Assassin/Bodyguard

One of my favorite improv warm-up games is "Assassin/Bodyguard," in which each player chooses another player to be his/her assassin and a second player to be his/her bodyguard, without telling them whom they have chosen. When the M.C. says "Go!", the following ensues:

It's hilarious to watch and even more fun to take part in.

Replay at Bernie's

Friday night was the Improvables' annual Valentine's Day performance, aka the Battle of the Sexes. I was joined on stage by Brianne, Bryan, Charlotte, Erica, Keenan, Lorin, and Willis. We had the rare opportunity to perform on the CenterPoint main stage for this show.

One of the highlights of the night was this video, which captures Brianne, along with "dolls" Charlotte and Erica, in "Replay at Bernie's."

Reunited, and It Feels So Good

The members of the Improvables celebrated their fifth (closer to sixth, actually, but who's counting?) anniversary at the Davis Center for the Performing Arts this past weekend with a Reunion Show, something that I think was long overdue for us. For this occasion, former troupe members and friends Darren Eggett and Grant, Guy, and Michael Gibbons joined us on stage for the first time in years (in Darren's case, it had been nearly six years!), and the multitalented Gibbons clan brought along their instruments, to boot.

I was fortunate to be able to join them and other current troupe members for this performance, and we had a most enjoyable evening together.

Prior to the start of the show, Grant, Michael, and Guy warmed up musically:

During the show, Guy reprised his Leroy character, seen here alongside Ryan, Grant, and Lorin in "Musical Day in the Life":

And after the show, Ricky and Keenan joined in with the Gibbons on an impromptu (what else?) rendition of the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby":

It was an evening not to be forgotten.

Spider

Today's video clip is from last Friday night's aforementioned Improvables Halloween performance.

In it, Bryan, Keenan, and Brianne re-create a 60-second scene in 10 seconds. It's about spiders.

Enjoy!

The Improvables' Halloween Extravaganza 2013

Friday night marked the Improvables' fifth annual Halloween performance, as well as our second anniversary of performing at the Davis Center for the Performing Arts (aka CenterPoint Legacy Theatre). It's hard to believe that we have been together that long and that we have put on that many Halloween shows, but the calendar doesn't lie.

Among the highlights were "Half Life," played by Bryan, Keenan, and Brianne:

. . . Erica's zombie costume, inspired by "The Walking Dead":

. . . and our many fans who dressed up for the occasion, including our costume contest winners, one of who is pictured here as the Last Airbender:

Following the show, the assorted troupe members (and an enthusiastic audience member dressed as Bruce Lee) posed for this group shot:

Yours truly chose to dress up as Teddy Roosevelt, 26th president of the United States and one of all-time favorite historical figures.

Good times were had by all.

Musical Workshop

Over the years, one of my favorite things about performing improv with the Improvables is that something new, unexpected, and fun is always around the corner---both at our shows and during our workshops.

Such was the case this past week, when Lorin led a musical workshop that emphasized the importance for us all to be more willing to support each other during musical numbers. I snapped the above photo as Rickey performed a peppy musical piece, accompanied in the background by Erica, Ryan, and Lorin.

Improvables Summer BBQ

On Saturday, the members of the Improvables troupe gathered together in Bountiful for our annual summer social and barbecue. Or, at least, it was the beginning of what we hope will be an annual event. (Generally speaking, we're not very good about holding get-togethers outside of our regular improv business.)

At any rate, Ryan offered his bachelor pad as our meeting place, and there were plenty of tasty hot dogs, chicken, salads, s'mores, desserts, and other goodies to eat.

The grass directly below our makeshift grill pit in the backyard caught fire briefly, a fact to which Scott alerted us all, only to be put out by a quick-thinking Ricky and a water hose within a few seconds.

Since we didn't burn down anything other than a small patch of grass, I'd have to call it a success.

Improvables at the Davis County Fair

One of the head honchos with this year's Davis County Fair asked the Improvables to perform an hour-long show not once but twice, on both Wednesday and Thursday nights, at the fair, and we were more than happy to oblige. We were, in fact, given a spot on the main stage, which was near the center of all of the many activities going on, such as carnival rides, a petting zoo, tasty junk food, etc.

Here, Parker assists Brianne in figuring out why she's "Late for Work," with both Keenan and Lorin also lending a hand:

It was good to get a chance for us to get our name out there in the community in a different venue, and hopefully we were able to make some new fans in the process.

These Yahoos

 I get to perform improv with these yahoos on a weekly basis.

All in all, I'd say I'm pretty lucky indeed.

Weekend of Reunions

I'm a week late in posting, but I made it out to Spring Mobile Ballpark in Salt Lake City last Friday, July 19, to attend what has amounted to my annual Salt Lake Bees' baseball game. Mike had obtained some great tickets (behind home plate) through his work, and he invited Biz, Jeff, Kylee, and me to tag along for the evening.

As for the game, well, the hometown squad was beaten soundly, 18-7, which sounds more like a football score than a baseball one. There were also two grand slam home runs, which is something I had never seen live, as well as multiple other two- and three-run homers throughout the skirmish.

The real highlight of the evening, however, was the appearance of five actors from the 1993 movie The Sandlot at the ballpark. They, along with the film's director, were in town to commemorate the 20th anniversary of having filmed the movie in Salt Lake, and, in addition, they sang "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during the seventh-inning stretch.

Following the game, I went over to the nearby Off Broadway Theater to perform with my Improvables teammates Bryan and Keenan in a head-to-head matchup with our sister troupe Laughing Stock. This was another reunion for me, as Improvables co-founder Eric Jensen appeared on the Laughing Stock team, and it was also my first performance on the OBT stage since I discovered their Improv-okie nights and began taking improv classes there approximately 11 years ago.

My "weekend of reunions" was rounded out Saturday night by my 20-year high school reunion at the Little America hotel in downtown Salt Lake. I saw many old friends from the Bountiful High class of '93 there and was able to catch up with them, as well as meet their spouses.

The Improvables in Springtime

I may have mentioned this once or twice before here on Disconcertingly Choppy, but I perform improv comedy on the weekends with a very talented group of people called the Improvables.

At any rate, whether you already knew that or not, we've had a lot of great shows lately, and things have been going well so far in our Saturday night home at Playbills' Theater in Clearfield. Today's post includes some photos (not taken by me) from some of our more recent performances and theme nights.

The fourth Friday in March was our annual Mustache March performance. I gave a heart-wrenching performance in "Oscar Winning Moment":

. . . during which Ian and I also had a memorable chat together:

After the show, those of us who grew mustaches just for the occasion posed together:

Let's face it: Mustaches are cool. And we wear them pretty well.

A couple of weeks ago, we also welcomed a talented team of players from USU Improv to the CenterPoint Legacy Theatre black box for a face-off with the Improvables. What a talented a fun group they were to have on our home turf:

As you can see, I'm  very lucky to belong to a group of amazing performers and friends.

Bacon Sundae

Two of my all-time favorite foods have now been combined into one. That's right, folks; there is now such a thing as a bacon sundae! And it tastes better than it sounds.

I discovered this last night when members of the Improvables made our post-Saturday night performance visit to the local Denny's in Layton. A bacon sundae is, in fact, just one of many bacon-related items on their special bacon menu, which also included bacon with ice cream and a brownie, as well as a bacon milkshake.

Keenan gave the bacon milkshake a try, and Rickey could only react (in horror? disgust? silent awe?):

As for me, I found the bacon sundae (with a maple syrup-y type caramel sauce) to be magically delicious.

And, so, today I just wanted to document this momentous discovery so that future generations could look back and be jealous of one of the groundbreaking discoveries and delicacies of our day.

The Improvables Branch Out

For those who haven't heard - and I average somewhere between five and 10 page views per post right now, so that's quite a few of you out there - the Improvables now have a Saturday night home in addition to our regular Friday night home at CenterPoint Legacy Theatre in Centerville.

The good folks at Playbills' Theater, who recently opened their doors to the public in Clearfield, contacted us about providing late night entertainment on Saturdays. We thought about it for, oh, about .5 seconds and enthusiastically replied that we were more than happy to oblige by scheduling a team to perform there each week.

It's now been a month, and we are slowly building a fan base for 10 p.m. Saturdays in the northern end of Davis County. If you haven't been up there to see us yet, won't cha do so soon?

The Improvables Class of '13

If you had told me, back when I first tried my hand at improv in my Acting 1010 class in college many years ago, that I would not only one day be performing improv semiprofessionally but also teaching others how to do it, I would have said that you were plumb loco. Come to think of it, I would have said the same thing during my tenure at ComedySportz, which was somewhat more recent than that.

Anyhoo, we (meaning the Improvables) just wrapped up our first beginning improv skills workshop of the year, and I must say that it was a very rewarding experience for me. For one thing, I got to work with these very talented people:

Some pictures really are worth a thousand words, aren't they?

For another, it always recharges my batteries for my own improv work to review the basic skills and to see others (many of who had never had any previous theatrical experience to speak of) take to them with so much gusto and excitement. I look forward to continuing to work with some of them, as we expect to extend a few invitations to join the Improvables permanently.

So, thanks, gang. I may have helped teach you, but you taught me a lot in return, too.

Day 356: Improvables Benefit Show at West Jordan High

For the second time in two Fridays, the Improvables performed a benefit show to help raise money for a worthy cause. The setting this time was West Jordan High School, and the cause was the local Shriners' hospital.

Performing in the gym, rather than in the auditorium, was a bit of a challenge, noise wise, but the Jaguars were a very enthusiastic crowd, giving good suggestions for and enjoying our three-game, 15-minute set.

Afterward, three girls came up to us and asked for a photo - with Keenan only:

Among the other fundraising assembly activities we witnessed, the school choir and band performed, and students who raised a certain amount of money got to help shave off their principal's mustache and/or put a pie in the face of one of the teachers.

There was also a bachelor/bachelorette date auction, which Parker (who had not previously arranged to take part) jumped right up and joined in:

He netted a $10 bid. By contrast, one of the student bachelors earned $150.

It was an enjoyable experience for us as a troupe, and, all told, more than $4,200 was raised to help people in need.

Day 350: Improvables Benefit Show

Like many of you, I was deeply saddened yesterday by the news of the mass shooting of nearly 30 innocent school children and teachers that took place in Newtown, Connecticut. You couldn't turn on the TV or Facebook or the radio without hearing a report on it. Here in Utah, it rained and/or snowed ("sleeted"?) all day long, as the heavens seemed to be weeping for this senseless act of violence.

When I hear of a tragedy of this magnitude, the Savior's teaching comes to mind: "But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea." (Matthew 18:6)

When I arrived at the theater, I noticed that the American flag outside was at half-mast in a gesture of support and respect:

Our show last night was a benefit for four-year-old Koda Woodall, who is battling leukemia. The theater graciously let us perform rent-free, and since we didn't have to pay rent this night, 100 percent of the proceeds (amounting to more than $300) went to this boy and his family to help with their medical costs.

Yes, my heart definitely went out to the little children and their families in Connecticut yesterday. We want to do something or make some sort of gesture to make things better when it's not physically possible. Fortunately, life sometimes presents us opportunities, however, to pay it forward, in some small degree, to other "little ones which believe in (Him)."

Day 349: Jawa Bobblehead

At Tuesday night's aforementioned Improvables Christmas party, one of our activities was a white elephant gift exchange. For my contribution, I donated a roll of Justin Bieber duct tape (yes, that's a real thing) I just so happened to come across while at the store, and Shannon enthusiastically "Yankee swapped" for it and took it home. Apparently, she already has plans for how she's going to use it.

To each his/her own, I suppose.

As for myself, I ended up with a Jawa bobblehead, and I must say that it looks pretty good sitting up on my shelf.

Day 348: Ugly Sweaters

One of my favorite traditions from this time of year is the ugly sweater Christmas party. Tuesday night, that's just what the Improvables took part in together for our annual holiday shindig.

As you can see, our troupe - as they always do - went all out for this one.

Day 330: Black Friday with the Improvables

Today's photo is actually one I took following Friday night's Improvables performance, using my friend Liz Jones's camera. She was in attendance (obviously) along with a group of our friends from mid-singles institute and ended up being the audience volunteer for "Audience Sound Effects." Afterward, she posed for this group picture with the night's cast;

As you can see in the photo, Parker is doing his predictable not-making-eye-contact-with-the-camera pose.

Theater people. What can you do?

Day 318: The Action Hero's Handbook

Following tonight's Improvables workshop/tryouts - which were awesome, by the way - Rickey stopped me to show me a book he recently found at a store for just 50 cents:

It includes advice on such things as surviving an explosion and administering the Vulcan neck pinch.

Two thoughts: (1) I can't believe McGyver didn't write it, and (2) I want one.