That sense of trial and error, a crucial step in the creative process, is something that a new company in town called The Neutrino Video Project, knows only too well, despite a breathtaking method of delivering its product to a live audience.

The premise is simple with the audience and actors gathered together (in Toronto at the Drake Hotel) as the audience provides suggestions for the topic of evening's movie. The actors then break off into three groups and dash out into the streets to improvise scenes filmed at various nearby locations. The film is delivered immediately back to the Drake by a runner. The result is a virtually smooth 60 minute film based entirely on the suggestions of the audience, played out with no advance scriptwriting, rehearsal or logistical planning. Voila! Instant cinema. But unlike the regular cinema, the success of show depends upon its players' interaction with a live audience.

Neutrino, which combines theatre, specifically the use of improv, and digital video, was created in New York City in 1999 by Kurt Braunohler and Ptolmy Slocum, performers who were competitors in a city-based weekly face-off between two improv teams who each had twenty-five minutes to perform. The idea for a complete improv video show came after a brainstorming session between Braunohler and Slocum.

Neutrino was then performed in New York's Del Close Marathon, a long form improv showcase where it was noticed by a couple of Chicago entrepreneurs who fell in the love with the show and invited it to come to the Windy City for a trial run. The show was an immediate hit there and has been successful ever since with local troupes licensing the show in Seattle, Detroit, San Francisco and Washington, DC. The Neutrino Project Toronto is a Canadian premiere. (See Preview Page ).

Toronto Neutrino Producers, David Ivkovic, and Jen Radomsky, along with Carmine Lucarelli, are part of the 12-person performing team for Neutrino, most of whom, says Ivkovic, come from a background in Second City and Bad Dog Theatre. "Having actors with this type of experience is a definite asset," says Ivkovic. "It's one thing to be a great actor, but to be able to come up with multiple story ideas and situations, as well as make them believable all in 10 minutes is very impressive."

Ivkovic agrees with the term "A theatrical movie experience," but stresses the great film quality and excellent sound of the finished product - two extremely important elements of the show. "We wanted to make sure what the audience sees and hears, is of the highest quality with the most portability. "

But while performance time is the ultimate crunch for all of the elements to mesh, Ivkovic doesn't want anyone to think Neutrino just comes together at the last minute. "We've been rehearsing with our amazing cast and crew for the past two months. Neutrino is a logistics nightmare, so we wanted to make sure the cast was used to working under such tight time constraints, and the camera operators became proficient at "in-camera" editing.?

"Our trial runs have been inspirationally chaotic," says performer Carmine Lucarelli, a member of the Toronto based improv group, Screaming Havoc. "Initially the technical requirements and time constraints of the show were incredibly daunting. But we realized that if you have a solid group of players and ask the world of them, they'll deliver."

Just as in live theatre where the use of film and video is no stranger, Lucarelli feels there is a rich history of improvised film, from Mike Leigh to Christopher Guest. "But to our knowledge, no one has ever taken it as far as Neutrino has, where the filming is done in real time and the 'post-production is done live in front of an audience.

"All we've done is bring modern techniques and tools to the improv format. At heart, no matter how it's dressed up, we're telling stories to an audience. We're just using a film, rather than a stage to do it. And we're doing it on the fly. We're the Polaroid of independent filmmaking."

While improvisation done on a stage elicits much needed responses from an audience, Co-Producer Jen Radomsky says that it's the delivery of the story that makes the difference in Neutrino. "On camera, you have no idea what an audience will react to, nor do you as an actor get to see or hear it because are shooting your next scene. So focusing on telling the story becomes crucial."

Improv, which is the heart and soul of Neutrino, is part of the reason that the show has caught on so well in the States with the popularity of its nation wide Improv Festivals. Radomsky recalls the first time she saw Neutrino was at the Chicago Improv Festival in 2003 and then later at the Toronto Improv Festival. "The theatre was sold out both times. It's been our experience that people of all ages are intrigued by the Neutrino concept, perhaps from different viewpoints (aesthetic, technological etc.) but you're going to get that same differentiating interest whether you're talking to the person who works in I.T. or the person who runs a restaurant. Because when it comes right down to it, everyone grew up going to the movies."

Photo credits: Top of piece, photo by Craig Francis - Rick Miller in Bigger Than Jesus; middle right photo by Cylla Von Tiedemann, Rick Miller in Bigger Then Jesus.
Middle left: Neutrino Toronto poster; down right; the Neutrino Project Group. David Ivkovic, Carmine Lucarelli, Matt Olmstead, Renee Percy, Tabetha Wells, David Tompa, Aurora Browne, Kerry Griffin, Lori Nancy Kalamanski, Jen Radomsky; Seated on bench L-R Jack Mosshammer, Richard Pierre, Adrian Parks, Chris Besler, Peter Higgins, Rob Baker; On Floor L-R Jen White, Jim Annan.

Neutrino opens at The Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen St. West, on October 2 (Previews from Sept. 18) for an indefinite run. After that it runs the first Sunday of every month at 8 pm. For further information: www.neutrinotoronto.com