We gave the new theatre its first test drive in front of a live audience last night.
I’m delighted to say that the theatre works. You sit in the audience, you look at the stage, and yes, the vibe is right. You stand on the stage, you perform for the audience, and yes, the right mood is there. It’s unofficial, it’s still being beta-tested, but we have an improv theatre.
We don’t have the sound system set up yet, so it was a quiet, intimate opening as Vinny and I took to the stage for some banter about how polar bears can defeat any animal one-on-one.
T & A (Tall & Awkward) took to the stage and introduced themselves by saying “We are Tall & Awkward”, and then there was this deliciously awkward moment. They did scenes about, among other things, a Chinese laundromat, a suicidal Hospital patient, and a married man having second thoughts. Catch them again tonight at the inaugural Smackdown!
Vinny and I then told a story about a Russian Tetris software designer looking for adventure, and a Floridian kid getting hooked on the rush that comes from breaking the law in New York City. It went long, because I was having too much fun to concentrate on finishing the story. So let that be a lesson: don’t have too much fun!
We closed out the show with a couple of scenes with T & A about a Code Yellow terrorist alert, and a terrible date at a bring-your-own-chair restaurant.
First show documented!
Last week’s official classification was “Awesome” because I got to do 3 improv in 3 different theatres. It was a cool experience.
Tuesday: METEOR @ Mainline Theatre. Kirsten Rasmussen and Dan Jeannotte opened the show with a half hour set called “Me and You and You and Me”. This was a preparatory performance for their Fringe show which will be a 2 person improv set with some extra twists. Their set was a cute love story about a window washer and a worker in a big office high-rise.
METEOR was the brain-child of Sean Michaels, BJ Walsh and myself. The concept was that we would portray the final days of the Earth before a meteor strikes from the perspective of a small town. We had audience members toss streamers at us to represent the meteor and we had a calendar to count down the days. Before the show, we were concerned about hitting the right balance between realism and whimsy and I think this show managed to fun and silly while also giving audience stories and characters to care about.
Wednesday: Long Lost Laugh Pals Discover the Harold @ Mainline Theatre. Kirsten, Heidi Weeks, Sandi Armstrong and myself performed a straight-up Harold at Theatre Ste-Catherine. The theme of this Harold was “freedom” and it produced a story about a very controlling father teaching his daughter to drive, a touching tale of grandmother and granddaughter at a summer camp during the last days of summer, and a budding love story between high school friends.
Thursday: The Jam @ Free Standing Space. Dan Jeannotte, Dan Beirne, Heidi, Kirsten and I performed in this Armando-like set. Michelle Boback performed songs and the improvisors riffed on them with a series of scenes. The show was quick, funny and with a nice energy. After the show there was a discussion about how literally the scenes should be inspired by the songs. My tendency is to be inspired in ways that are a little less obvious but the concern is that the audience will then be looking to see how the scene relates. I’d rather just do what I want to do than be concerned with tying the subject in concretely. Anywho, it was a very fun show.
-mr
