The Harold
"The Harold is not great for entertainment. But it IS good for community. It’s a common enemy. Or at least a common challenge. Improvisers love to try and crack it. It inspires them and makes them work hard."
Via:
Will Hines
I started writing this as a comment on Will's post above, then thought it made more sense to dig into my own thoughts and feelings about the Harold.
As a relatively new student to improv, I love the Harold as a form in part for this reason. My theater requires a pattern game opening to a Harold, and it's hard. The fact that we're all doing the same challenging thing that's impossible to do perfectly means that, even when it's a mess, we have a clear map to understand it, which helps us get better. Improv is a martial art, and The Harold is a Kata*.
I'm a comedy nerd, so for me, the first time I got to do a Harold, I was pumped because it was a Harold, and I was excited to do something that The Compass Players, The Committee, Del Close, and so many others did before me. It was kind of a bucket list thing. When I was a kid, I once got to go on the field of Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, and it was just cool to be there. I got to skate at the Rockefeller Center ice rink once, too. So, for me, the Harold has the same kind of feeling: I am just kind of grateful to be here.
Eventually, I will no longer be a child and I will need to put away my childish things, but I hope not to lose my sense of wonder at these tools.
*I should note before I get too deep that I have a 1980's Black Belt Magazine understanding of martial arts that ends at rubber nunchucks.
