Harold (improvisation)

Group of Harold performers acting on a stage

Harold performance at the Washington Improv Theater

Harold is a structure used in long-form improvisational theatre that is performed by improv troupes and teams across the world. In the Harold structure, characters and themes are introduced and then recur in a series of connected scenes. It was first performed in California by The Committee in 1967.

History

The Committee, a San Francisco improv group, performed the first Harold in Concord, California, in 1967. They were invited to a high school and decided to do their improvisations on the war in Vietnam. On the way home in a Volkswagen bus, they were discussing the performance, when one of them asked what they should call it. Allaudin (Bill) Mathieu (W.A. Mathieu) called out "Harold", which was a joking reference to a line from A Hard Day's Night where a reporter asks George Harrison what he calls his haircut and he answers "Arthur".e.

The 1994 book Truth in Comedy describes a "training wheels Harold" as three acts (or "beats"), each with three scenes and a group segment. With each beat, the three scenes return. By the end of the piece, the three scenes have converged.

Modified Harolds

Some modern improv forms are Harolds with an added requirement. These include:

• Monoscene – Originally and occasionally still Harold set in one location
• Sybil – Harold performed by a solo performer
• The Bat – Harold performed in the dark
• The Armando – A Harold performed with a guest monologist telling true stories