What Makes A Good Troupe?

Okay, this is my second installment of the Kansas City improviser's monthly blogging experiment.  The topic is the title:  "What makes a good troupe?" Having voted on this blog subject, now I wish I hadn't. There are so many aspects of what makes a good troupe that it would kill my fingers to sit here and type them all out.  Not to mention my brain, it would explode.  Literally. Boom. 

I'll try anyway.

I think a good troupe is a collaboration of people who are all comfortable with themselves as performers.  By being comfortable, I mean hitting the stage with no worries of your own performance as well as no worries of the others you are sharing the stage with.  Even though this doesn't in anyway factor into shows being bad or good, it can factor into a group dynamic.  

In Mick Napier's Improvise he talks a lot about taking care of yourself first in a scene.  Doing this will allow yourself to react and respond naturally to whatever comes your way.  It's as simple as telling yourself, "I'm going to be angry in this next scene no matter what" and then just doing it.  The more you take this approach, the more comfortable you will start feeling in scenes, and more importantly, on stage.  Get a whole group of people that attack the stage with such ease, and you've got the makings of a good troupe.

Being comfortable does not only fall into the verbal performance category. How many shows have you scene where one or two people are the only ones setting up games?  Or editing scenes?  Or even starting scenes?   You'd be surprised if you didn't think the audience doesn't pick up on this sort of thing. They see it better than you do. They actually respond more to the ones that are jumping out there. It oozes confidence, and the audience will eat that shit up. If someone generally sits in the backup line and waits for others to start scenes before they join, the audience notices that as well.  So, when everyone in a troupe equally contributes to all aspects of the performance, the dynamic will grow.

Okay, one more thing.  Back when I performed with Lighten Up/Funny Outfit we had two separate troupes:  A young one and an old one.  Even though both groups rehearsed together, they did not perform together.  Why?  A lot of the oldies were thrown off by a lot of the youngins during scenes.  Or the youngins were too weird and the oldies were too wordy.  I performed with both groups so I heard it from both ends.  This problem eventually lead the to troupe's death. People were only comfortable with performing with certain types, their own. They steered away from the challenge of performing with someone not like them.  The greatest thing about improv is that it should allow you the ability to perform with anyone at anytime, no matter their age, gender, or even experience.  

In summary, I guess, when a troupe as a whole is individually comfortable with themselves, comfortable with the performers surrounding them, and comfortable with every aspect that goes into a show, then that the makings of  a good troupe.

Playtime.

Oak Park Mall has a new indoor play area for kids.  It's pretty fancy.  I think it is sponsored by some automotive dealership or something because there are a lot of cars to climb on.  Anyway, Collin enjoys it so we go there from time to time.

The other day Collin and I went after school.  He was to play for twenty minutes then we would go to the food court for lunch.  While we were there I noticed this foreign guy with his two boys, probably ages three and six, who seemed as if the last thing he wanted to be doing was hanging out in this play area.  And the kids seemed like holy terrors.  Needless to say, I kept my eye on them.  The three year old was making a habit of hitting every kid that came near the slide. This little brat hit Collin in the back once, but Collin didn't let it bother him and moved on.  But this kid kept on hitting.  A few times the dad would notice his son doing this and go scold him for a second, then get back to sitting and looking miserable.  Now, I'm not going to tell anyone how to discipline their child, but if Collin ever acted this way I would have him outta that mall in a heartbeat.  Not this dad. We made eye contact after one of his "lessons in friendliness" and gave me a look that signified, "Kids, what can you do?"

The hitting continued to happened throughout our time there.  I was surprised that the other parents there weren't noticing this.  Sure, I didn't do anything when it happened to my boy, but he moved on. Other kids kept going back as if to stand their ground.  Only one parent, after witnessing their child get knocked in the head, did something.  She tried to make her little girl go and tell the boy not to hit her.  I could almost see the three year old boy's fist clinch as she approached him.  That was enough for me to see, so Collin and I left to go eat.

The whole time I sat there and watched this father literally do nothing while his turd of a monster child marked his territory near the slide, I did all I could to not go over and say something to him. Even if I would have gone over to him, who am I to tell another person how to be a parent?  I should have just gone with my gut instinct, which was to tell Collin to go punch that three year old in the face.

Thank You For The National Title!

KU's Rush, Arthur headed to NBA

I don't know anyone who didn't see this coming.  But good for them. They both won a championship, now they are ready for bigger and better things.

On a side note, Mario "Greatest Shot In The History of Kansas Basketball History" Chalmers was not present at the press conference.

Spit-take.

Collin had his very first spit-take yesterday.  His initial reaction, Horror!  He did not know how to handle it.  Mainly because he did not know it was coming.  

He and Lisa were sitting on the couch laughing and having a good time.  I was sitting in the chair across the room.  His giggle-fit was due to mommy was making silly faces.  No attention was given to me at all at this point.  Right when he sort of calmed down he reached for his drink and took a sip, not knowing that I had a silly face waiting for him whenever he decided to turn his head.

When he looked at me the water went flying.  For a half of a second, he was laughing.  Then came the tears.  He spit-taked himself right into shock and horror.  

He is fine now, but we have got to work on his follow through.  Soon we can add this to his bag of "bits".  It will be right up there with his ability to "Wa wa waaaaa" at the right moment.   

Improv Thunderdome Season One Championship Match!

First of all, congratulations to Charley Belle, Clay Morgan, Patrick Lindhorst & Rob Grabowski of Loaded Dice, Improv Thunderdome's inaugural champs. That's them up there.  Look at how happy they are!  It is very out of character for Rob to give anyone the finger, but hey, they're the champs now. They can do whatever they want.

Also, a hugh thanks to everyone involved in this.  All the performers, all the volunteers, and especially all the audience.  These past four months have been crazy awesome.  Thanks.

The night was crazy on many levels.  He had 150 reservations, that all showed. A first.  We had somewhere around 20 people on the waiting list, that had to be turned away.  Another first.  Turning people away is actually bittersweet.  I hate doing it, but then again, sometimes that just has to happen, right?  I guess.  I've never had to do it before, but I have always kind of wanted to.  

I'm not going to talk much about the show because it's late.  I'll say this:  It happened.  It was awesome.  Now it's over.  I'm happy it's over.  These past four months have been a lot of fun and very exciting, but I'm tired.  I don't want to think about it anymore.  My brain can't take it.  I am going to try and give my self until May 1st to not even start thinking about season two, which could possibly be even better than season one.  "NOT POSSIBLE", you say.  I say, "VERY!" Don't get me wrong, I am very happy with everything.  But sometimes my mind doesn't allow me to get very excited about things I am involved with for very long.  I have a hard time balancing the good with the bad.  My sister would say, "That's the Libra in you."  

Anyway, I am mainly happy for all of the performers involved.  Each team, whether the won or lost, got to perform to sold out crowds that were 2/3 not there to see them.  There was a small moment during the first ten minutes of the third team's set that I actually felt a bit of excitement for what Thunderdome could be for the improv community.  People in the audience may have only voted for one team, but the other teams and it's performers will be in the back of their minds for quite some time after the show.  

There is something in the air.  Kansas City improv is a force to reckon with.

Season two is coming!  Beginning in June!  Look out!!!

Any Improv Review is a Good Improv Review.

I honestly believe this.

Here are two articles about the sold out Improv Thunderdome Season One Championship.

The Pitch.

The Kansas City Star.

The one in the Pitch was written by someone who has seen each of the first three shows.  More depth, more detail, more descriptive to a reader that has no chance of getting tickets.

The one in the Star was written by someone who hasn't seen a single show.  But it's not really about the show, it's more about the fact that all of them have sold out.  So the fact that it doesn't have a lot of depth, or any at all, doesn't bother me one bit.

So what good are they?  What good are these articles if the show is already sold out?

Ask me again when season two kicks off in June.

Tool Time!

Who has two thumbs and fixed a toilet today?  This guy!

I first noticed small puddle around the washing machine in the basement, which is directly below the bathroom, about a month ago.  At first I just thought it was coming from the sometimes-leaky washer.  Then the smell came.  A smell that could only come from one room in the house.  So after a bit of detective work (Collin flushing the toilet while I stood near the washer) and low and behold, it's the Porcelain God. 

My first concern was that it was the piping.  In the basement you can see the main pipe coming from the Thinking Chair.  It was not the main source of the source of the leak.  It didn't leak IN the bathroom at all, which I think was a lucky break.  The only other thing we could think of was that there HAD to be some kind of cap, ring, or something that connected the toilet to the pipe.  Perhaps it was old or cracked.  

So today, I figured it out.

I took apart the toilet.  Reviewed it.  Went to Lowe's.    

Got one of these,

And one of these,

And became this guy,

The leak?  Oh, it's gone.  I fixed it.  It was hard work.  It took a lot of time.  I am sore because of it.  But I didn't have to call a plumber and it only set us back $18.00. 

For a storybook ending, the bathroom will probably explode tonight while we're sleeping.

Rock Chalk Jayhawk!!!

What a game.  

What.

A.

Game. 

I am saying this out loud as I am typing it...

The KANSAS JAYHAWKS are the 2008 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!!

Memphis played a tough game.  It's a shame that their season had to end this way, having become of first team in NCAA history with 38 wins in a season.  And now, only their second loss.  But they had it, and then they lost it.  

Okay, let's see what this season had brought us.

Big 12 Championship.  Check.

Big 12 Tournament Championship.  Check.

#1 seed in the National Tourney.  Check.

First Final Four appearance for Bill Self.  Check.

An ass-kicking of the #1 team in the country, UNC.  Check.

First National Championship for Bill Self.  Check.

And all of this without a single go-to guy.  This is clearly the best TEAM in the country.

#1 seed n the National Tourney.  Check.

8:21 Tonight!

After a brutally-brutal dominance against the North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday night, the Kansas Jayhawks proved once and for all that they deserve to be here, one game away from the National Championship.  Words can not express the excitement I am feeling right now.

3 and Ohhhhhhhh Baby!

The Kansas City Royals completed their first season-opening sweep since 2003 against, arguably, the best offensive line-up in baseball, the Detroit Tigers.  The pitching was spectacular, giving up only five earned runs in three games (Including a shutout in game two) while striking out twenty-four batters.  Joakim Soria even pitched all three ninth innings and got two saves.

The offensive wasn't too shabby either.  Alex Gordon had two 2-run homeruns in the series, and Butler, Guillen and Teahan had a couple of RBIs each.  

Yes I know, it's only the first three games of the season.  But come ON!!!  This is the Royals we're talking about.

Bring on the Twins!!!!

Sorry Ladies, He's Taken.

Happy April Fools Day!!!