Welp it seems like just two weeks ago I was having a graduation show at UCB, and in fact it was. I went on to a 201 Intensive class 4 classes a week, 2 weeks so…
It’s time for another Gradation Show:
5919 Franklin Ave
Hollywood, CA 90028
(323) 908-8702
The show will last an hour, and I’ll be in one of two groups for 20 to 25 minutes, we’ll take a suggestion from the audience and then do a word association type game and create scenes on the fly off of that.
So it maybe amazing or failtacular. Either way you get to point and laugh, so it’s win win for you. Right?
For weeks now I’ve been going to the Wednesday night Cage match at LA’s UCB theater. And for weeks
, 44 of them that is every night has ended the same way
“Convoy Wins”
Convoy, is liquid magic rolled in to a taco, with a natural 18 on 3D6 and the corporeal form of three seemingly harmless 20 somethings, 2 named Alex and a Todd.
Well 44 weeks and they broke records becoming the longest running winners at the UCB Cagematch. (I’m not sure if that’s goes for the NY theater as well) but tonight the 3 man Team from Vassar faced off for a second time with the 2 man team of Kapesh.
Both teams had a great night, but I’ve seen Convoy have far better nights and I could tell from the audiences laughter that Kapesh was pulling some major mojo. But when it all came down to it, and Will came out to announce the winners I was still shocked to hear “Convoy has been defeated” and from what I heard afterword by something like 60 to 25 votes.
For starters looks like I need to create a new category for Improv related posts.
So last night I went to TNT – Tuesday Night Thunder for a couple of shows and more importantly the 11 O’clock Improv Jam.
For those not in the know, the Jam is like an open mic for improv comics. The crowd is broken in to 3 groups of roughly 14 people and come up to perform improv for about 20 minutes. I’ve done two of these before and basically did nothing. Once I just stood on the back wall, and the other time I was a statue of Jesus.
Well thankfully this time was different. It’s kind of a hard thing to recap improv. It’s this liquidy semi tangible entertainment that just has to really be experienced. If I just tell you I was a Tang dealer I feel like the words have no meaning what so ever. But the very truth of it is, I was a Tang Dealer.
A scene evolved in which A woman (Marrissa) thought Vitamin C was a drug, she couldn’t get enough of it. So Naturally I approached her as a trench coat wearing drug dealer selling packets of Tang. She was tapped out and Jay entered as my Drug boss, complaining to me about a loss of revenue. I simply explain that Cocaine was too expensive and Tang was easier for people to afford. At which point an astronaut entered the scene looking for a score, thus solidifying my point
But the main point was I didn’t just stand on the back wall and in fact I did something that pulled the show along and sparked several mini scenes. So all in all my best Jam yet.
Monday night at UCB I ran in to Harrison, meet him a couple weeks ago and have been running in to him at UCB since. Monday he tells me about this thing he puts on Tuesdays. A special improv night for students and people in the UCB community. Which I’ve now infiltrated. I half expect him to tell me a password and when I get there to find a thick door with a slot that slides open, revealing a pair of eyes that ask me for the password.
It turns out, it’s not a 1920’s speak easy at all, but a very small theater that can seat about 25 people and it’s free. That is, it’s all donation based. I showed up at 8 and left at sometime after midnight. At 11 they do a Jam, which basically means an open mic for improv performers. They ask who wants to come up, and then divide up the people that raise their hands in to groups. I was in group 3.
So last night marked my first time officially doing improv on stage. I half expected to just hang on the wall, but at some point they started talking about God in a museum, so I saw my opening an walked out as a statue of jesus and stood there for like 3 minute, while jokes were made.
And that was pretty much it, but I did something.
Afterword I talked with a bunch of the players and Harrison told me he himself was scared as hell the first time he went up. So I think I’m just par for the course. Hell the other night at the UCB Jam I saw several people that never made it past wall flowering, so maybe I’m ahead of the jam. Now I just need to think on my feet, and maybe not laugh while I’m a statue of jesus.
My Spree of shows at the UCB continues, and things just get crazier.
So I wander over somewhere around 9pm last night to get ready to stand in line for an improv show called MySpace. I’ve been noticing there’s a lot of regulars pulling this improv every night schedule, and I’m slowly picking up names to go with faces. I average trying to learn at least one regulars name and one performers name per night.
That’s neither here nor there, so I’ll just explain how Myspace works. A member of the audience is selected and brought up on stage next to a guy with a laptop which is projected on a screen. They then talk to the victim for a few minutes about different things on his/her page. They run through some of the pictures etc. and then they do improv scenes based on everything for 15 to 20 minutes.
Then they grab another audience member and do it all over again.
So they grab some guy who it turns out works for the Ellen Show and suddenly I’m stuck trying to remember the name of my friend of a friend that works there. Unfortunately it’s not till just now that I remember her name is Robyn. oh well.
The interview is pretty amusing, I wish I could remember the guys name so I could show you the hilarity of his pictures. But I don’t. A key note was every picture was both tagged with his name and a caption (on the pic) like “Posing” or “bringing sexy back”. Hilariousness.
So after the first round the gang called for a second volunteer and nobody raised their hand. So I stepped up to the plate and they called me up. Pulled up my profile and we talked. We talked about all the girls in my top friends, having worked on beauty and the geek, My Cat making videos, my own videos. We watched a video, a live room of maybe 50 people watched my head.
And then after what seemed like 15 minutes in itself they did their improv thing. It was pretty cool, pretty funny, and pretty awkward.
But I had a good time, people laughed at things I did, and I could see it happening. Not to mention, and most of all I was on stage and I didn’t lock up, or freeze, or come off like a moron. I don’t remember being able to see the audience very well, which I think helped.
After the show I hung outside and shook hands with a few people from UCB, from the show, people I’d seen around when this guy came over to me. A giant guy and his giant friend and he asked…
“Hey Raz, can we get a picture?”
So of course I said yes, I asked him his name. He said Zack. I think that’s officially the first time a complete stranger has recognized me and asked for a picture with me. It’s pretty amusing. So Zack if you’re out there and you got that picture from your friends cell phone to somewhere online, let me know cause it’s kind of historic to me I’d like to see it.
Oh yea as a final note I went back to UCB last night and a couple of people told me they enjoyed my myspace 🙂
I’ve been trying to go to as many improv and sketch comedy shows lately. So last night I wandered over to UCB’s Long Hard Improv Jam the open mic of Improv shows. Yep for one hour on the UCB stage anyone and everyone can come up and perform.
Everything starts with waiting outside, the line cues up and we wait as people poor out of the theater from the previous show. I see a classmate and talk to strangers. A guy from a few nights ago that looks like a shorter, younger, heavier version of Adam Sandler says “Raz, good to see you again. I told my roommate about seeing you.” it’s an awkward thing for me. I never really know what to say to people that recognize me.
In time we all head inside and take our seats. The host Drew DiFonzo Marks & Jim Woods come out and
explain the open mic of improv to the crowd.
I haven’t been to it before so my plan is to just watch and analyze what funny is. The hour is broken in to three sections in which different groups of audience members are selected and head up on stage.
They introduce Robin Williams and select the first group of about a dozen potential performers. It’s funny because at least 5 people per group never seem to make it beyond getting on stage. They just get stuck up there watching. You’ve got to think on your feet.
The hosts and Robin Williams tend to run the sketches. Robin was probably in 95% of them. At one point a sketch leads him in to a store, a pier one buying chairs which he then later comes in to the audience to try and sell. He singles me out, and I take a seat in the chair for 30 seconds then return to my own. Not exactly the spotlight of humor, but I’m pretty much just glad to have not frozen up or spazed out, or tried something overly silly. It’s better to, in improv, just play along with confidence, then it is to try and be funny. You keep the rythm going for the person that is funny. And I did that. So I was happy with it, even though as I walked home that night I had a hundred ideas for things I could have said or done
Such is life. I think next week I’ll try to get on stage.
So if you’ve noticed less SamProof on line there’s a simple explanation, the free WiFi I was jacking went away so I’m just not online nearly as much. But it’s temporary, I’ll get service eventually. The big thing is, my job ends in a month and I really don’t want to start paying 50 bucks a month for something till I know for sure I have another job lined up.
Part of this come down to the fact that I just dropped some money on.. of all things- Classes.
Yup I signed up and started taking improv classes at the Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB).
So I had my first class yesterday there’s something like 15 people in the class and so far it’s all pretty basic games. But that’s basically what I e
xpected. The class seems pretty much full of 20 year olds give or take a couple years. I’m pretty sure I’m even older than the teach by a fist full of years. but I don’t think a single person suspects it.
Anyway when I got home from work today a package was waiting for me, and I was like “What the hell, I’m not expecting a package.” So I careful cracked the tape and listened for deadly snake sounds, and sniffed to smell for poison.
When I opened it I found this little surprise from JenLuv
Jen thank you so much. Luv you to death. And I can’t wait till Little Baby Samantha BnessleBlend Luv is born 😉
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