Improv people are always talkin' about Harold. Harold this. Harold that. A casual observer might implore, "Um... like, is Harold an adjective, a verb, or just some dude?" The Apiary is here for you!

According to :

The Harold is an improvisational long-form. Developed by Del Close, Harold has become the signature form of Chicago's ImprovOlympic and is now performed by improvisational comedy troupes and teams across the world.

Harold is much like a standard television sitcom. It consists of 3 acts, each comprised of improvised games and scenes. This basic form begins with an opening game, which explores a suggestion provided by the audience. A set of 3 scenes, usually unrelated to each other, follows the opening game, and is known as the 1st beat. The 2nd beat -- another set of 3 scenes that are inspired somehow by the scenes from the 1st beat -- follows, and is capped with a 2nd group game. The third bea) combines themes, characters, situations and games from the whole piece and, hopefully, makes surprising and funny connections or intersections among them.

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