Famous Johnny's #7

Well, another decent crowd means that we are still slowly growing the audience on Wednesday nights at Famous Johnny's. There were about 30-40 people in the crowd again this week, which is definitely our best 3 crowds in a row at Famous Johnny's. However, this audience was very stoic. This isn't to say that they didn't have a good time. (We had a lot of congratulations on a good show afterwards) In fact, I had a blast, and we all had lots of energy, but the audience just wanted to sit there and be entertained. Every week seems to be a different type of crowd at Famous Johnny's, which is a good thing, I think. We have to stay on our toes, we can't expect anything from this crowd.

Afterwards we all discussed how, in a way, these are like rehearsals with a live audience. We get to see what works, what doesn't work, all with an actual response. You can get a laugh from your friends at rehearsal, but it doesn't mean it was a good scene. With an audience, you really start to learn what works and what doesn't. This was the seventh show we have done at Famous Johnny's and my overall review so far would be "Great short form improv with slow growing audience."

The festival couldn't come soon enough

IA rehearsal last night was great again. We missed John and Scott, but we are really gelling as a group. Our long form just keeps getting better and better with practice. After rehearsal we all talked about the logistics of getting to the Chicago Improv Festival. What a great team we have, people are offering up car rides, paying for a hotel for a weekend, anything to get everyone there as a team. If we are all there, then we all learn how to become a better improv team together, it's that simple. Without one person, it just wouldn't feel the same. We can't wait, the energy in rehearsal, shows, and get-togethers are amazing since we found out about this great opportunity.

Saturday's Roving Imp Show

It was a blast. I was so proud to be a part of it all, honestly, it was an honor to even be asked to participate. Thank you John. I must say, it is exciting to see a theater, dedicated to improv comedy celebrate a one-year birthday. This town has had one bad improv theater for the past 7 years, so it is great to see another one having success. It just goes to show you what a great manager, director, and overall nice guy can do for a theater. Here's to many more John.

PS. John is in Chicago, researching shows and theater marketing strategies. He is going to share all of his wisdom with us when he returns.

First Friday

I started at Trish's place to watch some professional improv: UCB's ASSSCAT and TJ & Dave. It was great to watch that stuff and see them having fun on stage, while also being patient as hell. I have a new challenge, slow down, and enjoy the scene, don't blow through it so quickly.

Then we hurried over to catch the last show IA performed at First Friday, I made it in such good time that I got to play. The audience was great, the venue was great, it is going to be something we do for awhile I would bet. We definitely learned a lot from this first show, but like I said, the audience response was great. There were 60 people when I got there at 10 and they stayed for the rest of the night.

Good things are starting to happen for IA. Something I have always complained about, was the lack of audience. Wednesday's at Famous Johnny's are starting to really pick up. I guess last Wednesday we had another 40 people or so. That's two weeks in a row...whoo hoo! First Friday's was definitely a success, and I am sure that it will be again next week, hopefully we can secure a longer tenure there after June. Last but not least, there is also that little nugget of us going to the Chicago Improv Festival as an apprentice team...sorry Pete, That is AWESOME.

Roving Imp turns 1

We had the final rehearsal before Saturday's huge One Year Anniversary Party. It was a great rehearsal, I am very excited for Saturday's show. For the first half of the show we will be doing short form games based on Star Wars suggestions. For the second half, we will be doing a long form piece called "Prequel." We start with episode 8, and finish with episode 7, much like star wars. Happy Birthday Roving Imp, I can't wait to be a part of it. For more info go to rovingimp.com.

Found a cool link, thought I would share

Here is a sweet link to a preview of Kim “Howard” Johnson's new book: The Funniest One in the Room: The Lives and Legends of Del Close.

Within the story is a 15 minute long video of Del Close's last birthday party in the hospital.

Here is the link again if you missed it.

I Wish I could have taken a class from him. I wonder if there will ever be another great improv teacher like him.

This was not April Fools

IA has been accepted to the Chicago Improv Festival...as an apprentice team. What does that mean? We didn't get accepted to play on a main stage, but we got accepted to be a part of a program. The powers that be saw potential in us, so they are hooking us up with free passes to shows, and we will have a coach for the entire time before we put on an apprentice show on either Friday, or Saturday night. The coach concentrates on our show as a group, and training us as a group, while also working on individual goals. On Sunday, we get to have a marketing/promotional meeting with Charna Halpern, Shaun Landry, and some other great improv entrepreneurs. They started this program last year, and one or two of the apprentice groups are now performing on a main stage this year.

The website says that this program is for intermediate groups without a lot of formal training. Joe Bill, Mark Sutton, Jill Bernard, Dave Razowsky, and Susan Messing have been coaches in the past. Needless to say, all IA players are going, and we are very excited for this opportunity to learn, grow, and get a lot of great contacts.