Many businessmen advise to never mix business with pleasure, but what happens when you make one of your pleasures, your business?  That’s what Will Luera, Artistic Director Emeritus of ImprovBoston, did.  When he was in high school, he felt in love with theater, but thinking he was too shy to ever be on a stage, he decided to study computer science in Boston College.  Fortunately, the bug was still there.  He auditioned for Committee for Creative Enactment (CCE), the world’s leading collegiate murder-mystery improve troupe.  He got in and a year later he met his pal, Puerto Rican actor and producer, Alfredo De Quesada.  After sharing many laughs on stage and graduating, Luera, stayed in Boston and De Quesada moved to New York City, but their friendship and love for improv have connected the two of them all over the States.

After receiving invitations to take his show Blue Screen to Latin America and Spain, Luera decided to create a Spanish-speaking improv troupe to tour around the world.  Their first stop was FESTIM (International Improv Festival in Madrid) and the first person in Luera’s list was his college friend, De Quesada.  Automatically, he said yes and when they arrived as “Los Big Papis” to the Canal Theater in Madrid, their charm, their talent and their friendship set the stage on fire.  They beat all teams, except for the home team.  The achievement made them realize that this was only the beginning.

Entertainment Affair: When was the first time you did improv and what motivated you to do it?
Alfredo: In My Mother’s Fleabag in Boston College in 1995. [My Mother’s Fleabag is America’s oldest collegiate improv comedy troupe and where famous comedienne Amy Poehler began her improv journey].  They weren’t looking for guys my freshman year, so I had to wait until my sophomore year.  Actually! No! Not true.  My freshman year I was part of CCE.  We did a show called ‘Off’ed like a Prom Dress’.
Will: That is right! That was your freshman year.  I didn’t do it because I was  doing Evita
Alfredo: No.  You were in ‘As you like it’ and I was in ‘Six Characters in Search of an Author’
Will: You are right. I was President or Vice-president of CCE at that time.  No! Wait! I was doing The Diary of Anne Frank.
Alfredo: That’s right!

EA: Will, not all improvisers are actors, what do you think is beneficial to common people about improvisation and how can they apply to their life or to their work?
Will: To stay in the moment.  That is one of the principles of improvisation.  It is very important to actors, businessmen and people in general not to stress out, not to think and sometimes just react in the moment.  Improv teaches you that technique.  You have to be aware of your surroundings and you have to be calm.  As a teacher, I tell my students to play at the top of their knowledge.  You have to be present and use your intelligence.

EA: Alfredo, How important is to have an improv background to be a successful comedian?
Alfredo: Many people think that comedy is more difficult than drama and I agree.  You need emotional intelligence, you need to be smart and you need to have good timing… and you need to use it all at the same time.  I agree with Will and that is one of the biggest lessons I learned in Upright Citizens Brigade ‘Play at the top of your intelligence’.  First of all, you don’t want to underestimate your audience.  You challenge them.  The sum of all things makes you a good comedian

EA: Will, how did you get invited to be in FESTIM?
Will: In 2005 I got invited to do an improv festival in Puerto Rico and in an email the coordinator asked a bunch of improv theaters in the States if they could send spanish speaker players and I only had two people and I said yes.  We went for 3 years in a row and met a lot of people.  One of them was José Luis from Planeta Impro in Barcelona.  I got an email from him inviting me to FESTIM.  Right now, I am in the improv festival circuits in Latin America, but not in Europe yet.  I was very interested.  I want Europe to know ImprovBoston.

EA: Will, as an artistic director, what were you looking for in your teammates?
Will: First of all, they had to be fluent in Spanish.  Second of all, they had to be experienced in short form and long form.  Lastly, they had to like each other, especially if you are going to travel for so long and, they had to be likeable and hard workers.  There was a part in the Festival, the Catch, which consisted of only two people and I knew I wanted Alfredo because I knew we were going to have fun.  I am so glad he went and was my partner in The Big Papis

EA: How do you complement each other on stage?
Alfredo: I have to confess that my personality is bigger than life when I am on stage and I like to lead.  I am so lucky that Will has no big ego and has so much experience that he can adapt to my ideas and take them to next level.  If we were playing volleyball, Will will be the best setter in the world and I am just the attacker.  Will is very resourceful and the scenes were anxiety-free.

EA: How was the experience in the FESTIM?
Alfredo: What an honor! How big! As a Puerto Rican, it was a huge accomplishment.  It is a huge responsibility as well.  It was a very cool experience

EA: Will, you compete in national and international festivals.  Do you think improv has to be adjusted depending on where you are or it is universal?
Will: It is universal, but when you are on a stage is the moment when you adapt to the city you are at.  Even in the US, every city has its own culture and you have to learn those things in order to communicate with them.  My first show in Puerto Rico was a failure because we did it the American way.  But we learned and the next show was better.  When we did our show Blue Screen in Barcelona, we talked about independence in one scene an because we were in Catalunya, they liked it.  In Japan, they respect the elderly a lot.  In China, you can’t make fun of the government.  You need to think about those things.  The technique is universal, but you have to relate to your audience.  You have to do research and you have to talk with your fellow actors from that country

EA: Do you think there is an audience for Spanish speaking improv in the US?
Will: Not really.  Well, not full-time.  There are certain cities like New York City, Miami, Los Angeles and some parts of Chicago, you can do shows.  I want to see a theater where you can go and see improv in Spanish, Spanglish or Hispanic-related.  I think it is coming very soon.  There are Latin troupes, but we need a theater

EA: Alfredo, Do you prefer improv in Spanish or in English?
Alfredo: It’s hard to say!  I started in English even though it is not my first language.  I’ve translated many formats from English to Spanish like the Harold and it was very successful in Puerto Rico.  And when we did Blue Screen in Madrid, nothing was lost in translation.  The language doesn’t matter, but sense of humor does.  What matters is to be aware of the audience and their sensibility.

EA: What’s next for Team USA and Los Big Papis?
Will: A lot!  We are planning on touring Argentina, Perú, Colombia, Italy and we are going back to Spain.  We’ll compete in festivals, but there is also an interest to give workshops.  We have to take advantage of this momentum.

For more on New England's Premier Comedy Theater and Comedy School visit: http://www.improvboston.com/

Photos by: Alicia Guirao del Fresno/Lydia Aquino