6th
Guest Writer: Andrea Del Campo (Toronto)
Andrea del Campo is a stage and screen actor, and one sixth of Canadian musical improv sensation, Outside Joke. The company formed in 2002 and has performed in festivals across the country, including twice at the Montreal Improv Festival. They will be appearing at the 2012 Regina and Winnipeg Fringes.
Guys, today I’d like to talk about something essential to long-time improvisation: generosity. Groan all you want at my sentimentality, but we wouldn’t be able to do this for long if it weren’t for the openhandedness of others- and I’m not just talking about that ham sandwich that guy gave you while you were touring broke, or the five bucks your sister loaned you so you could buy deodorant the summer your fringe venue was un-airconditioned. I am talking about those things, but I’m also talking about some of the bigger stuff; some of the stuff you can’t eat or wipe on your armpit.
The troupe I’m a member of, Outside Joke, has been fortunate enough to receive help and guidance from many in the past ten years, and here are some of my favourites.
1) Winnipeg’s two-man improv extravaganza, Crumbs, has thrown us many much-needed improv bones. They workshopped us, gave us opening spots at their shows, came to our shows and treated us like equals from the very beginning. Thanks, guys.
2) Kind friends and strangers across the country have offered us places to sleep over the years (i.e. once, some of us stayed at a guy’s apartment that had almost no furniture, but there WAS a giant grey rabbit that hopped freely around the living room, and in the middle of the night we were offered freshly cooked bacon and eggs by one of the roommates).
The funnest and most appreciated accommodations are those that house all six of us, because then it’s like a sleepover party. For example, years ago we arrived in Regina for a festival and had nowhere to sleep. Lo and behold, we ran into an ex-improv coach from high school (didn’t even know he’d moved to Regina), who offered to put us all up in his girlfriend’s living room. Hooray! Also in Regina, years later, we were en route to Edmonton and put up in a friend’s mom’s living room. This mom had never met us and (wisely) made herself scarce during the 12 hours we stank up the main floor of her bungalow.
Finally, the most robust group accommodation we’ve ever received was from Montreal Improv itself, who housed us, as well as other improvisers, in their extra space during the 2011 improv festival. Vinny and Marc gave us free beer, many flavours of potato chips and kindly laughed at our horrific jokes. Thanks to everyone who has graciously surrendered their beds, couches, futons and floors to our weary bones.
3) It’s not often that money falls from the sky, but it did once for Outside Joke. Figuratively. We performed lunchtime short-form sets in a mall courtyard for the Winnipeg Comedy Festival on year (side-note: we were given headset mics and looked like we were in a boy band). Every day, the opening act was local comedian, Big Daddy Tazz, and we gushed to him about our upcoming road trip to Toronto to perform in the Catch23 Tournament of Wonders. One day, he quietly handed us a wad of cash and told us to use it for gas, to which we awkwardly stuttered our eternal thanks. The next day, we offered more eloquently phrased expressions of gratitude, and a yogurt container of chocolate chip cookies.
4) Finally, where would any of us be without the generosity of our fellow improvisers and our fans? My fellow players, in Outside Joke and across the country, have accepted my offers onstage and run with them, no matter how bizarre, inappropriate, unfunny, gross or wonderful they may be. They take these ideas, polish them to a glossy shine and lob them into the audience. Then the audience gracefully catches this shiny comedy mass, considers it briefly and gives us their attention for a little while. I don’t know why it’s so satisfying to tell stories, jokes and songs with a group of people on a stage and have a roomful of people listen and laugh, but it is! It’s one of my life’s greatest joys, and I thank all of you out there who give me the chance to do it.
Previous guests: Etan Muskat, Rick Andrews, Kristen Schier, Andy Eninger, Jeroen Van Dyck, Remy Bertrand, Caspar Shjelbred, Sean Michaels, Kareem Badr, RobYn Slade, Ian Parizot, Rachel Klein, Dave Morris, Alex Wlasenko, From the old blog
