Austin Improv

When I first started doing improv, oh so very long ago (february 2005?), one of the shows I watched every week was Gorilla Theatre. I loved the interplay between the improvisers... the different takes on improv, the good natured ribbing, and the charismatic relationship between the players and the audience.

For the past 3 weeks, Gorilla has been running in the Blank Show slot, and it's been my privilege to get to play in it. Except for last week, when there was no audience. And the week before that there were 5 audience members (who loved it). And the week before that, there were 2 audience members, so we workshopped Gorilla instead of playing it properly.

Tomorrow is the last Gorilla before the Blank Show moves on.

Please stick around to watch it. I love this format, and I want to share it with you.

And then we can get drunk at Orf's.

Who was doing Gorilla in early '05? I don't remember Gorilla being played since about early '04 at the Hideout. Am I senile?

Off the top of my head:

Andy Crouch, Craig, Amy McCurdy, Kacey, Mike F... and others, I'm sure.

Jay Michael and Jay Bernardo were the rest of that cast.

Thanks to all who stayed around for Gorilla this weekend. It was the best attended Gorilla of the Blank Show run... about 8 real audience members, and quite a few improvisers. We had a blast.

I can't wait to do it again.

And thanks to Jessica for getting in the gorilla suit when it was so incredibly hot.

Let Saturday's Gorilla be a warning to audience members: if you insist on "Baby Prostitute" as a suggestion, I will give it to you. And then some.

Roy Janik wrote: And thanks to Jessica for getting in the gorilla suit when it was so incredibly hot.

I believe the lovely and talented Kacee S. once said that the gorilla suit smells like a rubber vagina. I was wondering is that still holds true today. Jessica????

I

had

a

BLAST!!!

Last minute offers to play improv can be really rewarding. Thanks for inviting me to play!

I loved the baby prostitute scene!

I want to try and help out with Gorilla in the future. It was actually my first time playing. The scenes were crazy fun. The directing was great all around. Ever a see a scene where the director doesn't even know what happened in a scene because he wasn't even physically there? Me either. Because I was downstairs using the bathroom for that scene...as the director.

I'm just saying, Gorilla opens the door for major risk-taking. Thumbs up!!!

What I love about Gorilla is that, for whatever reason, it makes me tap into the crazy playfullness/mischieviousness that I used to have all the time when I started playing Maestro. It's awesome. I don't always feel like I'm doing my best improv, but I enjoy the shit out of directing and fucking with the players and other directors. i can't wait til we do this show again.

We're launching a mainstage run of Gorilla (8:00pm Saturdays) starting in October and running through the rest of the year. It will include some of the most kick-ass improvisers in Austin. That probably incudes you. Let me know if you're interested in getting involved. Rehearsals will start after Out of Bounds.

I'm interested. This mini-Gorilla run really inspired me and I still have tons of ideas for future shows.

I'm interested. I did not have time to view or participate in the min-gorilla run due to being involved in too many other things. I would like to see what all the excitement is about though.

I wanna play!

Yes, yes, yes. I was lucky enough to catch the last Gorilla (with the baby prostitute, and Chris directing with his head in a bucket of water), and it was a thorough blast. I'm regretful and ashamed that I didn't make it out to any other ones. Sign me up for whatever capacity is available when it comes around again.