4/13/2009

Improv Weekend

This past weekend had to be one of the best improv weekends I have ever been a part of. Not counting the Chicago Improv Festival or any of the Kansas City Improv Festivals...but still...

It started Friday night at the Roving Imp. John and I have been doing consistent Dictionary Soup shows for almost a year now. Playing with him is like playing with either a great actor who happens to be great at improvising, or a great improviser who happens to be great at acting. Is that the same thing? Is it? I don't think it is and I will fight you if you disagree...but not face to face, just behind computer screens...because I have accepted the fact that I am weak and you could beat me up.

We played an absurd 45 minutes of improv, but reacted so real to the absurd situation, it was funny and touching. I love Dictionary Soup. It is truly a form of improv where I have complete trust in my partner and typically challenge myself to do something daring and different each time.

Thunderdome is a little bit more difficult to talk about. I know that the people I played with were not satisfied with the show that we put on. But I have to say that I was very pleased. In fact, I had a blast watching the other teams and performing. To me, the show came together really well. I don't want to say that it was the best show ever, but under the circumstances, I felt that I personally played for fun up there on stage. I didn't let the quiet or the weird get me down and I kept trying to improvise to the best of my ability even though it could have been tough to do so.

It has been almost 10 years since I started doing improv on a regular basis, and it is amazing to see the growth not only in me, but the improv community here in Kansas City. To be able to play monthly alongside so many talented people has definitely made me the improviser I am today. Thank you to everyone involved. I must be in a sappy mood, because I truly do appreciate everyone involved in the improv community and I don't know what I would do without it.