(Not So) Great Moments in Improv! Part Two

December 13, 1974 - The only All-Blind Improv troupe, "Who Turned Out the Lights?!?" performs in their first and last show. "No one knew what the hell anyone was doing," explained participant Ken DiBella, who continued, "I'd be in a scene thinking that my partner was a superhero and I was his assistant, only to find out later that he was a bird and he thought I was a hunter. It was anarchy!"

June 16, 1986- Glen Wainwright, a member of "Everybody in the Gene Pool!" succumbs to a heart attack during a show in Des Moines. Though he may've survived with immediate treatment, no one realized he was actually dying and he was left onstage and used as a running gag for twenty minutes. A custodian discovered the body five minutes after the show ended.

September 23, 1992 - In Albuquerque, the highly publicized (and criticized) "Convicts Doing Improv" program, where felons received weekend passes to perform Improv, ended after three months due to poor ticket sales. Organizers blamed scene choices made by the convicts as every scene was either about serial murder , gangbanging, and/or incest.

February 20, 2002 - Improv SuperGroup "Guns and Posers!" disbands after months of acrimony culminating in tonight's show where members Jimmy Walls and Damon Curcio refused to leave the stage when Steven Pirsos and Julie Riccardo stepped in to start a new scene. All four participants were rushed to the ER to get medical attention thanks to the ensuing melee.

October 18, 2005 - While performing with "Down With People!", first time performer Jack Childress slips on a fake banana peel and suffers a real spinal cord injury. "If I had a chance, I'd do it all over again...except for the slipping on the banana peel part, " Jack stated after momentarily taking out his breathing tube.

April 9, 2006 - While performing in his first Improv show with Team Genesis, Harris Bloom inexplicably decides to, mid-scene mind you, pretend that he's been driving the whole time. After 30 seconds, he realized that he probably should grasp an imaginary steering wheel. Ten seconds later, the scene mercifully ends.

So last night was the Big Show....The first show by the first graduating students of the World's first Improv class. Rather than write a diary, I'd like to hand out some awards....


Deer in Headlights Award - Harris Bloom
See "Not-So-Great Moments in Improv"

Most Improved Male Improver - Luke Younger
From crying in class to being my personal favorite performer last night, you've come a long way baby. By the way, in forty. fifty years, when Alzheimer's has taken my memory, something tells me that I'll still remember Luke crying, and continuing to cry because he just didn't know what to say.

Most Improved Female Improver - Jeanne Knoll
Jeanne Knoll began class as timid as Armando Benitez pitching for the Mets trying to save a game vs. the Braves in a pennant race, but by last night, she shed that label like Armando Benitez pitching for the Marlins pitching against the Mets (God, I hate him). Every freakin' save we needed, he'd....oh wait...Jeanne...yeah, that kid did alright! I think she even mentioned s...e....x once. Anyway, speaking of saves...

Mariano Rivera Award (aka Best Save of the night) - Jason Quarles
I was in a scene where I announce a "Mr. Love" - no one got up to enter - Aaron (my scene partner) then pleaded for Mr. Love to appear - enter Jason, thankfully, as Mr. Love, not only saving the scene but ratcheting it up a notch. Well played Jason, well played.

Best skipping while teasing Jill Twiss by singing, "I've got a healthy kidney and you don't!" - Leah Bonoma
I think that's pretty self-explanatory. Speaking of Jill...

The "I Killed The Dog...Again" Award - Jill Twiss
I dont care what Aaron sez...that's not funny.

Best Jerry Shack Impression - Mike Johnson
Though I don't recall him "leading" any scenes, Mike displayed an uncanny ability to play off others, usually a role that Jerry Shack takes on. Which brings me to....


Most Jaw-dropping performance - Jerry Fuckin' Shack
That's his new nickname, replacing "Stinky" - In my weeks and weeks of performing with Jerry, I'm not sure I've ever heard him curse (on or off stage). Then came last night. Either due to trying to break out of his mild-mannered persona or the result of eating bad clams, Jerry infused several of his scenes with a steady stream of expletives not heard in these parts since Fleet Week '05.

The above illustrates what's so great about Improv. We always see actors interview that they took a certain role because it allowed them to do something different - to be cast "against type" as a character we'd never associate with them. Even as comics, once you develop your stage persona, you're pretty much locked in to that POV. You certainly can't change within a set or you'll confuse and/or alienate your audience. Even changing mid-career is a risky proposition.
Improv allows you to do just that - not only aren't you locked in to what people expect from you, but you can't do what anyone expects. Each short scene forces you to be someone else. And Improv takes it all one step further. Unlike a movie or stand-up, you're operating without a script. While that may seem scary, it's not. It's actually liberating. There's no right or wrong way to play a scene. You can be as wild or melancholy as your imagination allows. You may end up displaying a range that even you didn't think you were capable of (My friends were actually shocked at how animated I was onstage).

And best of all, you're never flying without a net. Your teammates are your net. The camaraderie built during classes is real and is what gets you onstage for the first time with confidence, because you know that no matter what choices you make onstage there'll someone else there standing next to you helping to make it work. Unless you're driving a car without a steering wheel. Then you're on your own.

Rock On,

Aitch