Austin Improv

Hi everyone! I'd love to hear from anyone about our improv show running at ZACH all month. We love the show. One of the messages in the show is that the public should take improv workshops at the Hideout and Coldtowne and elsewhere. Another message of the show is that improv can play the nicer theaters for longer runs with more production. I REALLY hope the improv community uses this as an opportunity to gain theater audience and make their presence known at the wonderful ZACH. Some flyers wouldn't be out of the question.

Anyone wonder what we're doing? There's choreography, later in the show I fly, we have a VERY good musician, Owen Egerton is directing, cast includes Ben Bartley, Scott Chester, me and Owen, Jodi Egerton, Megan Flynn, Erika May and the amazing Bob (V-Day), Austin Best actress Lee Eddy, and some surprise guests we won't announce for another day or two. We are doing scenes, games, styles, naives, volunteer games, monologues. ZACH gave us a lighting designer, stage manager, crew, tech director, we are using projectors, platforms, and lighting tricks, even a room "hazer."
Anyone want to chat about any of this stuff?
yer pal, les

I realized I didn't put Jamie's name in there. Jamie Hillboldt is amazing and has played all over the world including with famous people like my favorites the Funk Brothers. -les

So is this a combination of sketch and improv or well-structured improv scenes?

Me, curious.

I'm working on some ideas for character monolgues as a part of a one-person show wherein well-fleshed-out characters do a little improv. I personally think that improv could be well-served in some shows as structured improv to make it more theatrical. The purists might hate this idea, but I think it's very smart and very freeing.

I totally want to come see this show! (possibly on 2/14) Thanks for the heads up!!

FYI, HERE IS A LINK TO THE SHOW.

Last night was our first full tech run of the show. The show has lots of lighting and sound cues, some fast clothes changing, some machinery... It went quite well for a tech rehearsal and after one more night of tech practice we are ready to go! Of course ZACH gave us a great staff.

The players are excellent. I'm totally proud to be the guy to show them off.

We're not doing any sketch in this show, unless you consider rehearsed dance numbers to be sketch. There is lots of improv comedy. Owen and I do shows and write for a living and so we have honed our comedy skills and presentation and tech/road skills as much as our improv, the rest of the cast has those skills too. I come from an acting background so there is a love of character. I also do a story from the book, and we perform with music. There are ComedySportzy games we've loved since I started that show locally back in 1986(!) and did bajillions of them.

These are shortform games but we work it like longform, what i mean is they extend to the life of the content and the entire set of games is self-referential, the show is a form to us. Owen designed a great set list for that.

I love hybrid improv applications like Herrherr described his monologue idea. I love all the improv applications actually, but that sounds great.

well structured scenes? We do our best, as comedy.

This sounds exciting and interesting.

Looks like you got a winning show there. I hope to come out and see it. short form or long form with the cast you got it will be funny!

This show rocked ass tonight. These guys can really entertain an audience, Robert complained that his face hurt from laughing so much. It was fun to see old games that we don't play much with some serious energy behind them. Who knew freeze and 185 cats could be something so fun for the audience? But it really worked.

Also, I think Les is someone to watch with regards to marketing. He did a lot in his show to remind people that this was a special, one time only, live performance. And they did a good job of making it meaningful to this audience.

Go see this show!

Thanks for introducing yourself at the show Jessica. Nice to have met you. And thanks for your encouragement in this forum.

You guys are all so motivated and nice and I love it. We mention the Hideout and Coldtowne every show as places to go learn more.

PLEASE introduce yourselves if you come to the show y'all. I love to meet improvisers and I'll introduce you to whoever is around.

Thanks again Jessica.

I also have a blog/forum on my book site (www.lesmcgehee.com) where we have posted other comments from the opening. Some are amazing. Here's a personal favorite... "My wife has been ill and I needed to see her laugh uncontrollably. You did that to the extreme and look at her! (les says, at this point the beaming lady hugs me with tears, her husband later told me that she’s fighting cancer"

lots of straightforward comments too, that we rocked or made them laugh extremely.

That's why we load our guns ma'am.

love, yer pal les

I don't know if anyone will see this but Plays Well With Others has been given an extended run. We are coming back for three more weeks of shows at ZACH starting March 23.

Thanks to all the great AIC players who helped and attended like Shana(who played like a badass), Andy, Jessica, Sarah, all of you thanks.

yer pal, Les

This show is unlike anything else happening in Austin right now. Check it out in the next run if you get a chance. You'll get to see some improvisers in action who are hard to catch otherwise.

That show was a lot of fun to play in.

The theatre space is really cool. And the night I played, the house was great. Super fun. Congrats on the extension.

Les,

That Sunday matinee -- "Kismet" -- the one that was supposed to be your last show, but ended up being a kick-off for another month of your shows -- was a awesome!!!

And yes, that "in the round" space was really fun to be in.

And boy did everyone enjoy themselves!!! You guys really riled up the audience -- to the point where 3/4 through the show, when Owen asked for "4 players" (meaning 4 cast members), 2 teenagers from the audience raised their hands, jumped up and came down to the stage. That was hilarious!

But then Owen took them and changed the game (I bet) and started them up in "Freeze Tag" and that was hilarious, because the cast, instead of tagging them out, kept taking the place of the imps in the scene, leaving the kids to stay on stage for a while.

BUT THEN!!! a woman in the audience yells "FREEZE!" and everyone looked around and found her and pulled HER on stage saying you can't yell FREEZE and not get up on stage. OMG! That was awesome!! She was reluctant, but when she got out there you guys (the cast) took good care of all of them and the game ended on a great big laugh.

What a really great show!! And to see all of you being really playful with eachother, and loving to be out there, and the audience loving all of you - as you can tell, it was a love fest!!!

LOVE,
Sara