Improv Thunderdome

Loved the show on Saturday. The groups brought it and brought it hard. I was blown away by all of the groups. They definitely exceeded my expectations. Get your reservations now for the next 2 shows. They will sell out! This is some great improv being put on by the community lately and I am very proud to be a part of it. I have to say only positive things are coming out of these shows, and I am super excited that the Exit 16 kids are starting to be a part of it more and more. If only we could get more High School kids to see these shows, then we could really hit the ground running for High School Improv League. Baby steps, Keith, Baby steps. Have to stay patient around here and take what the city gives us.

Sorry

I haven't posted in a few days...sorry. It has been hectic.

Did I mention how much fun Saturday's show was...I did, good. It was...fun.

Tuesday's rehearsal saw another one of our sit down and talk about the last 3 months and voice your opinion on what you liked and disliked. We merely give suggestions to the directors Tim and Aron, but they listen to our opinions and then make decisions based upon our opinions. I love it. We used to have problems with people feeling like they couldn't talk about their problems, not anymore. When you are frustrated about something that involves your group, why wouldn't you put it out in the open? If you let it fester, then that is bad for the group. Isn't it?

Saturday's Show

The show at Lucky's was a blast. We had a crowd of about 40 and the majority of them were couples in their 20's-30's. It helped that they were a young audience, because they were there to have fun, and it showed. They got into the action and the suggestions were flying. It was fun to be a part of. They even responded well to the longform piece. Hopefully we persuaded them to come back with our funny. In fact, I thought I saw someone from our Famous Johnny's days in attendance. Maybe we are finally starting to grow the audience...we'll see. Slow and steady wins the race right?

In other news, I am very excited for Thunderdome to start on Saturday. It is sold out and will definitely be a great show!

Comparison

Two things can be taken from this photo.

1: Aron's butt is clearly sweaty and gross.
2: My butt is clearly dry, smooth, and inviting.

This is one of the classrooms at The Second City Training Center. This is where Jesse Parent gave IA some great improv nuggets of wisdom. Thanks for the photo Katie.

Comedy City

Played at Comedy City on Friday for the first time in two months. Not much has changed. There were 40 people in the audience. I had fun, they had fun. Yay for improv. Sorry, if that came out bitter, it isn't meant to be. There is just not much to write about. I love playing with Nikki and Pearl though. Even though they have been at Comedy City for much...much longer than I have, they still play and have fun on stage. It is inspiring.

By the way, Comedy City is moving to the Westport Flea Market starting in Mid-July. I don't want to speculate about how that will be yet. In fact. I will do some shows there, and let you all know what I think later.

Since Chicago

I had the chance to meet many improvisers from across the nation while I was in Chicago. In fact, I am doing my best to keep in touch with them. Because, they are all trying to do what we are doing here. Grow an audience in their own cities, which in turn will help spread the awareness of improv throughout the country. In Washington, DC, there is a dedicated training center growing rapidly. Heck, 3 out of the 8 apprentice teams there were from WIT. (Washington Improv Theater) So, they must be doing something good there. Anyway, the networking was a lot of fun, because we all had something in common. Hopefully, that networking comes in handy down the road when we want to start bringing in better coaches and professional groups. It is a known fact that improvisers take care of each other. Only time will tell.

Tuesday Rehearsal

We have applied our new found techniques and are definitely headed in a great direction as a group. We filled Maggie and Ryan in very quickly and went to work. Our new longform is definitely going to be something great with practice and focus. As long as we remember the things that Jesse has shown us, we should be golden. We will most likely be putting on this tweaked longform next Saturday at Luckys if your interested.

Chicago

What can I say? I still haven't fully recovered from the 4 day trip. It was exciting. It was my first time experiencing improv in Chicago. Our coach Jesse Parent was exactly what we needed. My battery has been recharged. I want to help improv take over the world in any way possible. I promise more stories, pictures, and everything else will come in the next few days. I am still recuperating.

Last rehearsal before Chicago

IA's rehearsal was energetic to say the least. We are all so amped about going to Chicago, that we did some great scene work last night. We got a few tips from our upcoming coach, and a few new exercises to try out. They were challenging and fun at the same time. Thursday, IA will infest the streets of Chicago, I am sure that when we get back, we will have learned loads, and have many stories to share. See you on Monday.

My first teaching experience

I taught a class yesterday with John Robison. First, I have to say that it was the most talented group of people I have taught, but that also made it very difficult. My job was to watch the scenes and pick out the patterns that the improvisers were getting into. But, halfway through the workshop, the improvisers were breaking their own patterns, and challenging themselves to do something different. I still found a few things to nitpick about, but it made it very difficult to give feedback. However, after the class, Trish and Nathan both said that they would have loved more side coaching. (Not for anything but character patterns and maintaining the character) John and I talked about it after everyone left and we both said that we were holding back, because of two things. One: respect for the people in the class, and Two: We thought this was strictly a workshop where we give everyone tools to use, when creating characters.

Either way, the class was very satisfying, and we both know what we could do to improve it.