Zip! Zap! Zop!

Barry Wright is familiar with this ice-breaking exercise in improvisation, where participants gather in a circle and exclaim the words “zip, zap, zop” to practice coordination and quick thinking. He’s also familiar with the exercise in vulnerability that is improv itself.

Wright, 37, alongside co-founders Brian Shea, Kristen McKenzie and Geoff Taylor, is one of the minds behind Highwire Improv, a five-year-old theatrical improv company in Baltimore. The Hartford County native also serves as the president of the company’s board, where his duties include organizational tasks, financial management and strategic planning.

Self-described as left-brained, Wright works full-time as the principal product manager at Noom, a weight management app. He majored in math at Duke University.

Improv, Wright said, has helped him step out of the office and satiate his right-brained craving for a creative outlet. It’s a form of theater that can be done an infinite number of ways, some prepared and practiced, some completely spur of the moment.

Highwire offers improv classes for beginners and pros alike. For newcomers, the company’s Intro to Improv workshops are free. Highwire also offers scholarships for higher-level classes.

The company also manages over 100 ensembles that can be hired for improv events at companies and organizations — and is about to open a new education, rehearsal and performance space in Highlandtown.

After being incorporated during the pandemic in October 2020, years of Zoom improv programming have led to Highwire’s biggest act yet, opening its own home base. Wright said the location, at Bank and South Conkling streets, will serve as a “third space” for community members to connect and create by producing more shows and rehearsals than ever before. After renovations, Highwire aims to move in some time next month.

“An interesting choice to start an improv theater at the height of COVID lockdowns,” Wright said, chuckling. “But we made it work.”

How did you and the co-founders meet? What led to Highwire?

Okay, so the co-founders — myself, Brian, Kristen and Geoff — all met doing improv here in Baltimore between 2015 and 2017. We don’t know the exact dates … but we found our way together in classes and shows in Baltimore.

And as COVID happened, we got a lot more connected online. We started bringing improv into Zoom, and from there, we hit it off and decided to build something for ourselves.

Why improv?

Improv is really a fascinating thing. It’s something that I think people have a pretty narrow conception of.

I like to tell people that improv is a team activity where exceptional creativity and communication are used to solve the problem, and for a lot of people, that problem is making people laugh, because they paid money for a ticket to a show.

But we all improvise all the time. I tell people that improv is the most accessible art form. You don’t need any equipment. You don’t need anything but some space and a couple of willing participants. And I think it is really nice to be able to provide a way into arts and creativity for people who come from a bunch of different backgrounds, and maybe don’t think of themselves as artists or as creative people.

I came to improv as kind of a support for my workaholism. I was working in start-ups, and I literally needed something to do on Tuesday, at seven o’clock, to be out of the office. I found it really complemented the technical, precise work I had to do at my day job with something that was much more free, creative, resilient to mistakes. And I fell in love with it.

What’s your favorite endeavor at Highwire?

My favorite thing is to teach our Intro to Improv workshops. These are two-hour workshops for people who have never done improv before. They walk in, and they think it’s magic that’s impossible. And they leave thinking it’s magic that they can do. And they take it into their lives in the world. That never gets old — seeing people light up and realize this is something they have the capability to do.

What goes into the prep of a lesson or performance?

We have a pretty wide-ranging set of ways people put on shows. Everything from groups and ensembles that have been performing together for 10 or more years, and they practice weekly and just get better and better, all the way to shows that came up in the car ride over and you gather five people in the lobby and say, “Let’s do this tonight.”

For our education program, we have a team of teachers from a wide range of backgrounds. We’ve built a curriculum. We test it, we iterate on it every time we run a class and take survey feedback, and it is very much a stepping stone system from, “I’ve never done this before” to “You’re better than me at it, and you’re on stage.”

Would you call improv vulnerable? Why or why not?

Improv allows you to be vulnerable. It’s not inherently vulnerable, but it really creates a space where people do drop their walls down. They get comfortable playing, taking risks and trying new things in front of each other. That often leads to a really strong group bond that supports vulnerability. But these skills are also something you can do just for yourself, if that’s what you want.

What do you wish people knew about improv?

That anybody can do it.

I think a lot of people think of comedy or improv or acting to think that it’s something that’s only for the people who have always been good at that, right? People who are naturally funny, people who are naturally extroverted.

Some of the best improvisers are total introverts in their day-to-day lives. And it’s a set of skills that anybody can learn. Everyone should give it a try. Bring your friends — try something new.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.