Austin Improv

kbadr wrote:

ChrisTrew.Com wrote:On that note, if you want to play short-form with ColdTowne people, try Jam City.

Dude, can't you turn it off for like 10 seconds?

Winner, Best Marketing 2008

Seriously, to make the show a kick-ass show every week and live up to the "highly recommended" in the Chronicle, we need put together a team of people who know Micetro (that's the correct Johnstone spelling) and want to make it a polished product and brainstorm how to make things more consistent...AND STICK TO IT. Please.

We used to have a scheduling grid years ago. Done a month in advance. Who played and who directed.

We used to have a call time one hour before show time and we spent about fifty minutes of that time warming up. And people were responsible and showed up on time.

We were a little stricter about who played in the show and balanced the cast out well...most of the time...

We should work together on basic elements that we want in every show. I loved Rich Ross's ideas because they stemmed from Johnstone AND Rich and his friends used to break down Micetro and try to deliver what it was intended to deliver in the manner it was intended.

Yeah, the show itself should be fun and free-weeling in a lot of ways, but it should not be so inconsistent from week to week (or month to month). Larry Bird was a great shooter and made things look effortless BECAUSE he practiced his butt off...even on his own time away from the team. We just need to get focused and step up the game.

And let me add...

Micetro is a really fun show. When I started improv, it was the only show for newbies in which to play. I made it to the final round in my first show, then went on the be cut in the second round or third round for a couple months. Three months in, I finally won a Micetro and it was awesome. Then I went on to win a few more and finally realized what Micetro is really all about. It's about putting on a good show. There's not really any competition (except maybe in tie-breakers sometimes), just the illusion of competition for the audience. Theater and Sports.

If you decide to play Micetro, please don't let one show be the end-all-be-all. You really have to get a feel for the show by playing a few times at least. Kerri played recently and got cut early and I encouraged her to come back because often in Micetro it's not entirely about whether you played well or not...luck can be a factor.

Again, the energy of the show is amazing at times. And I agree with what others have posted. Short form is often contained within a longform. What better way to sharpen your longform skills then by having a scene set up for you and then having to deliver right there, right in that moment?

HerrHerr wrote:Micetro (that's the correct Johnstone spelling)

Keith Johnstone's website wrote: KEITH JOHNSTONE is one of the few internationally recognized authorities in the field of improvisation, great chunks of which he created, including improvisation forms that include Theatresports™, Micetro Impro© (or Maestro Impro), Gorilla Theatre™, and The Life Game©.

Give it up, guys. We're not changing the name back.

I used to use the 'Micetro' spelling just to be a dick and insist on it.
But it creates unnecessary confusion for the audience.

I remember the explanation being something like "Keith thought it would be interesting to present the players as mice running around a maze...and maybe even put pictures of mice on the score board..."

Then I met the man and I am convinced that this is one of those things that started out as an innocent off-hand remark that people took to be as some sort of gospel, silly as it may be.

edited!

And thus we use both spellings.

I think the board still says "Micetro", but the show is advertised as "Maestro".

Questions:

1.) Isn't Micetro produced by the entity that is "The Heroes of Comedy"?

2.) Didn't someone (?) switch the name bc of liscening issues w/ "Theater Sports"?

3.) Didn't it used to be played with a reoccuring ensemble of "Heroes" players?

4.) Was that ensemble a mix of experience levels coming out of Heroes classes?

5.) Did the Heroes directors/players/tech ever get paid?

6.) Isn't the show now open to any improvisers in town?

7.) Do the current directors/players/tech get paid, or...

8.) Is all the money split between the Hideout and "Heroes"?

9.) Would it be possible to cast the show with an ensemble for a 2-month period (leaving slots for drop-in flexiblity) and provide the players/directors/tech with a small stipend to help ensure the cast commits? Like how the "Start Trekkin" and "Improvised Shakespeare" shows have been run?

acrouch wrote:

HerrHerr wrote:Micetro (that's the correct Johnstone spelling)

Keith Johnstone's website wrote: KEITH JOHNSTONE is one of the few internationally recognized authorities in the field of improvisation, great chunks of which he created, including improvisation forms that include Theatresports™, Micetro Impro© (or Maestro Impro), Gorilla Theatre™, and The Life Game©.

Give it up, guys. We're not changing the name back.

DIE!!!

sara_anm8r wrote:I think the board still says "Micetro", but the show is advertised as "Maestro".

Questions:

1.) Isn't Micetro produced by the entity that is "The Heroes of Comedy"?

2.) Didn't someone (?) switch the name bc of liscening issues w/ "Theater Sports"?

3.) Didn't it used to be played with a reoccuring ensemble of "Heroes" players?

4.) Was that ensemble a mix of experience levels coming out of Heroes classes?

5.) Did the Heroes directors/players/tech ever get paid?

6.) Isn't the show now open to any improvisers in town?

7.) Do the current directors/players/tech get paid, or...

8.) Is all the money split between the Hideout and "Heroes"?

9.) Would it be possible to cast the show with an ensemble for a 2-month period (leaving slots for drop-in flexiblity) and provide the players/directors/tech with a small stipend to help ensure the cast commits? Like how the "Start Trekkin" and "Improvised Shakespeare" shows have been run?

The board in fact says "MAESTRO" (in glitter no less!)

1) Yes, mAEStro is.

2) No. I switched the name when I took over running the Saturday shows because "Micetro" is dumb, confusing and we weren't using little mice in any of our promotional materials, nor do we ever plan on using said mice. We are a legitimately licensed TheatreSports, Gorilla Theatre and Maestro Impro group.

3) Yes.

4) Yes.

5) For an extremely brief period of time directors got paid $15 per show.

6) Yes.

7) No...

The Hideout is Heroes of Comedy.

9) Yes, but it would be a lot of work. Any volunteers? [/quote]

Back when I first started doing Maestro one of the greatest things about it was getting to play with a ton of folks I looked up to and admired. Nowadays it seems that most of those veterans have moved on to other things. Often times I am one of the most experienced imps on the stage and I haven't been doing this THAT long. I'd like very much to see some of my heroes return to the stage. I won't name any names for fear of leaving some people out but you know who you are if you used to play Maestro a couple of years ago pretty regularly. Come back once in a while for old time's sake. It's encouraging to newbies and intermediates alike to have supreme badasses on stage taking good care of everyone.

Ok, I'll admit it....short form is what I do best and what I enjoy doing most especially GAMES!!!

Anybody shocked by this revelation? Didn't think so.

Short form style PLAY is easy for just about any audience to enjoy and not regret spending their hard-earned cash.

Is it an art form? Sure...why not. To be honest, I could care less because I did not start doing this for the "art". I started becase I saw a show once, liked it, auditioned and got cast....that was 11 years ago.

Yes, I took a ton of workshops and learned many styles and lessons from some of the best in the industry. The best lesson that I learned was from doing a run of bad shows where I just was not having any fun....I forgot that I was PLAYing.

PLAY PLAY PLAY!!! Say it out load and then go watch children play tag or cops and robbers on a playground and then enjoy your smile!

A nice balance of strong scene work (beleive it or not, some of the best story arcs can occur in under 3 minutes) and rules-oriented scene structures...lol....GAMES make for a truly wonderful Maestro.

It's interesting how, over the past year, the enthusiasm for PLAYing in Maestro has dwindled. I blame it on overstructuring. You should not have to build a process around this show. It has a strong format that cannot be denied.

What is needed:
10-14 PLAYers knowlegable in the stuff that will be PLAYed that show
1 or 2 director(s) fully prepared before the show
1 or 2 tech who add to the show quality

Thats it...no scorekeeper, no host.

I would like to do two things:

First: I would like to run a FREE workshop on all those FANTASTIC GAMES that you have always wanted to either learn how to play or learn how to PLAY!

Second: I would love to direct a run of Maestros and do my best to make sure all that PLAY have a great time for themselves as well as the audience (but if the former happens, well the later is WAY automatic).

What do ya say folks? Wanna PLAY?

-Dav

vine311 wrote:Back when I first started doing Maestro one of the greatest things about it was getting to play with a ton of folks I looked up to and admired. Nowadays it seems that most of those veterans have moved on to other things. Often times I am one of the most experienced imps on the stage and I haven't been doing this THAT long. I'd like very much to see some of my heroes return to the stage. I won't name any names for fear of leaving some people out but you know who you are if you used to play Maestro a couple of years ago pretty regularly. Come back once in a while for old time's sake. It's encouraging to newbies and intermediates alike to have supreme badasses on stage taking good care of everyone.

Plus, when the long-time improvisers get kicked out early, it makes the rest of us feel good. Or that we're riding by on luck. Whichever.

fbillac wrote:
First: I would like to run a FREE workshop on all those FANTASTIC GAMES that you have always wanted to either learn how to play or learn how to PLAY!

Second: I would love to direct a run of Maestros and do my best to make sure all that PLAY have a great time for themselves as well as the audience (but if the former happens, well the later is WAY automatic).

What do ya say folks? Wanna PLAY?

YES! That would be awesome!

Jastroch wrote:Don't knock short form games until you've tried them, Bilbo. Artistically speaking, I don't personally find them that fulfilling, but doing short form helped my improv a LOT back in the day.

i did 3 shows a week for the entire summer after college graduation (in 2001) of short form games. i hated it by the end.

bilbo wrote:

Jastroch wrote:Don't knock short form games until you've tried them, Bilbo. Artistically speaking, I don't personally find them that fulfilling, but doing short form helped my improv a LOT back in the day.

i did 3 shows a week for the entire summer after college graduation (in 2001) of short form games. i hated it by the end.

Fair enough. I must have misunderstood.