what's in a name?

[beardedlamb]

this thread has probly already been explored and gotten sidetracked and ridiculous, but how important is a group's name?

i bring this up only because i accidentally came up with a name earlier: Tiki Torture

[Spots]

Last year I really liked "Tickle Time Bomb" but my class adopted "Tickle Fight" before I even brought it up. That was weird.

Even weirder... this is the first time I ever mentioned the coincidence.

[jillybee72]

Some of the greatest improv teams in history had the stupidest names. Blue Velveeta always comes to mind.

[Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell]

i have a list of ideas for troupe names...

i have this list because they've all been shot down. sigh...

[Spots]

Jordan, I trust they were all variations of code names for your penis.

Not because they were rejected... but because so was Tickle Time Bomb. Your penis.

[kaci_beeler]

I think The Beatles and Google have proven that name does not really matter. If the product is good enough, the name will simply come to mean that product. The name just has to be something the creators can all live with (they don't even have to love it). Helps if it's memorable and unique (like, a troupe named McDonald's might be confusing...).

If something is good enough and has a great name, well, bonus points for them, I suppose.

[Spots]

Kaci, include ebay in that list. I always understood "ebay" to mean "electronic bay", synonymous with dock or harbor. Makes a lot of sense for online trading.

Omidyar had tried to register the domain name echobay.com but found it already taken by the Echo Bay Mines, a gold mining company, so he shortened it to his second choice, eBay.com.

The site was for his consulting firm and had nothing to do with auctions until he put some hobby code on a random page of his website. Then shit BLEW UP. Indeed, a name means nothing if the product is something everybody wants or needs.

But for the rest of us, a good name certainly helps word of mouth.

[kaci_beeler]

This site is interesting: http://www.kabalarians.com/index.cfm

I feel like the old design just screams SCAM but they will give you all the crap they say they will if you buy into it.

Xaq Webb introduced me to this site when we were both in high school. He became convinced of their philosophy and strongly considered changing his name, but then didn't (probably for the best, I think).

Their free name analysis is interesting.
I looked up myself and a few others, and their results were pretty dead on and very different for each name. Weird...

[Spots]

Anything like numerology or astrology I take with a grain of salt. But for the fun of it let's go line by line:

Your first name, Jesse, makes you independent, resourceful, practical, and patient. (no, yes, no, no)

(All right if I'm not modest maybe I could be those things. But NOBODY would ever describe me using those adjectives.)

You could be inventive along scientific or technical lines. (yes I was a special effects technician. HOWEVER I'm more abstract then technical. So I think this is a miss.)

Although you are not naturally spontaneous in musical or artistic expression (music correct, art incorrect I am spontaneous in drawing and most forms of art), you can develop technical proficiency along these lines. (fair enough)

You are fussy about details and seek perfection in whatever you undertake. (no, only in certain artistic endeavors. Otherwise I'm a total slob)

Being somewhat wilful and skeptical, you learn best through your own experiences and seek proof though facts. (YES)

You work best alone, making your own decisions, and learning from your own experiences. (YES, introvert and anti authority)

Despite your loyalty to friends, your communication at times is stilted, too candid, and frank. (SHUT UP stupid website. Jesus. That was a long time ago. I'm a changed man.)

The name Jesse creates the urge to be creative and original, but we point out that it limits your versatility and scope, tuning you to technical details. (No it doesn't. Does it? I focus on details because I suck? I will say that for the first year or so I wrote screenplays I was more obsessed with song choices and aerial shots then I was on the relationships in the story. But that' s stretch isn't it? )

This name, when combined with the last name, can frustrate happiness, contentment, and success, as well as cause health weaknesses centring in the head, and in the stomach and intestinal organs. (Er... I'll take your word for that.)

Sure, OK. Some hits. Some misses. Now what I'm supposed to do is be AMAZED by the hits and ignore the misses. But there are some misses I can't really ignore there. At least 5 misses. Hmm, anyways. That was still fun.

[Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell]

no, Jesse...i use nicknames for my penis as nicknames for my penis. and just like real nicknames, you can't give them to yourself. they have to be bestowed upon your penis by another...:p

current favorite troupe name on my list: Molotov's Happy Hour

I think The Beatles and Google have proven that name does not really matter.

in total fairness, those names ARE awesome. i mean, come on...Beetle spelled with an A? THAT is cleverness! see, cuz they're a band. with a drummer. and they're worshipped by Egyptians. and Google is both a homophone for googol, which has 100 zeroes (and how cool is that?) AND a mash up of "go ogle," which is exactly what Google allows you to do.

[Asaf]

I like it when the name of a troupe conveys what the troupe is about. I don't mean like the fact that Hitchcocked! conveys the format. But there are few troupes out there with a name that shows that they are comedy without it being one of those wacky names.

I have to say for that reason that Improv For Evil is a great name. And they've built a great image around it.

[Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell]

I like it when the name of a troupe conveys what the troupe is about. I don't mean like the fact that Hitchcocked! conveys the format. But there are few troupes out there with a name that shows that they are comedy without it being one of those wacky names.

I have to say for that reason that Improv For Evil is a great name. And they've built a great image around it.

yeah, when it can convey some fundamental unspoken "essence" of the troupe...not literally but through an almost sleight of hand act of suggestion and implication, the SOUND and RHYTHM of the name, those are my favorite kinds of names.

i mean, for instance, Parallelogramophonograph don't do (many) shows about geometry or Victorian technological advances...but you hear their name and you see their shows and you think, "well, yes, clearly, what else would you call them?"

[DollarBill]

If the product is good enough, the name will simply come to mean that product.

Yeah, like when pgraph first started and I was like, "what a stupid name." And now they finally starting to have a watchable show every now and then and I'm like, "this name is okay."

But seriously... I think there was a part in Freakanomics about child names and how one parent named one kid Winner and one kid Loser and it actually turned out that way.

[KathyRose]

I like it when the name of a troupe conveys what the troupe is about. I don't mean like the fact that Hitchcocked! conveys the format. But there are few troupes out there with a name that shows that they are comedy without it being one of those wacky names.

"Confidence Men" is awesome on so many levels. (Also "Kind Strangers.")

Personally, I think the name is very important, especially when the troupe is new. It conveys (whether intended or not) the personality of the troupe and certainly affects the kind of audiences the troupe attracts.

The same goes for the style of the troupe photo. I really cringe when I see a wild-eyed group of grimacing faces and flailing gestures.

[Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell]

there was talk at one point of changing Well Hung Jury's name (since dick jokes, no matter how clever, can sometimes alienate potential audiences). we spent an entire day sitting around throwing out possible replacements with no real gems to speak of, certainly nothing that matched our current name. we were given the assignment to go off on our own and come up with a list of name change ideas to bring back at a later date.

to the best of my knowledge, we never spoke of it again. it was the best thing we never did.