Moms who improvise

jillybee72 · Post by **jillybee72** » June 16th, 2011, 1:22 am

I got sad tonight because a friend announced she's pregnant and it makes me wonder if I'll get to improvise with her anymore. I don't know a lot of professional female improvisors who are moms. Courtney! You and Susan Messing are the ones that come to mind.

Are there lots of moms? Or does everyone quit improv and take care of their kidlet?

mpbrockman · Post by **mpbrockman** » June 16th, 2011, 1:39 am

jillybee72 wrote:Are there lots of moms? Or does everyone quit improv and take care of their kidlet?

Just off the top of my head: three GGGsters (Megan, Cynthia and Amy), Jessica Arjet, Camille Seely and Julie Gillis-Lucas (although she's more production than performance now).

Well, that's six in about 10 seconds of thinking about it. I'm sure there are plenty more. Moms?

Sorry if I forgot anyone I shouldn't have forgotten.

Chuy! · Post by **Chuy!** » June 16th, 2011, 2:09 am

My wife used to improvise back with a few troupes in the early 2000's ... I have begged her to get back into it , but she is too mommy now.... She was great at short form and I bet she would kill in a Maestro, but she won't play...

erikamay · Post by **erikamay** » June 16th, 2011, 9:03 am

hey jill -

i'm a mom to a 2.5 yr old, and it def slows you down, especially when they are <1. but - as our nugget has gotten older - i've been able to get back into performing with more frequency. since my husband bob improvises too, we often switch off when we are in the same show, and are fortunate to have my mom nearby (and some awesome babysitters we can call on) to cover shows we both need to show for. we just can't do our 2 person show more than a few times a year, unfortunately

.

in addition to me and the ladies michael mentioned, there are a couple of moms at coldtowne (kristin henn, vicki sokol-evans, julia kirchen) all with varying levels of involvement.

so, when and if she comes back is really up to her and her support system, but there's no reason to think you won't be able to play with her ever again.

AmyA · Post by **AmyA** » June 16th, 2011, 9:53 am

My next amazing business venture will be to spread the gospel about replicating my awesome Kid Rodeo.

Kid Rodeo is the babysitting co-op we've had since Walter was a baby. There are four families, with a kid each. We rotate every weekend so that someone watches all the kids. So you have built-in babysitting three nights every month in exchange for one night of riding herd over the young 'uns. As the kids got older, rodeo hours got longer. For the past 6 years, the kids have done overnights, staying from 6 pm to 10 am the next morning.

The kids are 9 yrs old now and we're pretty sure the rodeo will continue into their teens (we've never actually told them they have a choice

)
The triple bonus of the Rodeo is that we know each other so well, we're like an extended family and there are lots more side deals for swapping kid care.

It could totally work in a community of improvisors, where parents swap childcare when they have shows...

Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell · June 16th, 2011, 9:56 am

erikamay wrote:we just can't do our 2 person show more than a few times a year, unfortunately .

at least until the kid is old enough to perform, and we're graced with the debut of McNichol, May and McNicholMay.

jillybee72 · Post by **jillybee72** » June 16th, 2011, 2:52 pm

Yay! My spirit is uplifted.

mpbrockman · Post by **mpbrockman** » June 16th, 2011, 3:43 pm

Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell wrote:at least until the kid is old enough to perform...

Ever seen Merina McGehee do voice/sound for ComedySportz? Hells yes, get the young 'un involved.

At this year's LAFF, a group called "The Lindas" featured a 9-year old girl.

Glad you feel better, Jill.

Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell · June 16th, 2011, 3:51 pm

mpbrockman wrote:
Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell wrote:at least until the kid is old enough to perform...
Ever seen Merina McGehee do voice/sound for ComedySportz? Hells yes, get the young 'un involved.

At this year's LAFF, a group called "The Lindas" featured a 9-year old girl.

Glad you feel better, Jill.

i saw a video of the Lindas a while back...fantastic.

AmyA · Post by **AmyA** » June 16th, 2011, 8:43 pm

We also talked about doing a All-Moms Maestro show, complete with childcare on the catwalk....

hujhax · Post by **hujhax** » June 16th, 2011, 9:15 pm

Momstro!

--
peter rogers @ home | http://hujhax.livejournal.com

If you can’t stomach being hated by a portion of the world and loved by another, then you don’t deserve to have a blog.
-- Jonathan Morrow

Chuy! · Post by **Chuy!** » June 17th, 2011, 2:09 am

Bring all the kids to my house and kidnap my wife. I will handle these chilluns... Momstro MUST HAPPEN!!!

jillybee72 · Post by **jillybee72** » June 17th, 2011, 2:12 am

hujhax wrote:Momstro!

MOMSTRO!!!

Marc Majcher · Post by **Marc Majcher** » June 17th, 2011, 9:49 am

AmyA wrote:We also talked about doing a All-Moms Maestro show, complete with childcare on the catwalk....

That's more or less how the Flying Theater Machine started, if I recall, Jessica and Sean and I talking about doing some kind of parents' troupe (with the same kind of kid-wrangling arrangement) before a show a few years back. Right?

(There are a bunch of improv dads who struggle to get the kiddo/improv timeslicing right, as well...)

AmyA · Post by **AmyA** » June 18th, 2011, 10:38 am

I was thinking that this is a "dad" discussion too, Marc, and also thinking you are a great example of making it work. Yay Pai! Yay Marc!

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