My Account
By day, Dan and Amanda Moore are health professionals, but at night they take the stage in improvisational comedies.
The couple run The Manly Osteopath and Wellness Coaching Practice and Amanda says improvisation (improv) has great spin offs for Dan’s work as an osteopath and hers as a wellness coach.
The couple, who have lived on the Coast for 12 years, discovered improv theatre when they tried out a workshop at Covert Theatre in Auckland city three years ago.
Amanda says they were looking for a way to develop the focus, spontaneity and sense of humour that would aid their work, which includes coaching.
“I have to be comfortable with the unknown, as you never know what situation you may face,” Amanda says. “Improv is about being spontaneious – you don’t know what the scene is going to be about, and you have to connect with the others to make it work.”
Both Amanda and Dan went on to perform at Covert Theatre. Earlier this year, they were selected for the theatre’s new troupe, The Bard’s Tale, and performed at the Auckland Comedy Festival.
Their next work, an improv comedy which they produced and will also perform in, takes the stage at the Tiny Theatre in Westmere, July 20 and 21 as part of the Covert Theatre’s winter season.
The format puts a number of actors on stage, but there is no script and some key decisions are left to the audience and director on the night – including whether the characters reveal a truth, or take up a dare.
Amanda says although it is based on comedy, improv has a way of tapping into emotions and there can be pathos and drama as a result.
The couple say that laughter has been the best medicine for their work/life blend.
“We think of ourselves as people don’t take ourselves too seriously. Practicing improv makes you very much present – and that is the best down time from the job.”
For tickets for Amanda and Dan’s show, Truth and Dare, visit eventfinda.co.nz (look for Covert Winter Season of Improv).
