in Australia in the mid 1980s. Staged initially at Sydney’s Belvoir Street theatre, it was a breeding ground for comedians and creatives such as Andrew Denton, Wil Anderson and Amanda Keller. The stage merriment later morphed into ABC TV classic, Theatre Sports. Mathematician and media host Adam Spencer, who also cut his teeth on Theatresports, later went on to say he loved the competition because ‘you are always one minute away from giving either the best or the worst performance of your life. It is so much fun. The failures are spectacular failures and great fun to watch but the successes take it to another level.’

Impro has long had a strong following at Newington. It is taught to every Year 7 in Drama classes throughout the year, and through the Year 7 Drama Club which meets on Wednesdays after school and is open to all comers. Year 8 to 12 Improv also meets weekly in the Duckmanton Drama Centre on Monday and Thursdays after school, ordinarily attracting an avid group of up to 50 actors.

‘Impro is a really great thing to try,’ says Finn.

‘Yes, it helps you think on your feet, work as a team on stage and improve your acting abilities but most of all it’s fun. Come along next Sunday and watch us in action at the Enmore Theatre. Now I’ve been doing it for many years, I don’t tend to get nervous anymore because you just get caught up in the moment and go for it. It’s really great fun and it’s funny to see the situation we can bring to life in 60 seconds.’