Day 241: The Improvables - in Primetime! with The Gibbons

Tonight, I joined Brittney, Ian, Keenan, Liz, Parker, and Scott on stage as the Improvables made a rare weeknight and primetime performance at the Ed Kenley Amphitheatre in Layton. It's one thing to put on a show away from your home turf, but it's quite another to be in a venue that has previously hosted the talents of none other than Tony Danza:

Yes, that Tony Danza.

Fortunately, the weather cooperated with us on this night, and more than twice the number of our usual crowd size turned up to watch the show. Summer, Andrea, and Nicole were among those who showed up to lend a hand and to help take tickets, sell concessions, usher, etc.

Among the games played were "Text Line," featuring yours truly, Liz, and Parker, as well as a broken cell phone (long story there):

. . . and Liz and Parker on "Mumbling Movie Murder Mystery":

It was a beautiful summer evening, and one that hopefully our troupe and fans won't soon forget. I'm grateful to The Gibbons - great musicians and even better people - for joining us for this event, and I hope the good folks at Ed Kenley will let us come back again sometime in the future.

Day 240: Luke's Cukes

My nephew Luke loves to eat his cucumbers, something which he demonstrates in this photo from yesterday's family dinner:

I can't say that I blame him; they're one of my preferred veggies, too. I learned to love them in Peru, where they are often put into salads, and they remain a favorite to this day.

Day 239: Care Bear Goo

One of our family's favorite dishes for Sunday family dinner is this dessert:


Dubbed "Care Bear Goo" by the kids, it's Jeff's speciality. I couldn't tell you what the ingredients are, as I must assume it's a secret recipe.

Day 238: Playing Catch with Dad

In today's photo, Dad, pulling a classic Dad face, reacts to a quickly thrown toss to his chest while playing a game of catch with Jenna, Luke, and a handful of others over at Dave's and Jessica's house:

Day 237: The Glasses Bandit

In case I haven't already mentioned it, I recently moved - for the fourth time in three months - back to Mike's and Jana's basement in Layton. The explanation would take quite a while, but suffice me to say that I am grateful to Dave and Jessica and their four amazing kids for putting up with me at their home in Woods Cross for seven weeks, and, likewise, I am also grateful to be back in a familiar and comfortable spot.

At any rate, one of the great things about being back in Layton is that I'm surrounded by four other amazing kids, including four-and-a-half-year-old Jackson, who provides me with plenty of photo ops and manages to help keep me entertained on a daily basis.

The other day, he swiped my glasses right off of my face until I gave in and gave him a treat he desperately wanted:

Sure, he had to resort to extortion, of sorts, but I say that he's nevertheless a clever kid.

Day 236: Fan Favorite Night

Once again, I was the M.C. at tonight's Improvables performance. A very talented cast, including both of the Abeggs, Aivan, Bryan, Scott, and Steve combined to put another another fantastic performance for our very enthusiastic audience.

Among my favorite moments was the game "Superheroes," captured above photo as Parker, Keenan, Bryan, and Scott combined their forces to solve a pressing world crisis: a DVD player that refused to work.

Yes, you had to be there.

Afterward, we gathered for a group photo with Liz, one of our Fan Favorite winners:

Day 235: Brigham City Temple

Some friends from the mid-singles institute class and I made it up to Brigham City tonight to tour the new temple there.

As you can see from the photos, it's quite a beautiful building. Along the way, I enjoyed the opportunity to make some good new friends.

Day 234: Jellyfish

A few nights ago, Mike and Jana and company invited me to eat out at the local Sizzler with them. Together, we enjoyed a pleasant evening and good food . . .

. . . except for one of these kids - who was not like the others. Jackson, at one point, lay down on the floor and said that he was a "jellyfish," refusing to eat another bite.

There's never a dull moment with my nieces and nephews around. I wouldn't be surprised if another generation of improvisers is currently being trained for bigger and better things.

Day 233: They Grow Up Fast

This photo, taken at our most-recent family get-together, features both of the two newest members of our clan: five-and-a-half-month-old Jacob, sitting on Jana's lap, and Ben's and Adi's puppy Saru, who had grown twice her size since the last time I had seen her.


They sure do grow up fast, don't they?

Day 232: An Evening of Rodgers and Hammerstein

Following family Sunday dinner with Mom, Dad, Biz, and Jeff, I made my first trip over to the Ed Kenley Amphitheater in Layton (where *ahem* the Improvables will also be performing next week) for one of their free Sunday night concerts. This particular evening featured several songs by the great American songwriting team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, and - oh yeah - my sister-in-law Jana was one of the main performers. A handful of both Plowmans and Jacksons were there to support her, and we enjoyed the cool summer evening and the entertainment together.

Afterward, Jana posed (above) with her two daughters, as well as several of her nieces from the Jackson side.

Day 231: "The Dating Game"

Today, one more image from Friday night's Improvables show:


Ryan (man angry at David Hasselhoff), Ian (Elvis Presley), and Ben (Patrick from "SpongeBob") played bachelors vying for the affections of bachelorette Keenan.

Day 230: Singles Ward Stalkers

Following last night's Improvables performances, Ben, Ian, and Ricky re-created one of the show's best moments (from "Meanwhile/Elsewhere"):


As with many Improv moments, you really had to be there.

Day 229: Luke's Game

Remember that Pixar cartoon, "Geri's Game" (I can't remember right now which movie of theirs it preceded), in which an old man competed in an intense game of chess - against himself?

Well, that's pretty much what I caught Luke doing the other day, except he told me it was actually "Wizards' Chess" he was playing. And he was winning.

Day 228: "RiffTrax Live!" 2012

Earlier tonight, a group of friends, including members of the Improvables troupe, and I attended my second "RiffTrax" live screening, nearly a year to the day after my first one, for Jack the Giant Killer, in August 2011.

Tonight's RiffTrax, which we attended at the beautiful and still relatively new Cinemark theater in Farmington, lampooned the putridly awful '60s cult classic Manos: The Hands of Fate, as well as a couple of shorts, including Welcome Back, Norman and At Your Fingertips: Cylinders. (Yes, really. I couldn't make these up.)

Good times were had by all.

Day 227: Dance, Fireman! Dance!

At last Sunday's family dinner, one of my favorite moments occurrred when Dallin and Jackson were horsing around together, playing with both Dallin's Nerf gun and a plastic fireman's hat. Dallin pointed the gun at Jackson and, imitating the villain in many a Western film, ordered him to "Dance, fireman! Dance!" or be "shot."

Jackson then proceeded to put on both the helmet, as well as a rather adept series of dance steps for a four-year-old - or for a kid of any age, I might add.

Day 226: Christian's and Christian's Medal

I've been posting a little bit about both the Olympics and medals lately, as they tend to go hand in hand, so today I offer a shot of yet another medal:

This is Ben, posing with a copper medal that was awarded to our great-grandfather Christian Jorgensen Plowman (after whom Benjamin Christian is named) by the state of Utah in 1947 for the centennial of the pioneers' first arrival into the Salt Lake valley. It turned up the other day at the bottom of a group of boxes when Ben was assisting me in my latest move (more on my nomadic ways to follow).

Grandpa Christian, incidentally, crossed the plains at age six along with his father, John Jacob, and family in 1867 as part of a handcart group; he was 86 years old when presented with the medal and died a year later. He also, of course, has a newer namesake, Jacob Christian, in the form of our now five-month-old nephew, Dave's and Jessica's baby boy.

Day 225: Kenna's Medal

Olympic athletes weren't the only people who earned medals over the weekend.


Kenna and her soccer team won medals - as she demonstrates here for the camera - for a tournament they competed in Saturday and won.

Day 224: USA! USA!

Alas, the 30th Summer Olympic Games in London, England, are now a thing of the past. I've enjoyed watching several international sporting events over the past 16 days and have found a newfound surge in love for my country - dare I say patriotism? - as the U.S. athletes have performed very well, earning 46 golds and 104 total medals.


Mom reflected that sentiment in these cupcakes, which she brought for us to share at tonight's family dinner.

Day 223: Software Wars - Episode II Mockumentary

We made this "mockumentary," recently uploaded to YouTube by Adam, during the fall of 2006. Hope you like it.

Day 222: Software Wars - Episode II Blooper Reel

Today's "photo" is actually a video.

Adam recently uploaded to YouTube a handful of films that he, I, and many of our family members and friends made . . . well, it's been more than a few years ago now. For your enjoyment, here is the blooper reel for Software Wars - Episode II: Attack of the Clowns, primarily filmed in the spring of 2003:

Day 221: Busy Bees

We're (or, more specifically, I, as the principal editor am) on a deadline right now at work to get our latest Teacher's Manual edited and to the printer's by week's end. This process has involved multiple edits and proofreading, and I'm also compiling a new index. I actually stayed and worked at the office until about 8:30 p.m. tonight, which is rather late for someone who usually does the bulk of his job out of his home office.


As a result, more than one person currently has a "Please don't bother me now" plunger sitting outside his/her office/cubicle.

Day 220: Free Doughnut Day!

The boss brought doughnuts in to work today.

I have a great boss.

Day 219: The Sky Is Falling!

As I've stated many a time before here on Disconcertingly Choppy, there are many entertaining things that happen behind the scenes of the Improvables - including and especially at our Tuesday night workshops.

Such was the case tonight when John Willis Krammer walked through the door into our rehearsal room, and his brother Scott, who was already waiting inside, randomly picked up one of his shoes and threw it at John, knocking one of the light fixtures asunder in the process.

Fortunately, in the kerfuffle of panic that ensued (mainly by the aforementioned shoe thrower, who was briefly convinced that we were about to get into a heap of trouble), we were able to get things fixed and set back in place.

Day 218: The Quote Board

In the "Green Room" where I work, there is a quote board on the eastern wall. Over time, my boss and other co-workers have written down random clever and/or memorable sayings that have been uttered at various places and times.

The other day, I finally made the quote board when my boss stopped by to talk to me about a project that I'm currently working on, and, quoting the Journey song - as well as a current TV commercial - I replied, "Any way you want it - that's the way you need it."

Tyson then immediately went over to the quote board and added it:

Not to toot my own horn or anything, but honk! honk!

Day 217: Running Amuck

At my digs in Woods Cross, it's not an uncommon sight to see the kids running around the basement in the company of their friends, much like this photo:


There's never a dull moment with this bunch - and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Day 216: "Musical Chairs"

It had been far too long since we had last played "Musical Chairs" at one of our Improvables performances, but fortunately we ended that drought last night.


Yours truly was the second one out (not too uncommon for me), and I ended up having to sing a country-style song about windows. Steve was the last one out and sang a Latin ditty, to which the "winner" Ryan had to make up an interpretive dance, and he called on his teammate Ricky for some help.

As is often the case with Improv, you really had to be there.

Day 215: Bah-Bah-Bah-Bah-Barbecue

In case you're confused by it, the subject line of today's post is meant to be sung along to the Beach Boys' tune "Barbara Ann."


The dog days of summer are (un)officially here - right? - and with the temps in the 90s every day, at least we can still barbecue often. Tonight, Dave cooked up a delicious dinner out on the grill.

Day 214: The Blue Badge of Courage

Recently, I have begun to donate plasma a few times a month. I have never liked being poked with needles, but I can get through it as long as I don't have to look at it happening. Fortunately, the phlebotomists ensure that the process is not all that bothersome, and you get to do something constructive, such as surf the Web, read a book, or listen to your iPod, while you make each donation.


As my Relief Society arm attests in the above picture, you always leave with a nice little badge of courage to show off your bravery, too.

Day 213: Dad and Jacob

One post about Jacob Christian deserves another. Today, I am posting this recent picture of Dad and his newest grandson - named after Dad's grandfather (Christian Jorgensen Plowman) and great-grandfather (John Jacob Plowman).


They sure grow up fast, don't they?