UCB TourCo

Miggy · Post by **Miggy** » November 8th, 2007, 12:36 am

Well done show. I really enjoyed it and I loved the new Alamo.

The UCB folks were increadibly sharp...they were able to layer up themes and kept the action moving forward in thoughtful interpretive ways. Really nice to experience.

Also congrats to ColdTowne (and Cody) for the ad and the send ups from stage.

I'm not sure who organized it, but also thank you to Madeline, Ratliff and Andy for passing out flyers.

kaci_beeler · Post by **kaci_beeler** » November 8th, 2007, 1:22 am

I thought it was a mediocre show. Funny at times, yes, but that's not enough to constitute a great show for me.

They never really committed to characters and stayed well within their comfort zones, seeming to rarely be surprised by themselves or one another, except when that guy went through as the Incredible Hulk. And it was such a memorable moment because of that spontaneity.

It wasn't a bad show but it wasn't a fab show either. Just a regular ole witty improv show.

And oh man, did we pack that house with improvisers. So many recognizable faces in that crowd. And there was an awesome Coldtowne ad starring Cody to boot.

nadine · Post by **nadine** » November 8th, 2007, 9:08 am

kaci_beeler wrote:I thought it was a mediocre show. Funny at times, yes, but that's not enough to constitute a great show for me.

I agree it was mediocre, but you know, people have different tastes.

Just my 2 cents.

Justin D. · Post by **Justin D.** » November 8th, 2007, 9:32 am

kaci_beeler wrote:I thought it was a mediocre show. Funny at times, yes, but that's not enough to constitute a great show for me.

They never really committed to characters and stayed well within their comfort zones, seeming to rarely be surprised by themselves or one another, except when that guy went through as the Incredible Hulk. And it was such a memorable moment because of that spontaneity.

It wasn't a bad show but it wasn't a fab show either. Just a regular ole witty improv show.

And oh man, did we pack that house with improvisers. So many recognizable faces in that crowd. And there was an awesome Coldtowne ad starring Cody to boot.

I thought it was a good show. Maybe not better than some of the better improv here, but I don't think it was supposed to be. Now that I think about it, I was expecting to see a bit more absurd and edgy (not sure if that's the right word, but I can't come up with a better one right now) material.

"I got a waffle fry in my back pocket!"

That line stuck with me though.

You could definitely tell we had the house packed with improvisers because when they asked for a volunteer, very few hands in the audience went up. The girl that did go on stage though... wooo boy, she didn't give them much to work with.

The ColdTowne commercial was hilarious, and I kept thinking, "I hope people are taking freaking notes" because those guys understand marketing is possible and the possibilities of marketing (see what I did there?). It'd be great to see one of those ads for the AIC in general or even The Hideout too. Is there a link for anyone who didn't get to see it last night?

kbadr · Post by **kbadr** » November 8th, 2007, 9:42 am

I thought the show was ok. There were one or two moments that I was really delighted with, but I can't for the life of me remember what the were now.

Oh, I remember! When one of the guys was paying the prostitute to do nothing more than speak eloquently, and someone did an edit or tag-out as the guy's wife and said "You back home. Me miss you." That was unexpected and sweet, though I wish it had been done as a blackout scene.

Justin Davis wrote: The ColdTowne commercial was hilarious, and I kept thinking, "I hope people are taking freaking notes" because those guys understand marketing is possible and the possibilities of marketing (see what I did there?). It'd be great to see one of those ads for the AIC in general or even The Hideout too. Is there a link for anyone who didn't get to see it last night?

Ads at the Drafthouse are really expensive. I suspect ColdTowne worked out a deal because of 3 2 1 Kill.

While seeing the ad was really cool, I hope it was just a special thing. When I got home I though "That ColdTowne ad was sweet!" and then I thought for a second and realized...I had just seen an ad for a non-Drafthouse thing on the Drafthouse screen. Slippery slope...

Justin D. · Post by **Justin D.** » November 8th, 2007, 9:52 am

kbadr wrote:I thought the show was ok. There were one or two moments that I was really delighted with, but I can't for the life of me remember what the were now.

Oh, I remember! When one of the guys was paying the prostitute to do nothing more than speak eloquently, and someone did an edit or tag-out as the guy's wife and said "You back home. Me miss you." That was unexpected and sweet, though I wish it had been done as a blackout scene.

Yeah, they missed a couple buttons there. I think they realized that though and salvaged it at the end.

kbadr wrote:
Justin Davis wrote: The ColdTowne commercial was hilarious, and I kept thinking, "I hope people are taking freaking notes" because those guys understand marketing is possible and the possibilities of marketing (see what I did there?). It'd be great to see one of those ads for the AIC in general or even The Hideout too. Is there a link for anyone who didn't get to see it last night?
Ads at the Drafthouse are really expensive. I suspect ColdTowne worked out a deal because of 3 2 1 Kill.

While seeing the ad was really cool, I hope it was just a special thing. When I got home I though "That ColdTowne ad was sweet!" and then I thought for a second and realized...I had just seen an ad for a non-Drafthouse thing on the Drafthouse screen. Slippery slope...

Oh, yeah, I forgot to add that I thought the ad most likely had something to do with 3, 2, 1 Kill. I didn't even think of out-of-theater ad possibilities though. If Alamo did start doing that regularly, I have confidence they could keep it to creative and cool things like ColdTowne's ad. I doubt we'll see ads for Coke or Honda on their screens.

eric a. garcia · Post by **eric a. garcia** » November 8th, 2007, 10:21 am

All I know is that the Colt 45 ad from the 60s played before the show was pretty damn sweet!

If you missed it or want to see it again, it is here

slappywhite · Post by **slappywhite** » November 8th, 2007, 10:39 am

At the 7 show we had a killer moth (literally! it kept flying around the stage scaring the crap out of people) and an extended bit about Jesus being a homosexual...I thought it was a great show, but I'm not the best judge of this sort of thing.

Sorry to hear the 9 didn't go as well.

acrouch · Post by **acrouch** » November 8th, 2007, 11:55 am

slappywhite wrote:At the 7 show we had a killer moth (literally! it kept flying around the stage scaring the crap out of people) and an extended bit about Jesus being a homosexual...I thought it was a great show, but I'm not the best judge of this sort of thing.

Sorry to hear the 9 didn't go as well.

People I talked to who saw both shows actually like the 9:45 show better. And there was a bat flying around the theater during the 9:45. Could that have been the killer moth?

acrouch · Post by **acrouch** » November 8th, 2007, 12:02 pm

kaci_beeler wrote:I thought it was a mediocre show. Funny at times, yes, but that's not enough to constitute a great show for me.

They never really committed to characters and stayed well within their comfort zones, seeming to rarely be surprised by themselves or one another, except when that guy went through as the Incredible Hulk. And it was such a memorable moment because of that spontaneity.

I thought the exact same thing. Actual improv! That magical surprising energy that was completely lacking in the rest of the show (which was often sharp and witty, but I get bored by that quickly).

I think that's why game-heavy improv feels dangerous (not in a good way) to me -- because you're pinning your show and comedy to the creation and heightening of games, it's only interesting when that's happening. So you're constantly looking for the next bigger funny or how to cram in more and more call-backs. I saw a UCB show in New York that sustained that energy well because they were really fucking good, but I saw three or four other shows just like this one that didn't.

slappywhite · Post by **slappywhite** » November 8th, 2007, 1:45 pm

acrouch wrote:
slappywhite wrote:At the 7 show we had a killer moth (literally! it kept flying around the stage scaring the crap out of people) and an extended bit about Jesus being a homosexual...I thought it was a great show, but I'm not the best judge of this sort of thing.

Sorry to hear the 9 didn't go as well.
People I talked to who saw both shows actually like the 9:45 show better. And there was a bat flying around the theater during the 9:45. Could that have been the killer moth?

Could have been A bat? Could have sworn he was white though.

ratliff · Post by **ratliff** » November 8th, 2007, 2:15 pm

[deleted]

York99 · Post by **York99** » November 8th, 2007, 2:27 pm

ratliff wrote:Increasingly I'm realizing how often good acting pushes a show to the next level for me. I'm distressed by this observation, because I'm not sure I can rise to the implied challenge it represents for my own improv, but it's getting harder for me to ignore.

I'm going to start a new thread in the Improv Theory area and call it "Acting in Improv" and put this in there.

Milquetoast · Post by **Milquetoast** » November 8th, 2007, 4:54 pm

I'm super thrilled to see my thoughts about the show echoed by you guys. The tourco was incredibly sharp, smart, and quick, but I didn't feel engaged because I felt like the relationship/character/emotional/playful side was missing. It's interesting that I feel that's a bad thing because a few short months ago I put much more weight on situations and games than I did on emotional reactions.

It makes me wonder about taking UCB classes down the line. I remember a lot of good emotional reactions and character work from my brief time in New York in 2003, but at the same time the emphasis was clearly on the game and I really miss the heart that comes with grounded relationships. I don't want to just stand around and say smart things.

That said, I laughed a great deal and it was fun to watch such attentive, intelligent improvisers.

troy · Post by **troy** » November 8th, 2007, 5:39 pm

Those guys were incredibly sharp and witty.
While I was worried the first half of the first half (it lagged), they came back with flying colors and made me laugh a lot.
It was also a very weird space to see performance. Probably to perform as well.

I'd be curious to know what non-improvisors thought of the show.
I'd don't think there were any non-improvisors in the audience, though. At least at 9:15.