Austin Improv

We all agree: the communal, supportive, generous atmosphere of the improv family is one of its most important qualities.

But sometimes, ya gotta brag. And this thread is a sae space to toot your horn.

I really want to know, what's the best compliment/review you've ever received about your improv work?

Don't be shy. If we ALL brag it's okay.

"I didn't know improv could do that."

it's pretty classic for audience members to suspect or ask if a great show was scripted. i've gotten that one a few times and it always feels nice.

beardedlamb wrote:it's pretty classic for audience members to suspect or ask if a great show was scripted. i've gotten that one a few times and it always feels nice.

That's what I was gonna say. On one occasion a lady pulled me aside after a show and, with a sassy look on her face, said: "Come on, now. How much of that did you plan?" (I think it was a Maestro I directed, in which case I wasn't even the one being complimented, but it still felt great.)

Another time after a False Matters show (improvised Philip K. Dick stories), I was talking to a friend and her boyfriend who had come to see the show. After a minute of talking, the boyfriend got a look of realization and said something like: "Ohh, I thought you got a suggestion, and based on that, decided which Philip K. Dick story you were going to do." Which is a ridiculous thing to think, but apparently the story we told felt scripted enough for him to think it.

Those are maybe the BEST compliments I've received. My FAVORITE compliment I've received was from Julie Gillis, in a card after Steam was done. It said "I always feel safe on stage with you." I've got it on my fridge to this day.

"I love playing with you".

when Roy announced Strange Worlds, he said i was known for my "boldly heroic style." that made me giddy. when i'm having a shitty day, i still go and read it sometimes...

i played a Scottish character all throughout a Jury show once, and afterwards a group came up to say good show and when i thanked them in my native drawl their jaws all dropped. apparently, they thought i was actually Scottish. which is less a compliment on my improv so much as my dialect work, but i work really hard on my dialect work so it's nice when it's recognized (especially back in those early days, lol!).

there have also been a few occasions where i played a couple onstage with someone, and afterwards an audience member said we should date in real life. i love that because it means we sold them that reality, and because we did it together.

Rev. Jordan T. Maxwell wrote:apparently, they thought i was actually Scottish.

A British person once thought I was British after seeing me in Steam. Which is completely bananas. But I took the compliment anyways.

After a main stage show at the Hideout I left to go to my car but realized that I had left my wallet in the greenroom. I went back and as I walked past the box office I heard a girl say "oh good she's back!" I had been right next to her when she said this so I looked at her and she looked at me and then said "you're our favorite! We thought you were leaving!" I didn't quite know what to say, but I thanked her and informed her that I actually WAS leaving, but I assured her that they would still thoroughly enjoy the show. Nothing like that had ever happened to me before, so it was a cool moment for me. And nothing like that has ever happened since, so it's still a pretty cool moment for me!

In college is was simply "Bullshit" after explaining that yes indeed the Harold we did that night, and every show was completely improvised.

When Del Close remembered my name, and later gave me a joint.

After college, when I did a workshop in Houston with Charna, and my ex-wife over heard her say "He's got IT" about me during the show.

The last two make me shudder over name dropping. Ugh.

-One was from a note Liz Brammer wrote me that said "I knew I wanted you to be in the show even before you auditioned." I didn't know she had ever seen me perform, much less knew who I was.

-Andy Buck's Love Note from the 2012 Potluck (I'm paraphrasing) "You're hilarious, wicked smart, and I think you should get cast more often than you do. Mostly though, I just want you to get laid."

-Anything Ruby has said to me ever.

Ryan Austin - Our conversation makes more sense now and I am so with you on everything Ruby has said to me.

- Having an out of town guest remember a character I played eight months prior.

- Vicki telling me I could do Dramatic Improv with all the conviction of a Saint before I ever took a class.

- Being told that an In Our Prime show made some one cry.

I love reading these!

C'mon, everybody: sing your own praises. Remember that YOU matter too.

Huzzah!

"I started doing improv because of seeing your troupe perform"

and in Edinburgh:
"Normally I wouldn't touch improv with a ten foot pole, but we loved your show."

"My wife requested that we go see you for her birthday."

When Miles Stroth used me as an example ("She gets it.") during his workshop this summer at iO and let me play twice as many scenes as everyone else, because I got to play them with him.


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