Your Friday Recommendation #40
I’m excited that my fortieth Friday recommendation is for the third-annual Twin Cities Improv Festial on Thursday, June 25 - Sunday, June 28 at the Brave New Workshop (2605 Hennepin Ave. South, Minneapolis, MN).
June 25-28, 2009 @ The Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis
Whether you’re already a fan of improv or you haven’t ever seen any live, this is the festival for you. Many of the most-reputable ensembles and performers from the Twin Cities are pairing up with amazing out-of-town guest performers to present thirteen shows of high-quality comedy. Each show features one local act and one national act to ensure the audience sees something they know and enjoy as well as a new treat. And at only ten bucks per show plus multi-show discount passes, it’s one of the more affordable improv festivals out there.
So who’s up this year? Plenty. There’s a slew of ensembles (Adorable, Batterymouth, Bearded Men, Beatbox, The Cosby Sweaters, Darby Lane, The Cosby Sweaters, Darby Lane, Dirty Water, Fingergun, Fingergun, Five Man Job, Girls Girls Girls, HUGE, Improvabilities, Splendid Things, Tarantino), several duos (After the Party, Ferrari McSpeedy, Iron Cobra, Jokyr & Jesster, Muse, Mustache Rangers, Rampleseed, Sanke and Bunny), solo acts (Lounge-A-Saurus Rex, Drum Machine), and the three main improv theaters in the Twin Cities are represented, too (Brave New Workshop, ComedySportz, and Stevie Ray’s). You can check out the TCIF website for full information on all of the acts, too.
I’ve seen most of the local acts and many of the out-of-town acts thanks to my own national improv festival appearances. Many local improv fans have their own local favorites already, so if I were to make specific recommendations of out-of-town acts I enjoy, I’d say Bearded Men and Dirty Water know how to have tremendous fun while they’re onstage and it’s infectious for their audiences. Beatbox is something unique to see and takes improv to a new place with its hip-hop and DJ-style editing and scenework techniques. In terms of flat-out-funny, go see Jokyr and Jesster. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Joe and Jesse for several years, taking classes together in Chicago and performing together as an ensemble at the Miami Improv Festival, these guys are great teachers, amazing performers, and the kind of guys you want to hang out with at the party after the show.
I plan to be in and out all weekend, mixing up my festival attendance with other outside obligations. I hope to see you there!
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Your Friday Recommendation #37
I’m involved in three shows this weekend and you’re invited.
Saturday, June 6 - “The Weekly: Yesterday’s News Today” plays at the Bryant-Lake Bowl in Minneapolis at 7:00pm. Come see sketch comedy about local current events.
Sunday, June 7 - “Commentary” appears in Improv A Go-Go at the Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis at 8:00pm. Come see my new improv duo with Levi Weinhagen (Ministry of Cultural Warfare) as we provide an improvised director’s commentary on an audience-selected DVD.
Monday, June 8 - “The Uncle Ukulele Show” appears in the Monday Night Comedy Show at The Beat Coffeehouse in Minneapolis at 8:00pm. Come watch my solo musical improv show, plus I’ll be reading a page from the excellent novel, Robocop II.
Hope to see you there,
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Chicago Improv Festival - My Trip, Day 1 (Part II)
I’m writing this post about Thursday on Friday, hence references to “last night” and such, even though this is “Day 1, Part II.” Just go with it. :)
Google Maps was absolutely right, my trip took just over seven hours, including a bit more that’s all my fault. I got a late start between packing and getting the apartment ready for the weekend so I was rewarded with Twin Cities rush hour to kick off the trip. I listen to audiobooks on my road trips and this trip had me listening to “Birth of the Bomb” from NPR’s The Story and I’m halfway through From a Buick 8 by Stephen King. I listened to this book on audio a few years ago and I’m remembering why I enjoy it so much. King touches on writing this just a bit in On Writing, by the way.
I missed the 9:00pm White Jazz show (bummer, I wanted to see that one) and I pulled in to town just in time for the 10:30pm Messing with a Friend show. Susan Messing was the first teacher I had at my first CIF outing back in 2001 and she was amazing. Got me to be physical in my improv, relax and have fun. She paired herself up with her longtime collaborator, Mick Napier, who I’ve also taken some tremendous CIF workshops from back in the day. I want to say I’ve seen them perform together before, but I can’t remember. What really matters is last night’s show.
Two improvisers having fun. That’s what it boils down to. Susan and Mick showed their audience what a show can be like when the only concern to the performers is to have fun together. The show had a lot of audience interaction, with Susan and Mick coming out into the audience several times. A woman felt Susan’s “pregnant” belly during one scene, and Susan took Minneapolis improviser Aric McKeown’s gum from his mouth (Aric was in the audience and got a nice shout-out from CIF Producer Mark Sutton for The Moustache Rangers who appear at the Annoyance at midnight on Saturday). A slew of scenes depicted the most dysfunctional marriages in the world and at one point the audience were labeled the worst middle school class in the world as teacher Susan berated us for a good ten minutes. I hope her voice holds out for the rest of the festival. Line of the night: “If I had a nickel for every time I was told, ‘Take the lobster bib…’”
The party at the Annoyance was okay, but I was too tired to get involved. Spoke with Joe Bill for a while and, always the diplomat, he introduced me to a few improvisers. I caught a few minutes of the new TJ Jagodowski & Dave Pasquesi improvised documentary, Trust Us, This Is All Made Up in the theater - fun stuff, but again I think I was too tired to appreciate it. Readers in the Twin Cities should go see it at the St. Anthony Main this weekend, however. The TJ & Dave Show is some of the best improv I’ve ever seen (they take no suggestion; the title of the documentary is traditionally the last thing they say before diving into an improv set) and if you can’t see them in-person in Chicago, the documentary may be the next best thing (I rank the film high above their Sonic commercials). When my host for the weekend, Paul, showed up, I was more than ready to leave the party and make my way to a fold-out couch.
A note on parking in Chicago: I love the challenge. Last time I drove to CIF (2005), I had a lot of luck with parking for venues and parties but not-so-much with the friend’s place where I was crashing. One night, I drove around for over an hour looking for a parking space in the neighborhood. That maybe wouldn’t have been so bad if it wasn’t for the particular hour spent trying to park falling between 2:00am-3:00am. This year, I think it will be a mixed bag, too, though luck has been good so far. I found a spot only one block from the Annoyance for the show. Heading up to Evanston, Paul and I parked a few blocks from his and Susie’s apartment building (a beautiful old brick building that tastes of boarding house even before you’re told it is a former abbey). Will my luck hold out? Stay tuned…
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Chicago Improv Festival - My Trip, Day 1 (Part I)
I’m heading out on the road in a few minutes. I packed myself a lunch, have my gear all packed in Mazie (my Mazda5), laundry mostly done and the kitchen clean in our apartment, and my itinerary, ticket receipts, and driving directions printed out. Google Maps tells me I’ll be there in just over seven hours or so, and we’ll see how well that estimate works in the real world. In the meantime, here’s my tentative evening schedule for shows at the Chicago Improv Festival. I hope to make as many of the shows as possible, and I hope you only use this schedule for the purposes of good (i.e. come to my show) instead of evil (i.e. please don’t stalk me, it’s rude).
Thursday: 9:00pm - White Jazz @ Annoyance 10:30pm - Messing with a Friend (Susan Messing & Mick Napier) @ Annoyance
Friday: 7:00pm - Impro Japan and The Wilhelm @ The Playground 9:00pm - Attilla and Sybil @ The Playground 10:30pm - Oui Be Negroes and Boom Chicago @ The Lakeshore Theatre
Saturday: 7:30pm - Johnny Lunchpail, Catnip, and 313 @ The Lakeshore Theatre 10:30pm - My show - The Uncle Ukulele Show (with Space Robbers and Rooster) @ Chemically Imbalanced Comedy Theatre
I’m pretty sure I’m going to drive all day and arrive just in time for the shows tonight and then go to bed, so expect an update tomorrow.
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I’m performing in the Chicago Improv Festival.
In case I have blog readers in the Chicago area (Do I have blog readers in the Chicago area? Leave a comment and let me know!), you can catch my solo musical improv showcase, The Uncle Ukulele Show this weekend at the 12th Annual Chicago Improv Festival (CIF).
Catch me on Saturday, April 18 at 10:30pm at the Chemically Imbalanced Comedy Theatre (here’s a map pour vous) for a paltry $15. Space Robbers (Chicago, IL) and Rooster (Bellingham, WA) are also on the bill. You can purchase tickets here. Purchase ten, if you like.
I attended CIF as a student in 2001-2003 and performed there with Rick in 2004. I took a break for a few years due to work obligations and I’m excited to go back (and to perform, no less, which definitely has me more than a little excited). I’ve been fortunate enough to have performed at eight improv festivals, not counting doubles, and while I’ve been to other festivals that are the first to come to mind when I think great producing (Milwaukee, Denver), a local improv scene (Toronto, Gainesville, Santa Cruz), or an amazing time overall (Miami, San Francisco), Chicago is the festival I think of first when I think of sitting back and watching tremendous shows that sometimes feature famous talent. Better get my rear in gear, though, because I drive out early Thursday morning and I still need to pick which shows I’m attending and order tickets.
My old friend, Paul, and his lovely wife, Suzie, have offered up their spare bedroom in Evanston. That means I’ll be driving into the city for a few days and that’s okay; I’ll take traffic over ridiculous hotel expense any day. Paul and I did improv together in Minneapolis before we both moved to Denver and Cheyenne, respectively, and performed as the duo, The 80’s Ninjas, and it will be nice to see him and Suzie again. I also hope to see a few friends from my favorite improv discussion boards, YESand.com, and perhaps meet a celebrity or three. I’m signed up for a workshop/lecture on directing sketch and improv by Mick Napier and am thinking about taking another workshop.
More details to come. Pending internet access, I hope to blog about my experience at CIF. Stay tuned, dear reader.
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Denver Improv Festival - My Trip, Day 5 (Part II)
We’re heading out to the airport. If anything ridiculous / amazing / tragic happens, I’ll do a final update. Otherwise, that’s my report from the fourth annual Denver Improv Festival.
Famous last words at the end of yesterday’s blog post. Of course, I went and tempted fate…
Kelly and I had three hours between our hotel check-out time of 11:00am and car rental return time of 2:00pm to chill out in Denver before our flight home at 4:15pm. We spent the first hour chatting with Jill Bernard, Joe Bill, and Jon Lannen in the hotel lobby. I told Jon that if I’d known it the festival was so close to his birthday (it’s today, by the way, so happy birthday, bro), I would’ve dragged him onstage and plucked out ‘Happy Birthday’ on the uke. After hugs and photos (photos to come), we bid farewell at around 12:00pm.
Then we drove to the northeast side of town to find a gas station and somewhere to eat. We decided to go with lunch first and then took the next hour trying to find a gas station. I do not exaggerate when I say there were no gas stations around at all. Shopping complexes? Sure. Eateries? You betcha. Gas stations? Nope. When we finally saw one, we were on a highway going in the opposite direction and couldn’t find an exit. We even asked a trucker for help and he looked up gas stations on his laptop for us. By the time we finally found a gas station, it was 2:30pm.
We dropped off the rental car at 2:40pm (no late penalty, what a relief!) and took the shuttle to the airport. We arrived at 2:55pm and made our way through check-in (3:00pm), security (3:15pm), the light rail (3:20pm), and all the way down to our gate (3:30pm) just in time to use the restroom (3:31pm) and wait for a mere fourteen minutes until they began boarding our flight (3:45pm). That was not a very fun hour. I think I truly understand the “arrive two hours early” rule. It’s not because of tightened security taking longer - it’s so you don’t end up all panicked and end up looking a sweaty, suspicious character.
The flight took off on time, more or less, but they had to announce over and over to remove coats from the overheard compartment bins to make way for larger pieces of carry-on luggage. Truly, this is the unfortunate (and likely unanticipated by Frontier) side-effect of Frontier Airlines’s new policy of charging $15 per checked bag. That charge is both ways, so we paid $60 for our luggage plus, when my bag tipped the 50-pound scale (I guess those extra books and my new DIF t-shirt added up to over two pounds) they threatened to charge the overweight fee on top of the $15. We rearranged Kelly’s bag and got both bags checked for the low, low cost of $30 total. People don’t want to pay this fee to solve the airlines’ financial woes. Instead, they’re overloading the overhead compartment bins and there’s not enough room for people’s stuff. Hey. Airline industry. Maybe if you ran your industry in the competitive freemarket nature every other American-based industry runs themselves so that the last thing your customers worried about was price over quality, you may not be in this stupid mess and passing the cost on to the consumer. Jerk airline industry.
My tirade is over, as is my tale. We made it back home, sound and safe. I’ll get our final photos up on this post later today. Thanks for reading.
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Denver Improv Festival - My Trip, Day 5
And that’s a wrap.
I was first up for Saturday’s shows at the Denver Improv Festival and I was pumped. Here’s some thoughts on my show and the rest of the shows that evening:
The Uncle Ukulele Show - I left the stage feeling good about my show. I had a fun crowd who seemed into it, and that’s the most important thing to me. I did seven songs including the two brand-new pieces I’ve been working on. I haven’t performed The Uncle Ukulele Show since the Milwaukee Improv Festival in August, and my show in Denver admittedly had a few hiccups in terms of smooth transitions and a fumbled chord or two, but the audience stuck with me, as far as I could tell. It was nice to have a mixed house of improvisers and non-improvisers, too, and they surprised me by singing along to choruses several times. One thing I would take away from this last show in terms of how to improve my show is to just memorize my set list. I wrote it down and I think because of that, I tended to rely on it too much. If it’s only in my head, it forces me to remember it or at least deal with it if I forget what’s next. I had fun, so thanks, DIF! Standout Moments (to me as the performer): The audience spontaneously singing along to one of my new segments (that was so cool!), the pleasantly surprising moment during my pop song when the horse I was riding sprouted wings and a horn to become a Pegasus Unicorn (the look of surprise and delight on my face was, apparantly, pretty hilarious), and Bat McCain biting Obama Goat and making him Vampire Obama Goat (I think we all remember that debate).
Curds Only - Ryan Williams (from last night’s solo show, Kumate) and Chris Woolf (who provided tech for the show at the Impulse last night) reunited for their longform duo, Curds Only, and it was obvious these guys were excited to be working together again. Both actors got really physical with their improv, something I love to see, and their attitude was a sort of faux bravado that set a laid-back tone for the show. The first suggestion they received was “bus station,” one of the most cliche improv suggestions in the universe and I thought, “Oh, no,” in my head, but I was so glad to see them do something cool with it; in their structure, they establish one or two characters apiece and then switch off and play each other’s roles. The connected listening required for this was commendable and a half. Standout Moments: An argument between friends over the best knapsack ever, a good cop / bad cop game of a dude named Larry tied to a chair being worked over by Casbury and Murphy, and a kid in love with ice cream promises to sell ice cream at his school whose vendor / supplier asks, “You’re not going to get high off your own supply, right?”
After the show, we loaded up all of my gear into the car and had dinner at the Rock Bottom Brewery. The camera got put in the car, too, so no more photos from me, unfortunately. Burger: The Bourbonzola. Parking ticket: validated. Post-show feeling: Awesome. Back to the Bovine? Yep.
A.C.E. - Featuring an American, a Canadian, and an Englishman, A.C.E. has been improvising in Denver for a long time and I remember seeing some fantastic improv from them during my days frequenting the Improv Hootenanny. They had the audience laughing last night, including me, and yet in all honesty their set was loose, distractingly loose (missed gifts, silent moments of actors staring at each other and not knowing what’s going on, constant corpsing1 ). And I know their set was loose because I’ve seen them do some tight, solid improv. Also, I’m surprised every scene was a three-person scene; if that’s an ensemble’s specialty, great, yet without a single one- or two-person scene in the set, some third-person entrances run the risk of feeling forced. I want to be honest to my impressions and I think mine come from a place of wanting more, having seen them be so great. Standout Moments: Jamie Krutz provided phenomenal electric guitar background music for the entire show, including some improvised songs. Jamie is like the Warren Zevon of the Denver improv scene and it was a pleasure to see him again. Also, I loved the line, “Don’t take away my chipmunks! I’m addicted!”
Drum Machine - I think I always knew, but have finally figured out how to articulate, why Jill Bernard’s improv shows are so endearing, captivating, and successful: they’re based in emotion or more precisely, love. She gets suggestions to set the scene, including a topic and a historic backdrop, but really it’s the emotional relationships revolving around love that drives her improv. Jill ditched her drum machine in favor of live keyboardist and former Minneapolis improviser, Seymour Muchmore, and he definitely added some talent to the already excellent show. Her tale of two brothers and a new lover for the older brother accidentallly inventing beer had the grand scale of many of the Drum Machine tales I’ve witnessed, and Bernard’s crowd was nothing less than satisfied, if not downright giddy (all one needed to do was listen to them gush in the lobby after the show). Standout Moments: “People in love don’t drown!”, a brother named Trigg, a father happy to be rid of his idiot daughter, a floating corpse, and “Love is all the scuba gear I’ll need.”
After the 9:30pm show, Kelly and I went back to Sam’s No. 3 and had the same server. She was even more flabergasted that we were back two nights in a row.2
Dishwater Blondes - There’s been much written and said about women and comedy, women and improv for that matter. And in a way, even mentioning how improv is mostly populated by white men when talking about an all-women ensemble bows to the cliché. And still, maybe it’s because most improv I see is performed by “people who look like me” that I’m left amazed by strong female improvisers, and this group of five are talented. Characters were great, relationships were funny, and I’m always a fan of a callback-heavy set, especially when it doesn’t feel forced (which it wasn’t; everything was highly organic). None of them succumbed to the “look how crazy and/or sexy I can be” trap that some female improvisers fall into (I could say the same about men falling into the “look how aloof and/or weird I can be” trap) Standout Moments: a persistent informercial that reaches out of the TV and turns itself back on, a psychic who bases her readings on whatever movie she saw the night before, sudden baby births and absent-minded physicians, and “I see the future in spaghetti noodles… I keep a dream diary.”
SCRAM - Joe Bill and Jill Bernard teamed up for a two-person Scramble, a longform structure Joe told me about in the car on Friday which got me pumped up to see it. Actors create two two-person scenes running concurrently, interacting with an absent “ghost” character until they switch off and enter the other person’s scene, taking on that “ghost” character and fleshing out the scene further. This book-ended the show which only comprised of one single scene - an estranged father and daughter waiting for a long-lost daughter (who may not even actually be his daughter) to arrive. This structure was a breath of fresh air, having some of the most tender, emotional moments of the festival. Five minutes would pass without a laugh because the audience was so caught up in the relationship between a depressed daughter and her ungrateful father. Again, Jill does well with scenework revolving around love, and the relationship she and Joe created was captivating. Standout Moments: Guessing what brand of pudding the last pudding cup is, “Listen up, because I’m rarely going to say this: ‘thank you.’” and this exchange: Father: “Do you know what the last line of the telegram was?” Daughter: “Was it ’stop’?”
We didn’t stay for the afterparty; we were just wiped out. We said our goodbyes to Joe, Jon, Jean, and many others, and headed back to the hotel. Sleep called us to bed and I did not protest.
Kelly and I caught every single DIF show this Friday and Saturday, choosing to pony up some cash for her tickets (I had free admission as a performer) and immerse ourselves in the festival all weekend. I’m surprised by how few improvisers, especially DIF performers with free admission - came close to this feat over the course of the festival. Now, let’s get hypocrisy out of the way: I’ve been out of town or getting married during both of the improv festivals in my neck of the woods, so perhaps I’m off base here and just don’t understand what it’s like to be an improviser when a festival is being held on the home turf. But this is my ninth festival appearance and the first I can remember when it really felt like some local improvisers were picking and choosing when to be there, as opposed to most festivals I’ve attended where it seemed most local improvisers made it a point to be there as much as possible.
I’m not trying to take away from those improvisers who showed up to a bunch of shows - there was a healthy handful, and they rock for supporting the festival. But showing up only to perform your own show and immediately leaving afterward? To me, that 1. doesn’t build community, 2. doesn’t foster the festival, and 3. comes off as pretty snobby. Pardon me for being frank on this matter (hey, at least I’m not naming names), but after experiencing festivals that brought local improvisers together (Milwaukee immediately springs to mind, as does Miami), it was unfortunate that, to this non-local, it didn’t necessarily feel like the majority of local improvisers were choosing to consistently show up. Double-kudos to those local improvisers who made it their business to support this festival which ultimately supports the local improv community. It’s a symbiotic relationship that shouldn’t be taken lightly.
But that’s a small mark on what was otherwise a fun, well-run festival. Jon Lannen and Jean Schuman, thank you. Joe Bill - it was great to see you again, hope it’s not another year before we meet again. Jill Bernard - I think I saw you more this weekend than I have in the last six months, which is a bummer; let’s change it up! Matt Fogel - thank you for the amazing tech. Howard - your hosting skills were top-notch. Carl Wedell and Frank Haas - your hospitality was truly appreciated (as well as the tip of grinding cinnamon with my coffee beans). Good to see so many familiar faces again: Ryan Williams, Chris Woolf, Eric Farone, Adrian Holguin, and many more.
We’re heading out to the airport. If anything ridiculous / amazing / tragic happens, I’ll do a final update. Otherwise, that’s my report from the fourth annual Denver Improv Festival.
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- ”Corpsing” is breaking character by laughing in a scene. [↩]
- ”Well, back again?! Deja vu, huh?! Deja vu!!! [↩]
Denver Improv Festival - My Trip, Day 4
This post not only describes the rest of yesterday’s Denver Improv Festival events, but features the very first FOOTNOTES to appear here at The Scrawl!1
Kelly and I ate at the Rock Bottom Brewery on 16th Street and Curtis for three reasons: 1. the food is okay, 2. it’s a block and a half from the Bovine Metropolis Theater, and 3. if you bring in your underground parking garage ticket and order something they’ll validate your parking. Back in the day when Rick and I would come and do some improv, this was standard operating procedure and, after checking in with a few locals, it’s still the preferred parking method of choice for Denver improvisers.
It’s neat to return to a venue I used to frequent so often, yet had been away from for three years. We attended all of the shows last night, so here’s a brief breakdown of who we saw:
Convention? (Denver, CO) - This large ensemble (at least 13 people) portrayed what appeared to be the final act in a running series running parallel to the national election, with last night’s show focusing on three candidates and their teams reeling in their defeat. Each team was focused on for several minutes apiece, followed by a moderated Q&A session featuring all of the characters. There were some funny moments and many of the characters established themselves as well as their relationships with each other, even across party lines (nice to see improvisers reach across the aisle). I honestly felt like I was clearly watching the finale of a show I never saw, and that left me feeling like I was missing something, but there were laughs to be had, anyway. Standout Moment(s): a clueless VP candidate (Amanda Kennedy) spouting off a slew of non sequiturs, a felonious husband and a campaign manager (Mark Shonsey) singing a cut from their new Christian rock CD.
The Sanscript Players with Joe Bill (Denver, CO / Chicago, IL) - This is the house team for the Bovine Metropolis, one of the two host theaters of the festival. This was also a large ensemble and they asked Joe Bill to play Armando for an Armando Diaz Experience.2 Kelly’s a big fan of the Armando (she’s seen me do a few) and this group is clearly comfortable working with each other, getting physical, using the space, etc. Standout Moment(s): a man trying to climb out of a window over and over to avoid getting married with his friends at a triple wedding, a woman who bottles her emotions - personified by another actor popping up in a window as a disembodied head screaming to be let out, and Joe Bill on conspiracy theories: “I think conspiracy theories are natural because keeping secrets is natural. That’s why I’ve been divorced twice.”
After the show we went around the corner to Sam’s No. 3 and had malts. I had an extra malty cookies’n'cream malt while Kelly created a chocolate / mint / strawberry concoction which left our server flabbergasted. I don’t think I’ve ever used that word to describe someone, but trust me, it’s quite appropriate for her reaction.3
Kumate (Chicago, IL) - This was the first of three solo shows at this year’s DIF, the others being mine and Jill Bernard’s Drum Machine. Ryan Williams took the stage in kung-fuitized wardrobe and asked his audience for a location they’ve never seen in a Kung-Fu movie; he got “Antarctica.” After a mood-setting, and funny, pan-flute song, Williams then displayed some of the most patient improv I’ve ever seen. For three minutes or so, he established the setting - a ship at sea - and three characters - a deckhand swabbing the deck, the first mate at the wheel, and the captain in the crow’s nest, all through fluid, kung-fu inspired spacework and sound effects (think of that “Sh!” “Schuh!” type of noise you hear in the kung-fu movies when someone swings a fist in the air). The first words of the show were “LAAAND HO!” and we were off. Williams created an adventure journey, a love story, and a penguin-hunting tale in his time on stage and it all came to a satisfying conclusion by the time a second pan-flute song closed the show. Standout Moment: “I’ve been eating nothing but penguin for three weeks!”
The Drinks (Denver, CO) - Mark Shonsey took the stage for a third time (he was also in Convention? and The Sanscript Players) with fellow Sanscript Player Nanna Ogburn for a duo longform structure. They established their characters, setting up their relationship of a tension-filled semi-marriage, ending with the Nanna’s character explaining, with a big grin on her face, that if he ever tried to leave she would kill him. The rest of the show became a cat-and-mouse game to see if the husband could push the seemingly goody-two-shoes woman over the edge so she finally killed him. There were plenty of laughs, though while I fully embrace John Gardner’s theory of the importance of delay in fiction, I think the audience was really just waiting for her to kill him. I wonder if part of the reason that moment (spoiler!) never came was the aftermath of that moment was because that wasn’t something they had anticipated ever happening, but man, a duo show between one live character and one dead body character could be interesting. At any rate, both players’ characters were top-notch, their interaction was the stuff you hope your students will create in your improv classes, and I laughed plenty. Standout Moment(s): After establishing his life was in danger, the uneasy lover squeaks out, “What do you want to play for game night?” and near the end of the show, after going down on one knee to beg for his life, Nanna’s character screamed in delight that he was proposing marriage (”You did the knee thing!” “No, no, a lot of people go down on one knee for a lot of reasons! Tying a shoe! Picking up a dime!”)
After this show, Kelly and I went back to the hotel and took a nap. We had over an hour and seriously, we were both pretty flippin’ tired. Hooray for king size beds with fancy-schmancy blankets and sheets!
The rest of the night was at the Impulse Theater. This is where my old improv partner, Rick Simineo, got some of his training so while it always came highly recommended, this was unfortunately my first time actually going there. It’s a cool space, a very night club / comedy club feel in the basement of a local brewery and plenty of cabaret-style seating and what looked like a well-organized list of tech candy (well-placed tech booth, solid lighting, large backstage, multiple entrance locations, etc.).
Impulse Theater (Denver, CO) - A house ensemble did a round of short-form games including Rewrite (a.k.a. Take That Back, a.k.a. Ding!, a.k.a. Should’ve Said), Forward/Reverse, and Styles Replay. They played a game similar to World’s Worst in that they’d get a suggestion for a topic of a song (dogs, cars, etc.) and would switch up a real song with lyrics pertaining to the topic. I’d never seen that game before and it killed; definitely something I’d like to try sometime. The ensemble was great, really working together well. That may be because it was their third set of the night, according to Adrian Holguin, whom I know through YESand.com and have met in-person at least one or thrice before. It’s always cool to see YESand friends in the flesh and performing, and Adrian did a super-awesome job. Standout Moment(s): Michael Solomon repeating “Noooo, noooo!” ad nauseum in Forward / Reverse, a Steven Spielberg-style scene in Styles Replay featuring Adrian Holguin as Indiana “Manuel” Jones, Liberty Gordon as a ridiculously-wigged preggers secret lover, and wow, Sara Vandas can sing!
FORK (Denver, CO) - DIF co-producers Jean Schuman and Jon Lannen took the stage for their duo show and were clearly having a fun time. They opened by getting two separate suggestions and took a seat on opposite sides of the stage, creating character monologues running concurrently and every once in a while, taking inspiration from one another - a very cool exercise in listening to your partner (I might have to take this as a workshop exercise). The show featured a series of relationship-driven scenes and musical interludes provided by LA-based guest Stephen Wilder and a keyboard accompanist, Seymour Muchmore, who worked at the Brave New Workshop around fifteen years ago. FORK’s set was fun and what I usually might call “loose” but I’m going with “playful” as a show ending after 1:00am by the producers who’ve been running around for weeks getting last-minute details done shoudl be. As I said, they clearly were enjoying themselves and that sensibility carried over to the audience. Standout Moment(s): Jon going off on a Milli Vanilli diatribe, Stephen as public defender singing about what a shrew the judge (Jean) was, and Jean actually making herself out-and-out cry for her judge character.
Due to camera battery issues, the only show I got to take photos of was FORK, but here they are:
After the show, Kelly, Jill Bernard, and I headed back to the Hampton. I dropped off the ladies and had an adventure in parking. Then, sleep. Sweet sleep.
Unfortunately, the workshop I was scheduled to teach today didn’t fill, so today we’re playing it low-key. Some writing, some essay grading, some ukulele practice, some blogging, some napping, and some mindless TV watching. Tonight I appear with Curds Only (Denver, CO / Chicago, IL), then we plan to catch the rest of the shows this evening. I’ll keep you posted, dear reader.
-nm
- yay! [↩]
- Named for the inventor of this longform structure, one person steps forward as “Armando” and asks for a suggestion. They tell true stories from their own life to “fill the pot” with ideas and the ensemble creates scenes inspired by the stories. The Armando steps in few scenes to fill the pot even more. A very callback-friendly, organic, and symbiotic form. [↩]
- ”In all my time here I don’t think that combo’s ever come up! That’s something unique!” [↩]
Your Friday Recommendation #29
Come see my show!
Is this recommendation a cop-out? Eh, maybe.
Is this recommendation a shamless plug? Spluh.
The Denver Improv Festival presents The Uncle Ukulele Show and Curds Only Saturday, November 8 @ 7:30pm, $15 The Bovine Metropolis Theater 1527 Champa Street, Denver, CO
Run, drive, fly, burrow, or teleport your way to Denver this weekend, dear reader! And if you can’t make it, well, I understand.
-nm
Denver Improv Festival - My Trip, Day 3
Our travels took Kelly and me beyond the Denver metro area to Castle Rock to shop for jeans and books at their famed Outlet Mall. While the Vans outlet store apparently no longer exists (it’s where I bought all of my shoes from 2002-2005, including the shoes I’m wearing now… which says a lot about how infrequently I buy shoes, now that I think about it), they had a Borders outlet store with a lot of closeout books. I picked up The Great Gatsby unabridged on CD for a dollar, a $20 book of over-sized posters from The Simpsons, and a copy of Best American Short Stories 2007 (edited by Stephen King), and now have a copy of nearly every year’s volume going back to 1999. Kelly picked up an autobiography, Multiple Bles8ings by Jon & Kate Gosselin (with Beth Carlson who, with apologies to Jon and Kate, probably did quite a bit of the writing). It’s the story of a couple who had twins and sextuplets and who are the subject of Kelly’s new “favorite” TLC TV show, Jon and Kate Plus Eight. I call anything Kelly likes her “favorite” thing, even if it’s not. That’s how I roll.
I also saw a new anthology of 70 short stories since 1970 that looked interesting (it has a lot of the Scribner Anthology in it), as well an older edition of the Norton Anthology of Short Fiction for only $2.99. I was really tempted to pick it up, but my luggage is already pushing the 50-pound limit at 48 pounds (mostly thanks to my ukulele amp), so I left the heavy tome on the shelf. Frontier’s already charging $15 per checked bag, one-way, and I don’t feel like having it jump up to $25 by surpassing the 50-pound mark; that would make the Norton book $13 and at that price I might as well buy it at home or online (addendum: a quick Amazon check lists Norton as $44 and up, so maybe I missed out).
We continued south and visited the Garden of the Gods, one of my favorite geological anomalies I’ve ever visited. I haven’t been there since I was in high school, but it was as beautiful as ever.Here are some photos we took:
Finally, we headed to see my cousin, Kris, and his wife, Janette, in Colorado Springs. We had some dinner, looked at photos from their trip to China, gossiped about the family, and played the terrible, terrible Wii video game that is Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? I’ll tell you who I am smarter than - the programmers who decided this product was finished and ready for consumers to plunk down money to buy (luckily, it was merely a rental). We forgot to bring our extra Wii-motes and our copy of our latest Wii game addiction, Boom Blox, but maybe that’s not a bad thing. Remember, 50-pound luggage weight limit.
This morning I graded essays (yay!), Kelly slept in (yay!), we drove the Charger north (meh), and ended up back in Denver. I’m writing this in our room at the downtown Hampton Inn where Joe Bill is also staying; I know because we bumped into each other in the lobby, where handshakes and bear hugs were to be had. Joe’s one of those guys who’s been around the Chicago improv scene forever, plus the national improv scene for as long as I can remember. His classes will change your improv, his shows will inspire your improv, and his down-to-earth personality really helps eliminate any perceived “guru status” stigma. I’m looking forward to seeing his shows this weekend.
I did tech rehearsal at the Bovine Metropolis for the Denver Improv Festival and saw several familiar faces from back in the day. Ryan Williams and Chris Wolf are Curds Only, the group I’m sharing the bill with for tomorrow night’s 7:30pm show. Ryan’s been in Chicago for a year and it sounds like good things are happening, while Chris served as tech for the Improv Hootenanny back when Rick and I were doing regular shows here. I’ve improvised with both of these guys before, they’re cool and talented. I also re-met Jean Schuman and Jon Lannen. I say re-met because I know I met them, albeit briefly, way back when they were in a high school improv troupe called Spontaneous Combustion. They’re producing the festival and these two are far more pumped and charged up than anything, and that feeling is both palpable and infectious. Finally, I bumped into Eric Farone, owner of the Bovine Metropolis Theater. Eric and his wife, Denise, have done a lot to put Denver improv on the map and his theater space appears ready for some insane improv action this weekend.
That’s it for today. Kelly and I are heading out to dinner and an evening of improv. I’ll keep you posted.
-nm
Denver Improv Festival - My Trip, Day 2
Last night’s flight on Frontier Airlines into Denver went without a hitch, which is approximately 1700 less hitches than the last time we flew Frontier (our honeymoon) and ended up in Denver (unexpected) and its airport (overnight, on the floor). We picked up our rental car, a 2007 Dodge Charger, and headed to out to crash at my friends’, Carl and Frank. Carl Wedell hosted the Improv Hootenanny at the Bovine Metropolis Theater for years and only just recently bowed out to start grad school, while Frank Haas is tech director at the Bovine. Already, it’s been cool running into pepole from the past and talking about old times.
See, when I lived in Cheyenne, Wyoming for three years, Rick Simineo and I brought our improv duo, Puny Humans, down to Denver every once in a while between 2004-2005 for the Improv Hootenanny (Denver’s equivalent of Minneapolis’s Improv A Go-Go at the Brave New Workshop). Carl was our point person for performances and I so dig on seeing “blasts from the past.” Rick and I performed at the inaugural Denver Improv Festival, and it’s cool to be back for this, the fourth year of the festival.
A quick note - we’re not a fan of the Dodge Charger. Silly me decided a full-size car at the same price as a mid-size car would be a good idea. Not so much. First of all, it’s sucking gas like a little kid slurping away at the striped straw stuck in his first milkshake - gleefully and as fast as possible. Second, it’s unresponsive. I have to really push on the gas to go, so precision parallel parking is not super fun. Finally, it’s unwieldy. The front is huge, the trunk is a monster, and it’s difficult to determine its footprint when merging. It’s everything that’s the opposite of my new Mazda5 (I’ll have to make my new vehicle a Friday Recommendation soon ’cause I looooove it!).
We aren’t catching the Denver Improv Festival youth showcases tonight, because today we head down to Colorado Springs for the sites and fun with relatives.
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Denver Improv Festival - My Trip, Day 1
In an hour, Chad, a cool dude from the Ron Book Team, is picking up Kelly and me for a trip to the airport. We’re heading to the Denver Improv Festival and plan to spend some time relaxing in vacation mode and to see some family. I’m excited to get a little rest mid-semester and do some performing, which I really haven’t done since my summer tour. It’s also nice Kelly could get time away to be my travel companion and roadie; she’s accompanied me to all of my improv festival performances of The Uncle Ukulele Show except for Milwaukee, and while Milwaukee was a lot of fun, I’ve found it’s a lot more fun to have someone her come with me. My show is a solo show, and I don’t wanna be lonely!
I’ve been practicing some new pieces for my show and we’ll have to see which of them / how many are ready. I’ve also been prepping curriculum for an improv workshop I’m teaching this Saturday morning; hopefully we have a decent number for enrollment.
I’ll keep you updated, dear reader.
-nm
I’m performing and teaching at the Denver Improv Festival
I received word a few days ago from the producers of the Denver Improv Festival (DIF) that I’ve been invited to perform my solo improv showcase, The Uncle Ukulele Show, and teach a youth-oriented improv workshop in the mile-high city this November. This marks my ninth improv festival appearance overall, my fifth performing The Uncle Ukulele Show, and my second appearance at DIF.
For The Uncle Ukulele Show, I’ve been working on a few new song structures and have challenged myself to premiere at least one of them at the festival. After this summer’s tour performing at SFIF, SCIF, and MSIF, I’ve found I have an hour’s worth of structures and games to draw from, and I like the prospect of cultivating even more. This is important to me as a performer, as getting stagnant isn’t something I’m interested in. That said, I’m hoping to find some ensemble improv work soon, too, as one can only do the solo thing so long. In the meantime, I’ll keep practicing and creating at home on the uke.
As for the youth workshop, I have some original and some borrowed exercises which I think can help performers get to the focus of a scene as soon as possible without compromising patience. This way, performers can make what the scene’s about upfront and prominent rather than take the first few minutes trying to figure out what’s happening. I’ll probably post more about the workshop soon, and maybe even try out a few things over the next few weeks with the youth performance team I’m coaching at the Brave New Workshop these days (their first FREE show is on November 2 at 4:00pm, dear reader).
My plan right now is to blog during the entire Denver Improv Festival, November 6-8. Stay tuned.
-nm
Why I Haven’t Been Blogging #2: Improv Festivals
I’ve been fortunate enough to perform at my sixth, seventh, and eight improv festivals this summer: I co-headlined the San Francisco Improv Festival over July 24-26, co-headlined at the Santa Cruz Improv Festival on July 27, and recently wrapped up a great show at the Milwaukee Improv Festival on August 9. Keen-eyed readers will notice I performed at two festivals on one trip. That is officially a tour. I am a touring artist, folks.
“The Uncle Ukulele Show” is a solo musical improv show which means when it comes to rehearsal this can be both a blessing and a curse. Getting an ensemble together to rehearse can be difficult due to people’s individual schedules and commitment levels. But if you’re a regular reader of this blog you know how time management is one of my greatest struggles, and for me, getting oneself to rehearse can be an even greater challenge. Circumstances for all three of these festivals demanded I step up and practice hard and consistently.
For starters, the San Francisco Improv Festival (SFIF) and Santa Cruz Improv Festival (SCIF) both asked me to perform forty-five minute shows. This was the first time I was asked to perform a solo improv show over twenty minutes and doubling my performance time was a daunting task. Both shows also listed me as headliner as opposed to simply part of the show and this made me want to stand and deliver. As for the Milwaukee Sketch & Improv Festival (MKIF), I’m their first Minnesota performer and one of the few solo improv shows in their three-year history and it was important to me to make my appearance there a strong show.
In short, that meant I had to put aside a few projects (including this blog) and really focused on practice, practice, practice.
My show is broken up into a series of rotating segments all linked together by the character. That means I can pick and choose which song genres to try, which storytelling opportunities to use, etc. For SFIF and SCIF I ended up using most of my repertoire and trying some new stuff, too. Working up a longer list of segments than I’m used to delivering in a single show meant giving them all more attention while hopefully not spreading myself too thin. To end the suspense, all of the California shows went really well and I can say without hesitation the show I did at MSIF was the best solo show I’ve ever done.
So what does all of this mean to me? I feel like I have tangible evidence of my creative growth as an improviser, performer, and producer. Improviser, in that I really tried to play off the top of my intelligence and do something great. Performer, as I took my characterization to new heights. Producer, in that I really stepped up the content of my show and made my focus giving the audience a great show. The lesson here for successful creativity is that when one puts in the work, man can it really pay off.
This post is an overview of my preparation and performance. I owe all three of these festivals a separate blog post, and I hope to get those up soon. In the meantime, let’s get onto some photos…
All photos are credited to the delightful, helpful, amazing Clay Robeson, save the last which is credited to my wife, Kelly Melcher. Click the pick for a bigger, higher-resolution photo.
That's me on stage in front of the "M" inspired San Francisco Improv Festival banners.This is officially one of my favorite improv festivals.
Yes, I do puppet shows. I'm also available for birthdays and bar mitzvahs.
I'm one of those performers who enjoys interacting with the audience as much as possible, even to the point of jumping off stage and getting out into the seating area. This shot is from the second night of SFIF and though it was a small house, it was definitely a fun crowd.
From the first night of SFIF. This young woman was a joy to have on stage. I asked her to join me for a sing-a-long and taught her a chord on a second ukulele. Not only did she do well (and impress her boyfriend), she and I talked about her deciding she wants to learn how to play a ukulele now. Spread the uke love!
You'll notice my new Lanikai S-TEQ electric tenor ukulele in these shot. Much to my wife's chagrin, I decided the week of our wedding was the perfect time to shell out some green for a new ukulele... I nabbed it at a low price from Rob at The Ukulele Shop. Expect a review soon.
This young woman seemed shy at first as she came on stage during the second night of SFIF. But wow did she surprise me when she got so into the sing-a-long to the point that we were leaning on each other, back to back, playing and singing together. If you ask me, she went back into shy mode when the crowd cheered for her at the end of the song.
Kelly took this great shot of me ready to rock out at SCIF. One of my favorite parts of the show is when I hook my ukulele up to an amp because I can hear people in the crowd whisper, "No way!" People don't expect an electrified uke and it makes rockin' out in the show so fun.
Stay creative, people.
-nm
Improvising Lyrics
Julie Strietelmeier is running a brilliant contest at her ukulele-centric blog, UkuleleReview.com, and this weekend I threw my hat in the ring to win a prize package including the ultra-sweet, ultra-cute Flea ukulele.
In the summer of 2005, I was at La Vonne Music in Savage, MN with my friend, Eric, and I plucked around on a Flea. Eric said maybe the Flea is the instrument for me; I didn’t buy one that day, but I did ask my parents for a ukulele for Christmas, almost as a joke. They gave me a basic uke, I strummed out a few tunes, and now it’s the center of my solo musical improv show, The Uncle Ukulele Show. The Flea has a unique shape and feel, and I must say it has a beautiful sound. Saving money for the wedding precludes my picking one up on my own, for now, so I’m hoping my contest entry brings that Flea home to me so I might bring the story full-circle to the Flea.
My entry details some of what I do to set myself up for success when improvising lyrics in The Uncle Ukulele Show. The prep work involved allows me to give my full focued attention to the lyrics themselves, leaving them purely improvised. WordPress didn’t make it easy to figure out how to embed video, but here’s my first crack it on this blog:
Julie announces contest winners on April 4, 2008, so stay tuned to see if I’m one of three winners of my very own Flea… (04.04.08 Update: looks like I didn’t win, but there are plenty of contest entry gems, including the winners.)-nm
Technorati Tags: improv, ukulele, improvising lyrics, Flea ukulele, La Vonne
Your Friday Recommendation #6.
If you’re passionate about improv, you likely seek out as much information as you can about it. There is a decent-sized handful of improv books out there, and half of them are halfway decent, but one to put toward the top of your reading list is Improvise by Mick Napier.
The intro-level improv class I’m teaching at the Brave New Workshop took most of our rehearsal time to discuss this book last night. They talked about ideas they liked (listening, taking care of yourself, etc.) and ideas that didn’t quite click for them (thermodynamics), and overall walked away more excited about improv than ever, which should be the goal of any good improv craft book. At least two students commented on how something Napier posits pinpoints their exact improvement issues, and it was cool for them to read about them.
Napier talks a lot about the “rules” of improv, and how in many ways, improv doesn’t need them to succeed. On many levels, I agree, thought I think the “rules” have been misinterpreted and misconstrued over the years to become the “rules” they are now. For example, asking questions - I think it’s perfectly acceptable for characters to ask questions in scenes. However, if the questions that come out in scenes are coming from the actor, because they truly have no idea what is going on, that’s the actor coming from a place of fear and they need to get over it. Yet I hear people say not to ask questions in a scene. I propose one can, so long as the question comes from the character, not the actor. To me, the “rules” are there for a reason, and they can work quite well for many people. Also, I wonder about improvisers who never learn the rules whatsoever and their success rate. For example, the book concentrates on re-teaching those who have learned the rules already, which to me says despite any burdens the rules may cause, they’re still out there for everyone to try.
Napier will be the first to avoid terms like “guru,” but he truly is one of the smartest improv coaches today. As one lucky enough to take a few master classes with the man, I witnessed him sense hundreds of young improviser’s “deal” after witnessing just one scene - and when it came to me, he was on the nose every time. Track down his classes and failing that, read the book. Then re-read it.
-nm
Technorati Tags: reading recommendations, mick napier, improvise, improv book, improv rules
Improv and Storytelling.
It appears this may be a week of improv-related posts.
I’m teaching an intro-level performance track improv class at the Brave New Workshop these days and the subject of story and scene came up, and this is a subject I’ve been kicking around in my brain for a while. It this particular situation, there was speculation that, if the players in a scene can feel it has reached its natural ending in the story arc, should the scene be cut or is it okay to let it continue and see what else happens. I’m of the opinion both approaches can work - on a case-by-case basis considering the scene, the players, the audience, etc. - if the players involved treat the situation with truth.
Let’s say a two-person scene establishes two characters who are ex-lovers. They are both upset about their relationship and want things to be better. Finally, they make up and tell each other, “I love you.” If this scene were in a movie, the scene would fade to black and the credits would roll. But that’s not how it would go in real life. In reality, something happens after two people say “I love you.” They talk more, or cuddle or make hot chocolate. Whatever they do, it takes what just happens and begins a new story arc. The “I love you” moment moves from the climax of one story to the beginning of the first act for the next story. To this end, a scene could continue and explore the characters’ relationship further.
In improv ensemble work, this approach requires patience from both the players in the scene (deciding your scene has ended from the inside can be dangerous) and the players on the back line (particularly for ensembles who often cut scenes when the “big laugh” happens). Instead of looking for the high point or the “big laugh,” I wonder what would happen if more improvisers cut scenes by looking for story arcs. And on top of that, I wonder what would happen in more improvisers recognized story arcs, let them run their course, and let them carry on beyond into truly unknown territory.
-nm
Technorati Tags: improv, storytelling, scene edit
I’m in the San Francisco Improv Festival.
Today I received notice my solo improv format, The Uncle Ukulele Show, has been accepted to the San Francisco Improv Festival. This will mark my second festival appearance as Uncle Ukulele, and my sixth festival appearance overall. SFIF features one-hour performance slots, and that means developing new directions for the show to grow. I already have more segments than a typical twenty-minute set allows, and I’ve brainstormed more and will be diligent in making them reach their fullest potential. I’ll have my performance dates set soon, but I know I’ll be traveling west some time in July or August.
It occurs to me I don’t have much information about Uncle Ukulele on the interweb, so I’ll try to change that soon. In the meantime, I can give a brief bit of information here and now. This is from the show’s submission release:
Uncle Ukulele is a musical solo improv show created by Nate Melcher. As “Uncle Ukulele,” a friendly, overly-upbeat children’s entertainer, Melcher asks the audience to embrace their sense of play and remember the wonder of childhood. Together, they will venture forth on a wild adventure filled with fun songs, crazy stories, silly sing-a-longs, puppet shows, and tons of audience participation. With his trusty ukulele at his side, Uncle Ukulele has been making audiences laugh since March of 2007.
Some posts are in the pipeline detailing what the show is like, how I developed a solo improv form that works for me, as well as how I practice solo improv. Also expect notices about some upcoming shows in Minneapolis for the local readers.
-nm
Technorati Tags: solo improv, ukulele, san francisco improv festival
Why do improv festivals?
I’ve returned from the Gainesville Improv Festival a little tired and a lot satisfied. First some diary, then some reflection:
I ended up doing two shows, one “Uncle Ukulele” and one jam. My solo performance on Thursday had some fun highlights and while I don’t believe it was the best show I’ve done, it picked up steam as it went along and the audience was with me. I was invited to play in the GIF All-Stars Armando Diaz jam on Friday night. It was a fun, low-stakes show with a diverse cast of ten from Chicago, LA, Minneapolis, and various Florida cities. The weekend was filled with familiar faces like Tom O’Donnell, Dave Hyland, and Dustin Sharpe (Mod 27), Jesse Parent and Joe Rogan (Jokyr & Jesster), Mark Bratton aka Ho’Lease and the boys from Pimprov, and plenty of new Florida faces including Skyler, Jeff of ArACka, and Brian Jaeger and James Gallen (Taser-Friendly). The parties? Thursday, too loud. Friday, just right.
On Saturday, the fiancée and I headed down to Orlando to catch a show at SAK Comedy Lab, featuring her uncle and SAK artistic director, Dave Russell. The most-unexpected moment (and thus, a definite highlight) of the entire weekend was walking into SAK and seeing Jim Doyle’s headshot on the “Who’s Performing” wall. Jim and I met on YESand.com a few years ago and then in-person during the 2006 Miami Improv Festival. It was fun to see Jim and Dave (plus the rest of the talented cast) play to a crowd who ate it up. Finally, we saw some old friends from my high school days and had a terrible waitress (a requirement of any vacation).
GIF marked my fifth improv festival invitation and the seventh festival I’ve attended, overall. But I’ve never made a dime on them. In fact, I’m plunked down several thousand dollars in airfare, hotel, car rentals, submission fees, and parties over the years on festivals alone. It begs the question, why go to festivals at all? It’s expensive, it’s time-consuming, and it doesn’t put more butts in the seats at your local theater. So why go through the trouble of taping a show, creating a submission tape, writing a bio, printing photos, spending a few bucks on an application fee, and then essentially “pay-to-play”?
Improv festivals typically have an education component worth your time.
There reaches a point for many improvisors when classes don’t necessarily entice, but for many beginners looking to sharpen skills or veterans looking to learn from the best, classes are the way to go. You don’t live in a city with a big improv scene? Go to a festival in one of those cities and learn from their top instructors. On top of that, many festivals bring in instructors from across the nation for their locals (and visitors) to learn from. It’s an opportunity more young improvisors could and should take advantage of on a regular basis.
Where better to learn what the nation is doing in improv than at an improv festival?
Online communication, articles, books and so on are great ways to learn how other people are treating the art form, but there’s something to be said about experiencing it, first-hand. Improv festivals pull in performers and students from all over the world. Thanks to festivals, I’ve met performers from Japan, Norway, England, NYC, LA, Denver, Toronto, Florida, Chicago, San Francisco, Phoenix, Boston, Salt Lake City, Chapel Hill, Honolulu, and so on. What am I supposed to do, travel to all of those places, individually?
Improv festivals can help you gain exposure.
Make no mistake, many people are trying to get their name out there, and an improv festival can help you do that. I don’t see this as a bad or self-indulgent thing. Getting out there and getting known, even in something as tiny as the improvosphere, can be a step in the right direction, especially in the realm of networking. As for folks who say going to festivals only to become famous, I liken these people to the haters who complain when their favorite “local” band makes it “big,” crying out how the artist “sold out.” Dude, what did you want, for the band you love to stay your tiny little secret and be miserable not trying to move on to something bigger and better than the every-third-Thursday open jam night at Bar McGrew? Grow up.
Improv festivals play a key role in networking.
I had my time and energies spent in the above three categories, but I now mostly enjoy festivals for the networking. Improv festivals are like family reunions - old friends are happy to see each other and the new folk get welcomed into the fold. It’s fun to know I have connections around the nation with a shared love of this little art form. For me, it has translated into couches to crash on (which I’ve done, from San Francisco to Chicago to Denver to Orlando and so on), to phone calls / blogs / message boards for discussion (YESand, CIN), to unique performance opportunities (the jam session I put together with Tom of Mod 27 and Jokey & Jesster at MIF 2006 immediately springs to mind), and publishing opportunities (how many times can I type YESand.com in this post?). All of those things happened because people got to know me and trust me at improv festivals.
That’s why I’ll keep applying to festivals, that’s why I’ll keep going to festivals, and that’s why I’ll keep recommending festivals to improvisors of any experience level.
-nm
Technorati Tags: gainesville improv festival, networking, sak, improv festival, yes and, mod 27, pimprov
Rehearsing Solo Improv
My perspective on this blog has shifted of late, from only being about writing to touching on creativity overall. To this end, here’s my first official post about improv…
I’m in the midst of rehearsing for an appearance tomorrow night at the Gainesville Improv Festival in Sunny Florida and have really found the difference between rehearsing with people and rehearsing alone fascinating. You see, my latest improv project is a solo piece entitled “Uncle Ukulele.” I play an overly upbeat children’s entertainer who sings songs based on audience suggestions while accompanying himself on, what else, the ukulele. There are other elements in the show, including different genres of songs, puppets, stories, and typically an “electrifying” ending. At the heart of the show is audience participation - my character interacts with the audience from the top of the show to the very last word. It’s integral the audience say “yes” to being young boys and girls for twenty-five minutes and join me on the ride. Having fun with the audience is at the heart of this show, I cannot stress it enough.
So here I am, rehearsing the show alone at home.
I’ve rehearsed in improv ensembles. During scenes in rehearsal, there’s a built-in audience of other actors on the “back line,” ready to jump in and perform a new scene but also watching the scene at-hand with great intent. I’ve also rehearsed in an improv duo, and while there is no audience there is someone to bounce ideas off. Rehearsing a solo show is a solo experience. If something comes up that’s funny, I have to chuckle at it in my head and stay in character. If something isn’t working, I try to persevere as though someone were watching, no matter how great the inclination is to just quit it and start over. If anything, I’d say rehearsing solo keeps me on my toes more than any duo or ensemble rehearsal has.
Most interesting to me is when I find myself having conversations with hypothetical audience members. They’re each unique and I go back and forth with them, working on my tone (super-friendly!) and facial expressions (super-smiley!). Some of them are even uncooperative (what does it say that I practice what to do if I run across a jerk?). I must say, a lot of this happens in the car when NPR loses my attention. If you’ve ever been driving and see someone singing their heart out behind their steering wheel, radio cranked, imagine seeing me actively speaking with Harvey the Rabbit as I sit behind my steering wheel, smile cranked.
There’s more to speak about on this topic, but the above post is a good start. I wanted to get something out to you, dear reader, before I embark on my trip to Gainesville. Questions / comments welcomed.
-nm
Technorati Tags: improv, Gainesville Improv Festival, ukulele, rehearsal, solo show, creativity
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Minnesota duo Barry Hess and Nathan Melcher founded Scrawlers in 2006, a creation born of their mutual interest in combining the creative arts with web innovation. The Scrawl is their blog on writing, writing prompts, teaching, reading recommendations, improv comedy, innovations in creativity and web design, and the occasional ukulele article. Subscribe today and add fuel to your creative fire.
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