Improv Fantasies

[valetoile]

I have several improv fantasies. One was fulfilled, almost as I imagined, in Maestro last week.

My fantasy went like this:
An amazing scene happens. The Performers know it, the audience knows it, and the director knows it. The audience is full of savvy Maestro fans who know the drill and love the show. This is a five for sure. The director takes the stage and asks the audience to rate the scene:
"Was that scene a one?"
Silence, of course, as the director knowingly smiles and moves quickly through the next several scores."
"Was that scene a two?"
Silence.
"Was that scene a three?"
Silence
"Was that scene a four?"
A little more time elapses, to give a chance for anyone who might be out of the loop of how awesome that scene was to give a hesitant clap of fourdom, and also to allow the tension to build before the sweet release of the rollicking five of applause that this amazing scene is about to receive. But of course there is complete silence. Then, smiling, with a cocky assuredness of what is about to happen, the director asks, "Was that scene a five?"

Silence.

The director is momentarily stunned. Did the audience not understand the scoring process? Did he (I imagine in my fantasy that the director is Andy Crouch, but it could be anyone; in the reality that I will describe momentarily it was in fact Roy Janik) rush too quickly past the ones and twos? But no, the mighty triumph of this scene was undeniable. With a slight hesitation, but knowing the only way out is up, the director slowly asks, "Was that scene a.....six?"

And as soon as that word escapes his lips, before the hiss of the x has expired, the audience is on their feet, applauding, stomping, cheering raucously for the FIRST EVER SIX IN MAESTRO!

How it really happened, was there was a great scene between Paul and Arby (in his first Maestro!) and right before Roy asked, "was that scene a five?" someone in the audience yelled out "That was a six!" and the audience immediately errupted into applause. Roy resisted a little, as of course he should, to make the audience really beg for the six, and finally he gave in. You can watch what happened for yourself in the video of the show at about the hour and 12 minute mark.

Here is another improv fantasy that is only partially realized. There is a this thing called "The JBs" that, like all the best things, came out of people yes-anding a joke/off-handed remark. The idea is that all the improvisors with the initials "JB" in Austin at the time would perform together one night. This idea came about in the online chat room during the 40+ hour marathon one year. I think the show that actually happened involved Jeff Britt, Jill Bernard, Jon Bolden, and some other folks in a Monday Night Mash. But here is my fantasy: The JBs become an improv festival tradition, and every festival or major improv gathering in the US (nay the world!) reserves in its schedule a slot for The JBs, and every improvisor who is in town during the festival is invited to play. The format would vary based on the cast, but everyone would always know and accept that at some point in the festival The JBs would have a show. In fact, it would become so celebrated and anticipated that it would come to be one of the highlights of every improv festival, a special treat that exists only in festival time, fated to disappear as soon as the lights were pulled on the last show of the weekend, and The JBs would go back to being just the regular Joe Bills, John Busemans, and Jolene Balsimos in their regular polyalphabeticly intialed improv projects. But for weekend, one night, one glorious 30 minute show, they were THE JBs.

What are your improv fantasies?

[jillybee72]

OMG
I love your dream for the JBs. There must be a way to at least in part make it come true.

I have for years been collecting pairs of improvisors from across the country that not only look alike but play similarly. Here are their pictures:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... a4261f4d48

If I were wealthy, I would put together an improv festival of these duos. I would fly everyone in and put them up in a lush hotel, and they would perform. It would be great.

[B. Tribe]

I want to do a show with this guy: http://east.ucbtheatre.com/talent/view/5052 (Brandon Gardner). We were in a short-form troupe in college. Now he's a middlewig at UCB NY. I'd love to see how we play together after long-forming it for years.

[Jolene]

Yayyyyy! I'm a JB!

[Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell]

i would love to be doing a show and incorporate a wedding scene into the narrative, but the wedding would be totally real and i would officate over it and whatever happened in the ceremony would affect the rest of the show but the couple would now also be married in real life. intersection of fiction and reality. the cast party could also be a reception.

also, i'd love to see a jam show of improvisors who are also geek/cult icons in pop culture (Nathan Fillion, Felicia Day, Danny Pudi, Todd Stashwick, Alan Tudyk, etc.). i think that would wind up being my favorite show of all time.

[Jon Bolden]

Oh wow, Val. That idea for the JBs is great. Perhaps we start here in Austin?

These are all beautiful ideas.

Also, I saw the video from the Maestro you spoke of and it was a really magical moment.

[Jeff]

But here is my fantasy: The JBs become an improv festival tradition, and every festival or major improv gathering in the US (nay the world!) reserves in its schedule a slot for The JBs, and every improvisor who is in town during the festival is invited to play. The format would vary based on the cast, but everyone would always know and accept that at some point in the festival The JBs would have a show. In fact, it would become so celebrated and anticipated that it would come to be one of the highlights of every improv festival, a special treat that exists only in festival time, fated to disappear as soon as the lights were pulled on the last show of the weekend, and The JBs would go back to being just the regular Joe Bills, John Busemans, and Jolene Balsimos in their regular polyalphabetcaly intialed improv projects. But for weekend, one night, one glorious 30 minute show, they were THE JBs.

So. Awesome. I love this fantasy. I love how easily the JB's came to be, and I would love for that group to be a festival tradition. Thanks for sharing that, Val.

[jillybee72]

Jolene, we welcome you. Do you have any jazzy outfits and/or smooth moves?

[Jolene]

Thanks!
Well.... Could you post some examples of "Jazzy?"
And....I got moves you wouldn't believe

[sara farr]

Improvise with some Henson puppeteers.
(This is hopefully happening in a couple of weeks!)

Improvise in a PIP show with a digital puppet like Disney/Pixar's "Turtle Talk" with Crush from Finding Nemo.
(Working on this one.)

[PaGeN]

Fantasy 1:
All my Improv friends take me to a multiple week intensive in Chicago. Each week the focus is a different "school" of Improv. The intensive culminates in a full week of just different formats of shows using all the schools. In the middle of the final week, the touring troupe for this fantasy Chicago group putting on the intensive all run off to Bora Bora (yes, it must be Bora Bora) to make a great movie, but they leave the Chicago Group with no one to play Peoria that night! All my friends and I get on a bus, go to Peoria and have a great time.

Fantasy 2:
I am running the Lottery the night of April 20, 2012 (I said it was a fantasy). A beautiful woman Catherine is escorting a very old woman Elaine and two older guys (Dan & Harold) who show up and put their names in for the Lottery.

Harold offers Jennifer Paine a wad of hundreds telling her it is Elaine's birthday tomorrow and asks that the four of them get in to the lottery.

In order:
Jennifer tells me;
I call Roy;
Each of the 7 audience members gets a $100 bill;
I let the cast and house know that the format may change but they should stay; then
Roy starts calling and driving.

The first 20 minutes on stage before the Lottery take FOREVER. But by then, the house is packed with imps from all over town sitting 2 to a chair and in each others' laps.

When the Lottery finally starts, it quickly grows into a full on Elaine, Catherine, Dan and Harold fest! They run the course for an hour with every scene better than the last. When they come off, the Upstairs is jammed with people. The 10:00 show goes on with three guest stars playing with P-Graph as Elaine watches from the booth.

Everyone stays and sings Happy Birthday to Elaine at midnight.

[Jolene]

My fantasy is possibly a little off.... I imagine a stage of a support group of really weird things to have a support group for. Like... "Hi my name is Jolene...and I take pizza out of my boyfreind's hand while he is eating it..." "Hi Jolene...."

[Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell]

My fantasy is possibly a little off.... I imagine a stage of a support group of really weird things to have a support group for. Like... "Hi my name is Jolene...and I take pizza out of my boyfreind's hand while he is eating it..." "Hi Jolene...."

your move, Your Dad's Friends!

[Jolene]

I actually thought if this last night while I was doing just that... I am really addicted to chips and salsa, to the point that my family takes it from me. It's sad...but still funny.
I have never seen Your dads friends.

[Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell]

I actually thought if this last night while I was doing just that... I am really addicted to chips and salsa, to the point that my family takes it from me. It's sad...but still funny.
I have never seen Your dads friends.

they do an awesome format called Improvention that takes a suggestion from the audience (lawn work, for example), then stages an intervention for someone addicted to that suggestion. so very much up that alley.

could be interesting to stage an ACTUAL intervention for someone's quirks.