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Teen Improv Troupe Takes Over BLT
- bucyruslittletheatre
- Mar 24
- 16 min read
No Small Parts Features Dalton Edwards, Coach, Bucyrus Little Theatre Teen Improv Troupe
"No Small Parts" is a community theater podcast hosted by Scott Leon Smith, recorded at the Bucyrus Little Theatre in Bucyrus, Ohio. In this episode, Scott interviews Dalton Edwards, the coach of the theater's newly formed Teen Improv Troupe. The troupe, consisting of 17 teenagers from three counties and four schools, was initiated in 2023 after a conversation between Dalton and board member Cindy Light. Following auditions in October, the group has been diligently preparing for their debut performances scheduled for March 29 and 30, 2025, titled "Teen Takeover Tour" and "Improv Goes Extreme." These shows promise a variety of unscripted games, including "Scenes From A Hat," "Preordained Lines," and "Beastie Rap," designed to entertain and surprise audiences.
Dalton shares the origins and training process of the troupe, emphasizing the spontaneous nature of improv, where performers create scenes on the spot using audience prompts. He highlights key improv techniques like "yes and," which encourages building on suggestions and avoiding "negation" or "wimping," which stall scenes by rejecting ideas or withholding contributions. The troupe's diverse members have quickly mastered these skills, preparing for two unique shows featuring 24 different games.
The episode also includes a live improv game, "Expert," where Scott plays a hotel expert, humorously tackling questions about cost-saving, cleanliness, bed bugs, and difficult guests. Additionally, the podcast previews the theater’s upcoming "Schoolhouse Rock" production in June and promotes acting masterclasses and a scholarship raffle. "No Small Parts" celebrates the dedication of community performers, offering listeners a glimpse into the creativity and camaraderie of local theater while inviting them to upcoming events.
Listen to the episode by clicking on the player above or by visiting the podcast site here, https://soundcloud.com/bucyrus-little-theatre/dalton-edwards-teen-improv-troupe. You can also read the transcript below.
Transcript
Across the country, dedicated performers give their time and their hearts to bringing great stories to their communities. This is their podcast. We call it No Small Parts. From the Bucyrus Little Theatre in Bucyrus, Ohio, I'm your host, Scott Leon Smith.
Scott Smith:
Welcome everybody to “No Small Parts.” I'm Scott. We are coming from the Bucyrus Little Theatre, where very, very, very soon something will be happening that has never happened before. At least that we know of. We're going to have our very own improv troupe; our teen improv troupe, are going to take over the theatre and do their first show for the public. And here I have with me my guest, Mr. Dalton Edwards, who is the coach of the improv troupe. Hi Dalton, how are you?
Dalton Edwards:
Scott, I'm doing fantastic. I'm so excited to talk about this teen improv tour that we're doing. We got two lovely shows set up and it's going to be a great time and I'm so excited to talk about it today.
Scott:
Awesome. Awesome. Okay. What is the Teen Improv Troupe and tell me how it was formed?
Dalton:
So, the teen improv troupe, it is a group of lovely teenagers. We have at Bucyrus Little Theatre that want to learn the skill of improv. This all started in 2023. I had a meeting with Cindy Light, who is a board member here at Bucyrus Little Theatre. And this was when I was going from high school to college and she was asking me, well, will you have enough time to do more shows at Bucyrus Little Theatre? Can you spare some time? And the conversation just ended up being, what do you miss about high school? My number one answer was, well, I was a part of an improv team for four years. I miss that. And her instant response was, hey, you know, if you want to teach this here, you have all the right to do that. And I'm like, what? We can do this here? That's amazing.
So it all started with a conversation. And then a couple months for the board to get it finalized. And we had auditions in October of last year. So we have a bunch of teens from four different counties, sorry, three different counties, four different schools. And they have been mastering the art of improv to perform it for an audience.
Scott:
And I imagine that takes a lot of practice and a lot of work.
Dalton:
Oh, yeah. There's, there's a, you, it's really hard to train for improv because you don't know what to say. It's quite literally you have no script in front of you and you just have to go with whatever prompt the audience gives you. But with practices, we practice a lot of games that we're going to do. We have 24 different games picked out for 12 for each show. So, 24 different games in total, which is insane that they could learn them that fast.But practices just consist of us learning games and mastering them.
Scott:
Okay. So how many are in the troupe and you can talk about who they are and what they bring to the troupe?
Dalton:
Absolutely. We have 17 different teens on this Teen Improv Troop. Um, a few of them joined later because they couldn't audition and me being me I'm like, okay, I, I see some potential in you. You can do this. And what was very interesting was nobody, everybody that tried out made this troupe. Everybody had, whether it's a little or a lot of potential for improv. And right now, all 17 teens are pretty much masters at the craft of improv right now. Like I said, we have three different schools represented and it is truly beautiful to see that many people to come to Bucyrus Little Theater, whether they're Lalaina Newcomer, who's been my leader. She has been on the Cardington Improv Team for three years now. She is a senior at Cardington. So, she's kind of been leading the charge. Some of our older teens, Sage Whalen and Cynthia, they have been really good leaders in stepping up, same with Lillia, who goes to Crawford count or Crawford, Colonel Crawford. Same thing for the, even the younger teens. Mia Hoover has been an exceptional improv. She was one of those people that thought she wouldn't like it and she's turned out to be a really good improviser. And then our younger teens, I mean, we have Annabelle. We have so, so many great people that have wanted to master the art of improv. And I wish I could go through and explain how great everybody is on the troupe. Everybody's key in improv because once again, you'd ever know what to expect. You could be the lead in one scene and then take a backseat and be the funny guy in a different one. So, everybody on the troupe has done a great job of stepping in when I need them to.
Scott:
Tell us how improv is different from seeing a traditional play.
Dalton:
So, improv is a lot like the show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” You have four people, they go up and they act out whatever they're given from the audience or whatever scene is written up.
For improv performances, the kids are their own director. As in when you are handed a script for a musical or a play, it is lines that have been thought out for months and maybe years to get that script ready to be given out to whoever's going to perform that.
And including jokes, sometimes jokes, they don't really hit well in scripts. With improv, you get to make your own script. You get a prompt from the audience and you decide how you want to roll with that. You decide which direction you want to take it and which direction the other improvisers can take it in that scene.
Scott:
So, the script is being created as you go along.
Dalton:
Yes, as you go along.
We'll get into techniques later, but this troupe has done a great job of keeping me on my toes in the best way possible. As in, they'll take a scene and they'll start going and I'm like, okay, it's going to end this way. And they find a way to turn it 180 and go a completely different direction in the scene. With improv, you need to expect the unexpected, especially with this amazing Teen Improv Troupe we have at BLT.
Scott:
Welcome back everybody. I am speaking with Dalton Edwards, who is the coach of the Teen Improv Troupe at Bucyrus Little Theater. Now, just so the audience can get a sense of how you work with your students, I want you to pretend that I am one of your students right now and teach me a couple of improv techniques.
Dalton:
Yeah, absolutely. One of the first things when it comes to improv is not being afraid to speak your mind. Improv is something where you can ooze creativity and any route you think the scene should go or whatever monologue or whatever you are doing on stage. Whatever direction you want that to go, you have the right to put it wherever you want. So, the first thing is do not be afraid to speak what you think should happen in a scene. Now there are some rules to improv, obviously, because you have to put on a full scene fully improvised. So there's some tips and some tricks to get there. The first one is the number one rule of improv, which is “yes and.” But that is for the people that don't know listening. I'm sure you've heard.
Scott:
I've heard that concept before.
Scott:
Oh, yeah.
Yes, and is basically when you are in a scene in improv or anything on stage and even in life, yes and all the time. If somebody gives you information in a scene, as in if somebody says you are fishing on the dock looking for a shark, it could be completely random and have nothing that you want to happen in the scene. As soon as somebody says it, you yes and it. As in yes, I am fishing and I am looking for a shark. And then you give them information as in yes and I think, oh, I think I have a bite. I think I got a shark coming in.
Scott:
Okay.
Dalton:
That way you can keep a scene moving on no matter what.
Scott:
Gotcha. Okay.
Dalton:
Along with yes and there is something that we call negation. And that is when you do not yes and. If I use the example, I'm fishing on the dock looking for a shark and if somebody comes in and says, no, you're blowing bubbles at a kindergartener’s birthday party, you can't really take a scene in either direction because now the audience is like, okay, what is happening?
Scott:
Yes.
Dalton:
So that is another key component to improv and keeping a scene not only going but to make a scene work.
Scott:
Okay.
Dalton:
Another thing I teach the students are the teens and the troupe is how a scene is structured. In improv, there is always a beginning. You have to establish who you are, what you are doing and the people around you. So if I go out and start a scene, I may introduce somebody else in the scene as Bobby and I may say Bobby's an attorney. Now somebody will come in and Bobby, whoever's playing Bobby, they are the attorney in that scene.
Scott:
Okay.
So you're establishing what your quote unquote reality is in that scene.
Scott:
Okay.
And then the middle is the conflict. What is happening in the scene that needs to be resolved, kind of like a musical or a script. There is always a conflict that moves the story along whether it be characters fall in love. Somebody dies. There's a superhero. There's always some sort of conflict and with improv, they create their own conflict. They come up with something that is wrong that they can make and make it just a nice ending on the scene or add on to whatever game they are playing in a scene.
Scott:
Okay.
Dalton:
And then obviously the ending, I try to tell them expecting unexpected, try to come up with something that the audience will go, ooh, an ah, over. And once again, they've done a great job of doing that. There's some scenes where I'm like, okay, I did not expect you to die. I did not expect this to happen.
Scott:
Okay.
Dalton:
Why are you stealing his girl? There's so many different ideas that they do for endings. But once again, that is another great technique beginning conflict end that I think they've done a great job of mastering.
Scott:
Okay.
Dalton:
And then one I talked to you beforehand about, we have to call it wimping. Obviously, there is another word that we use to describe this term.
Scott:
I'm sure you can find it on Google.
Dalton:
Oh, absolutely. Improv dictionary.
But another key one that we use is we call it wimping. And what that is, is that's not giving anybody any information in a scene. You may yes, but you have not yes and them. You have not given them anything to work with.
If Scott, you and I are in a scene and I say, you know what you've done. You were in so much trouble. That doesn't really give you a direction to go. Therefore I am a wimp in that scene and expecting you to come up with something for me.
Scott:
Gotcha.
So we've got the philosophies behind this as I'm putting them together are as always saying yes to anything that you're given.
Dalton:
Correct.
Scott:
That's how you contribute and you try not to.
Now I've heard the term blocking, right? You try not to block what's what's happening or the direction that it's going. So when somebody takes a direction, you go with them, but you can like, are you free to take it in a completely different direction, like sometime during the like, could the scene become about something completely different in the middle of it? Or do you try to play out what you've initially started with?
Dalton:
That's kind of a double-edged sword. And especially an improv because there's another term that we use and it's called bulldozing. And what that is is if somebody has seen has an idea and you don't yes and it, you completely shut it down and you take over as in saying, I'm going to do this in the scene, you're going to follow me. So, it, like I said, it's a double-edged sword. Typically, you should be able to just add on to what is given to you. But if you're sitting there and you're like, Oh, this scene can go this direction and this can happen. The honest is going to laugh at this.
Scott:
Okay.
Dalton:
It's not encouraged, but it's definitely you are allowed to do that.
Scott:
Okay.
Dalton:
Just to a certain extent.
Scott:
Awesome. Awesome.
But I'm going to attempt to put some of these concepts into practice when we come back for our next bit. So, we're going to take a little break and we'll be right back.
Scott:
All right. We are back at the Bucyrus Little Theatre with Dalton Edwards, coach of the Teen Improv Troupe. I am going to try out an improv game. We call this “Expert.” So, Dalton, give my audience a little bit of an idea of what this game is.
Dalton:
So expert, there's different variations of the game “Expert,” but the overall idea of it is somebody in a scene is an expert on some topic given to them by the audience. The other people in the scene are supposed to ask this expert questions on that topic. And the fun part for this is typically you get stuff that you're not really an expert on. I've played this game and I had to be a makeup expert. I've been in plays, but I know nothing about makeup. So, most of the time it's just making up stuff that can fit. Maybe it doesn't. Maybe that's where the comedy lies. But overall “Expert” is one person asking questions on some topic given to them from the audience and then the other person is the expert giving those answers.
Scott:
Okay. So for this particular episode, Dalton is going to give me my expert topic. I have no idea what Dalton is going to give me. So he'll do his interviewer and answer thing and then he'll introduce me and tell me what I am an expert in and I have to go with it.
Dalton:
Exactly. So, what I do for the troupe is I'll either have them ask or give me a prompt for whatever scene we're doing or I will go to an app that I use that will randomly select what the topic is. And I have it pulled up on my phone right now.
Scott:
Cool.
Scott has not seen it for the people listening. Scott has not seen it and I will start the scene and Scott will magically become an expert in this topic.
Scott:
Can't wait.
So, ladies and gentlemen, this is experts.
Dalton:
Ladies and gentlemen, this is Jeff Beck reporting for NBC4 and today I am here with my man Brady. Brady has been a hotel expert for the last 25 years.
Scott:
That's correct.
Dalton:
And Brady, I heard that you got some questions that need to be asked and answered. So, Brady, I have some questions for you. Obviously, hotels can be very, very expensive. So my first question to you is what can somebody looking to be at a hotel do to lower the cost of a hotel for a night or two?
Scott:
I would say do your best to keep everything in the hotel as clean as possible. People that come into my hotels are always so dirty. They're always messing things up and they're always putting towels down the toilets and flooding the bathrooms. And if you could refrain from destroying my hotel rooms, that would probably keep the cost down for everybody, I think.
Dalton:
Oh, yeah. The people listening at home, those fees that up real quick. So make sure you take a notepad, write that down, and maybe put it on Wikipedia because that was a great answer.
So, I have another question for you. So, hotels can be dirty. As you said, people can trash them. What do you do as a hotel expert to keep your hotel rooms and overall hotel clean for every visitor?
Scott:
I buy lots of cleaning products and I give them to my staff, and I say have at it.
Dalton:
That is perfect. Throw a little tide in that will never hurt.
Scott:
That's right. Cleaning the rooms myself. I've done that enough. I've done that for 10 years and I'm not doing it again. So I've hired a staff that if they have plenty of rubber gloves, if they complain, I tell them put on the gloves and get scrubbing.
Dalton:
There you go. When you have the money, you could just throw in a people to do your dirty work quite literally.
Scott:
Oh, I don't have any money.
Dalton:
No money. That means you need to go to this man's hotel and rent a room so he can earn a living for a little bit.
Scott:
Clean up after yourself, please.
Dalton:
Yes. Make sure you clean up after yourself. And now I have another question. Hotels have typically been riddled with bed bugs over the years. I mean, I was just at a hotel last night to do this interview and there were bed bugs crying all over the place. What is the easiest way to exterminate those bed bugs?
Scott:
You can try spraying them with bed bug repellent. That will draw them down onto the carpet and they usually stay in the carpet. And if you're okay with that, hey, great. But if you're in bed and you're thinking about those bed bugs in the carpet, you can keep spraying and usually they'll go away for an hour or so and then they'll come back. Really, there's nothing you can do about bed bugs. They're here to stay and they're going to rule the earth one day, I'm pretty sure. But if it makes you feel better, yeah, just spray them and that will marginally affect the bed bug population in your bed and in your room.
Dalton:
There you go. They can't be bed bugs if they're stuck in your carpet. So, I have one more question for you and this is a question that hits home to me dearly because as an interviewer, I deal with a lot of “Karen's.” I think that's what the kids these days are calling it. So, at your hotel, there are a lot of people that expect, you know, lighter prices and expect a lot more than what you can give them. So, what is the best way to deal with the Karen that comes up to you at the front desk?
Scott:
Just say yes, ma'am, and then walk into the office and let her wait on you for like a half an hour. Let her stew, let her get really, really angry and then come out and give her exactly the opposite of what she asked for. And then if she still stays around, make sure you charge her fees on her room and you can just make them up. You can, you know, an entrance fee, an exit fee, a changing the toilet paper fee, an ice bucket fee, anything you can think of, just fee the living crap out of her. And yeah, she'll usually, she'll never come back and hey, you're probably better off for it.
Dalton:
There you go, the typical pain in the rear fee that I see multiple times at my hotel. But anyway, that is all the time we have. This has been Jeff Beck with NBC4 and thank you for listening to The Expert on Hotels.
Scott:
Hey, that was fun.
Dalton:
There you go.
Scott:
Alright everybody, we're wrapping up this episode of No Small Parts with Dalton Edwards. Dalton, tell me what the dates are for your Improv Troop shows.
Dalton:
Alright, so our Improv Troop has two shows coming up. March 29th is our Teen Takeover Tour. That show will be at 7:30, doors open at 7 and tickets are $10 online or at the door for this Improv Show. And then our second show is Improv Goes Extreme with a lot of extreme elements to a lot of our games. That show will be on Sunday, March 30th and that show will be at 2.30, that will be our matinee, and doors will open at 2. Same thing, tickets are online and they will also be $10 at the door.
Scott:
Awesome. What kind of games can people expect to see?
Dalton:
So typically, especially with Crawford County, this is something brand new to them.
Scott:
Yes.
A lot of these games I have played with my own experience from the Cardington Improv Team when I was in high school. Some games that people can look forward to that they might know about is we're doing “Scenes From A Hat”. That is of whose lines in any way are stapled. That is something that everybody enjoys. Anybody can play, but when you know the art of Improv, it becomes 10 times more fun. We are also doing a game called “Preordained Lines” at that show. What that is is our Improvisers will do a scene and whenever they need some inspiration or a line to say in a scene. They will have a piece of paper in their pocket with a line that they have not seen and it could be anything. It could be something very vile. It could be something very cute, but they will have to randomly say that line out of their pocket and make it make sense in the scene. Another game that we're playing is a game called “Beastie Rap.” The kids do not really like this game, but it is a crowd favorite. If you've heard of the Beastie Boys?
Scott:
Yes.
Dalton:
Famous group.
Scott:
Absolutely.
Dalton:
It's a lot like how their songs go, but you have to be at the show to be able to experience that.
Scott:
Yes, I can imagine and I can't wait. I want to see everybody ad rocking and MCAing all over the place.
Dalton:
Absolutely.
Scott:
That would be so much fun. Thank you so much Dalton for being a guest on the podcast. We're looking forward to seeing your show and seeing your teen Improvers do their stuff.
Thank you everybody for listening. I'm Scott. See you next time.
You've been listening to No Small Parts, a community theater podcast. We thank you so much for joining us. There are many more fun and insightful conversations on the way. Be sure to follow us or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. And we look forward to treading the boards with you next time.
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