UT Long-Form Troupe

[tannerkalina]

Yo AIC-

I will be a UT student in the fall and I am aware they have a short-form improv troupe called Gigglepants.

However, I was wondering if there was a long-form troupe as well? If not, I'd definitely like to start one! If anyone would be interested in joining me I'd love for you to jump on board.

I think it would be awesome to put out a competitive team (not saying Gigglepants can't but it's always been a long-form thing) and try and win the CIT (College Improv Tournament) in Chicago.

Please let me know! Gracias!

[fathairyape]

Hey man!

I'm a recent grad from Tufts University, and my short form troupe there, Cheap Sox, competed pretty hard in CIT, especially in the northeastern divisions. Show 'em something they're not expecting! Good luck.

David

[Jon Bolden]

Yo AIC-

I will be a UT student in the fall and I am aware they have a short-form improv troupe called Gigglepants.

However, I was wondering if there was a long-form troupe as well? If not, I'd definitely like to start one! If anyone would be interested in joining me I'd love for you to jump on board.

I think it would be awesome to put out a competitive team (not saying Gigglepants can't but it's always been a long-form thing) and try and win the CIT (College Improv Tournament) in Chicago.

Please let me know! Gracias!

Awesome! Let me know if you are ever looking for coaches or ideas. I'm sure there's lots of experienced long-form teachers and coaches in Austin that would be interested in helping you get started (myself included). If you felt the need for such help, of course.

[tannerkalina]

Awesome, thanks for the offer! I'll definitely be taking you up on that! I've submitted to the "Student Organization Administration" and have an orientation for new student groups coming up so I'm hoping I can get this thing rolling within the first few weeks of school.

[scott.hearne]

Great idea!

One tip, come up with a cool name for the team. Most UT grads I've talked to who know about Gigglepants, but were not involved in the team, think improv is something stupid that only NERDS would do because Gigglepants is such stupid name IMHO. Nevertheless, you know what they say about opinions...

Good luck!

[mdalonzo]

Yes, like Fire Eagle or Steve McQueen's Jukebox or some such.

[Spots]

Great idea!

Most UT grads... think improv is something stupid that only NERDS would do because ______ is such stupid name.

You can replace UT grads with pretty much anyone you get a genuine answer out of. They'll die before they come to a show. They'll die before they sit in the front row. They'll die before they participate. The battle is not one of gaining first impressions.


Try REAL names like:

Tony Chief & The Laugh Lizards
Planes, Trains, and Are You Ready To Laugh?
Ninja Na-Na-Boo-Boo
Carnival Socket
Lickity Spleen

[Spots]

OK, I admit one of those is actually decent.

[tannerkalina]

Haha I agree a cool name can go a long way!

Right now, I have it down as Snafu. I get dictionary words of the day (nerdy I know) and it sent me snafu one day, and the definition means a chaotic situation which is kind of what improv is. Also, one of the other definitions the DICTIONARY said was "totally f@#$ed up." I thought that was classic and it had to be an improv name.

What do you guys think?

[Jon Bolden]

Haha I agree a cool name can go a long way!

Right now, I have it down as Snafu. I get dictionary words of the day (nerdy I know) and it sent me snafu one day, and the definition means a chaotic situation which is kind of what improv is. Also, one of the other definitions the DICTIONARY said was "totally f@#$ed up." I thought that was classic and it had to be an improv name.

What do you guys think?

I like it! Simple, sounds kind of fun and makes me think of scrambling to make something work (just like improv).

I wouldn't worry about a name too much. As long as it's genuine and everyone enjoys it, it's pretty arbitrary (like a band name). Good luck!

[Roy Janik]

Haha I agree a cool name can go a long way!

Right now, I have it down as Snafu. I get dictionary words of the day (nerdy I know) and it sent me snafu one day, and the definition means a chaotic situation which is kind of what improv is. Also, one of the other definitions the DICTIONARY said was "totally f@#$ed up." I thought that was classic and it had to be an improv name.

What do you guys think?

Yeah, snafu stands for "Situation Normal: All Fucked Up", and comes out of WWII military slang. So that makes it super cool.

What makes it even cooler is that it was an awesome game for the Intellivision 8-bit gaming system. Basically the original Tron lightcycle game, and I played it a metric ton.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wi2_hH3_74[/youtube]

[Spots]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_slang

The 1944 U.S. Army animated shorts Three Brothers and Private Snafu Presents Seaman Tarfu In The Navy (both directed by Friz Freleng), feature the characters Private Snafu, Private Fubar, and Seaman Tarfu.[8][9]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBcBm14NJtI[/youtube]

[mitchmills]

Wow, fascinating. There were a LOT of Private Snafu cartoons, and the roster of those involved is quite a Who's Who:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_Snafu

Most of the Looney Tunes luminaries (Chuck Jones, Bob Clampett, Fritz Freleng), unsurprisingly, but also Frank Capra, Munro Leaf (of Ferdinand the Bull fame), and Theodor Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss).

[tannerkalina]

Haha, that is pretty cool! So I guess it's a good choice of name! SNAFU FOR LIFE

That army video cracked me up...the end is so racist and ridiculous!

[Spots]

So many great filmmakers enlisted for propaganda purposes back in those days, Frank Capra included. What's there to do? *shrug*