There’s something bold about walking on stage without a script and trusting the audience to help shape what happens next.

That’s exactly what Tampa Metropolitan Improv does each month in Carrollwood. With nothing but quick instincts and a room full of suggestions, they build scenes in real time, sometimes clever, sometimes chaotic, always committed.

After their recent show, our community contributor Deborah Bostock-Kelley pulled back the curtain for a closer look at the personalities behind the punchlines. From outrageous prompts to the art of keeping things clever without crossing the line, the troupe shared what makes live improv such a rush.

Here’s the conversation.

North Tampa Buzz: What's the most unexpected character you've ever had to play, and how did the audience react?

Erica Garraffa: The problem is I immediately forget everything that I have ever done as soon as I stop doing it.

Jesse Hutson: I think any time that we are given animals on the fly is always unexpected, and I very much recall a scene of Erica coming out with a prompt about being a doctor visiting their animal patient, and she comes out as the doctor, who is the animal, visiting a patient, and her ability to brachiate with her orangutan-like arms never ceases to amaze. One other... Alana was randomly given centipedes, and it became one of the greatest things we've ever done, really.

Alana Sasdell: I rubbed my body all over that floor. Fully dedicated. Dedicated to the craft.

North Tampa Buzz: What's a suggestion from the audience that completely derailed you in the best possible way?

Erica Garraffa: There was a show I did one time, and we were playing the party game, and somebody got the superpower fecal kinesis. Thankfully, it was very tastefully played, but I would have had no idea what to do with that, but my friend jumped in and was able to make it work.

Jesse Hutson: I have one that Topher did. Topher was once given by a lovely octogenarian the prompt of deflower, and Topher then went ahead and listed every single type of flour that he knew. Almond flour, oat flour, tapioca flour. Turned it on its head, and it was one of the most brilliant things we've done with an audience that wanted to give us something dirty.

Erica Garraffa: That's the best feeling, when somebody has a gotcha for you, and you can take it and flip it on its head and turn it against them in a loving, fun way.

Daryen Ratte: We don't want to alienate anybody, so we try to keep things PG-13, but whenever we can subvert it, I think it's even funnier.

North Tampa Buzz: Which performer is most likely to break character and what usually sets them off?

Daryen Ratte: D-A-R-Y-E-N-

Jesse Hutson: The easiest way to make Daryen break character is to just be mean to someone on stage.

Erica Garraffa: It's true. Not Daryen, but just anybody else.

North Tampa Buzz: Describe your improv style as if it were a cocktail, mocktail, or Florida weather pattern.

Topher Larkin: Oh, wow. It is basically one of those storms that you don't know what is going to happen. It may swerve up, it may swerve down. Sometimes it's a national broadcast alert emergency that goes through, and you know, you're just going to have to wing it. You're going to have to drink through it, and you're just going to have a lot of fun as well, and that is what my style is all about.

Erica Garraffa: Dennis Phillips hates to see you coming.

North Tampa Buzz: If you could invite any fictional character to join your troupe for one night, who would it be and what role would they play?

Erica Garraffa: I was going to say Liz Lemon, but I can't have her here, and have me still not be obsolete.

Jesse Hutson: Shoot, maybe a Dracula?

Erica Garraffa: Ooh, a Dracula would be good.

Jesse Hutson: It would just be cool to meet a Dracula, I think, as a life goal. Well, fine, but if we can make that work for this prompt, I think that's who we want.

North Tampa Buzz: What was the moment you realized improv wasn't just a hobby for you, it was a calling?

Jesse Hutson: ADHD can take many forms in today's youth, and through my series of clicks, whistles, and impersonations, my parents discovered very early on that I had either a talent or needed Ritalin, and so I decided to stop taking my medication, and it made improv make a lot more sense.

What makes Tampa Metropolitan Improv special isn’t just how quick they are on their feet. It’s the way they involve the audience, flip awkward suggestions into brilliance, and keep the entire room leaning forward to see what happens next.

If you haven’t experienced one of their monthly shows at Carrollwood Cultural Center, it’s an easy, affordable night out with guaranteed laughs. Just don’t be surprised if you leave inspired to shout out your own suggestion next time. The next one is March 27th.

You can find upcoming show dates and ticket information through Carrollwood Cultural Center’s events calendar.

In addition to writing for North Tampa Buzz, Deborah Bostock-Kelley is a local Broadway World theatre reviewer, a reporter for several magazines, and a theatre columnist. She is honored to be the marketing director for Powerstories Theatre since 2000. She has run her award-winning creative services agency, The WriteOne Creative Services, since 2005, specializing in print and television PR, graphic design, web design, and copywriting. The author of a children's early reader and a teen YA fiction anthology, she is also a multi-award-winning playwright known for her powerful, socially conscious one-act and full-length plays, which have been seen across Tampa Bay stages. In her free time, she produces Life Amplified, a musical showcase with all proceeds benefiting local grassroots nonprofits. Her next play, a menopause comedy and event, debuts at the Studio at Carrollwood Cultural Center on March 7. Deborah is a proud ally, wife, mom, past educator, Florida native, and University of Tampa graduate. www.thewriteonecs.com