This kind of “jam” cannot be spread. A new humorous project is gaining popularity in Arkhangelsk

Comedy traditions in our country are hundreds of years old. Humorous motifs can be traced in Russian folklore and the works of classics. The comedy genre in films was one of the most beloved by Soviet moviegoers, and the works of the same Soviet writers, for example Mikhail Zoshchenko, won the hearts of readers with a combination of satire, naivety and light sadness.

Afterwards, KVN appeared in the USSR, which not only riveted hundreds of millions of people to television screens, but also became a forge of hundreds and thousands of talents. Gradually, humor took on more and more new forms. In modern Russia, the information field is replete with many humorous projects throughout the country. From modest performances in clubs for small audiences to programs with huge budgets.

Humor steadily continues to bring dividends to the authors, and the audience – a good mood, as long as there is something to laugh at. Arkhangelsk was no exception – in the northern capital there are KVN teams, stand-up clubs, there was even its own “Improvisation”, or rather “Improvisation. Teams.” Today this format exists under a different name – “Jam”. The project administrator in Arkhangelsk is Antonina Lebedeva.

— Antonina, please tell us how the idea to create “Jem” came about?

— It was invented by a creative group from Moscow. They are doing the “Improvisers” show on STS, and they have a lot of other projects. They transformed several projects and combined them into one. Previously there was “Improvisation. Teams”, but the project was closed and transformed into “Jam”. That is, before there were certain teams, four people constantly played with each other, went to play in other regions, now there are no teams. Now it’s every man for himself, and each time the teams are different, and this has its advantage.

— Tell a person ignorant of humor what awaits the viewer who decides to come to “Jam”?

— “Jam” is an improvisational project, we have about five improvisation formats, they are all different and interesting in their own way. There is a text format, improvisation for acting. Some are funny, and some are even funnier. In general, the audience will be treated to improvisation.

— Is it more difficult for you to come up with jokes on the fly right on stage in front of the audience than to do it at home in peace and quiet?

– It’s not difficult at all! If it goes right, then it goes, you need to catch it, especially when the audience supports, when you understand that your humor, your jokes are all right for them, then it’s cool and uncomplicated. At home, in peace and quiet, it is much more difficult to come up with jokes, because there is no stressful situation, you don’t need to get out of it in any way, you don’t need to prove anything to yourself. That is, writing at home is really harder. Let’s say the same KVN, it’s really difficult for the guys to write it, because it goes through a bunch of stages of editing and everything else, but in improvisation you come out – and that’s it, do what you want.

— Going on stage with worked material, the comedian knows what to expect from the audience. Is improvisation more difficult? Does it happen that it doesn’t “go in”?

– Of course, it happens that it doesn’t come, it happens that every other time, there are very difficult spectators who need to be “swinged up”, who come with the mood “well, come on, joke, what will you do there?” But it seems to me that it’s much more interesting to go out with improvisation, you don’t know what to expect from yourself. Yes, in KVN and stand-up the material has been worked out, but even there it’s not always clear how people will react to a joke that you’ve been telling for ten years. Each time the reaction is different. It’s more fun with improvisation, because you say it and forget, sometimes it doesn’t work, but we try. There are games when every joke lands, even some “minimal” one hits the viewer, when the room is not “heavy”. It all depends on the hall and depends on us.

— Can the viewer become a participant in this celebration of humor?

— Viewers participate in almost all formats in one way or another, we really need them. They give us topics for jokes, come on stage themselves and help us.

— Do the achievements in this project open new doors to the big world of Russian humor?

— The project is new, and it is just gaining popularity, but if you make great jokes in your region, the creative group will notice you, they will look at materials from jams in the Arkhangelsk region and, perhaps, call the project they are filming for VK Video. We have no guarantee that, say, 10 people from the Arkhangelsk region will then go and film. But here there is an opportunity to get hooked and interested in something.

— How do you see the future? “Jema“?

— In my opinion, this is a project that will transform and turn into something more, as it was with “Improvisation. Teams.” Then the regions visited each other – it was very large-scale. “Jem,” of course, is calmer than the previous project, but it will also change.