Nick - Fifty Improvisers In A Room

I spent all weekend in Indianapolis at CIT, College Improv Tournament, with DeBono. Fifteen teams showed up to compete (although I missed three of them) and a ton of different forms and techniques and interesting peoples were present.

I could write a whole post about how awesome that was and how much I love doing improv and how awesome all the people there were, but that's been done. Instead, I'm going to write about some of the funnier problems encountered when you have that many improvisors in the same room.

Focusing Is Hard

I don't know how many of you have been to an improv practice before. (Probably, like, half of you, if my readership is a reflection of my friend base.) But one thing that plagues every improv team everywhere is that improvisers just can't focus for that long.

As the contest was starting, Keith, our incredibly talented and friendly host, attempted to explain the rules in a 30 minute meeting. He tried really hard to be entertaining and keep everybody interested, but about 15 minutes in, he said, "Any questions?"

One girl shouted, "Are you single!?"

That was it. Focus lost.

The meeting never really got back on track after that point. Poor Keith.

Practical Jokes

Every improviser thinks that they are hilarious. Sometimes this plays out at the expense of others. Also, I admit that I am more guilty of this than almost anyone else.

In our hotel room, Simeon and I shared one of the beds while Kimi and Clare shared the other. Our first order of business was to give Clare the wrong room number and then sit around and giggle.

That night, Kimi tried as hard as possible to make Clare as uncomfortable as possible by forcibly spooning with her.

Our masterpiece was a plan to have Kimi start crying as Clare was almost asleep, while Simeon and I would pretend to be sleeping.

I spent the whole weekend watching people trying to be funny, but Clare's reaction to Kimi made me laugh harder than anything else all weekend. Prank calls were made. We convinced someone to jump in a pool. Good times all around.

We Can't Hold A Normal Conversation

Improvisers, as fearless as we can be, are generally deficient in social skills. One conversation occurring at the after party began with someone asking, "Do you work in Indianapolis?"

The response was, "Why, yes! I'm the mayor."

Conversation over.

Beyond that kind of cringe-inducing miscommunication, most improv conversations go like this:

"You you do improv? I do improv!! You go to college? I go to college!! We have so much in common!"

Judging Comedy Sucks

Comedy is a subjective thing. It's very difficult to judge. Especially when you have long form, short form, and musical teams all competing in the same bracket.

Feelings get hurt. Accusations get thrown around. Judges can be biased towards a particular form or a particular team.

I don't really care much about the competitive aspect the way it's done here, but some people take that shit seriously.

We're Loud And We Love Ourselves

The hotel room that we hung out in after the show got a lot of noise complaints.

Also they got yelled at by a naked guy.

True story.

Sleep

Oh god. Sleep. It's currently Sunday night, and the last time I got more than 4 hours of sleep at a time was Thursday night.

I took a series of 2 ninety-minute naps over the course of the weekend, and Saturday night I got a solid 4 hours of sleeping in after laughing at Clare for most of the night.

Speaking of, I'm feeling kind of dizzy. It's 7:30pm, but this seems like as good a time as any to call it a day.

-Nick.

EDIT: I just remembered another problem that someone mentioned to me as he shuffled through the pile of coats, looking for his own.

"So many damn peacoats," He muttered.

Nick - The Screaming Of Souls

It's the third week of school, maybe just the second. At any rate, it's one week after I signed up to audition to drum for a band. They're the only band that doesn't need you to have a drum set on campus already, so this is basically my one shot. They had given me a list of three songs to choose from: The Ocean, by Led Zeppelin, Aeroplane, by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and The Impression That I Get, by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. I had only heard one of those songs before.

I nervously practice counting the mixed 4/4 to 7/8 beats of The Ocean as I fill out the form. I didn't get to practice any of this, because I don't have a drum set. My audition form is clever. I guess improv pays off in ways you wouldn't expect.

The first drummer goes in. I listen to him warm up. He's obviously really good. He shows off for a little while before starting the first song, and I'm blown away. He starts playing The Ocean. It sounds really good. He does a fill, and miscounts. The extra beat throws the time off, and the music falls apart for a second, before regrouping and coming back strong.

Is it bad that I smile when he miscounts? I glance toward the door, and another drummer comes in. All it's going to take is one really good guy walking in here, and I don't have a chance anymore.

The guy misses the tempo change in The Ocean. Another cruel smile to myself. Then the band begins playing Aeroplane. It sounds really good. Like, really really good. The bass vibrates my very soul as I desperately hope that my drumming doesn't sound childish compared to this guy.

The quiet part of the song comes, but he doesn't change his drum part at all. Another small, conflicted victory for me.

He leaves, and the next drummer goes in. He also misses the tempo change in The Ocean. He chooses to play The Impression That I Get. After a couple of measures he opts to play half notes instead of quarter notes for the rest of the song.

Suddenly it's my turn. I walk in in a surreal state of mind. I see the drum set. Wow. Wow. That is a really nice drum set. I want to play it.

I sit down at the set, fiddling around and adjusting the high hat as the singer reads my audition form aloud and pokes fun at me. I really like these people. These people are cool. I want to be in this band.

I warm up, and am surprised and delighted to find that my warming up and showing off sounds just as impressive as that first guy's did. We start The Ocean.

As soon as I start playing, the nervousness melts away. I'm ready for this. I can't help but add some extra light snare hits; I hope they don't mind. That's kind of my style, anyway, so there's no use trying to hide it now.

The drums and guitar stop for a moment for a vocal break. I join in singing with the guitarist and bassist. I see the guitarist flash a grin my way. Okay, drums back in now. Two more measures. One more measure. Aaaaaaand tempo change. Bam. I pride myself on being the first one to get it right. And then the song is over. No mistakes.

They ask me which song I want to play next. I honestly don't know what my answer is going to be.

"The Impression That I Get," I say.

Okay, I guess I'm playing that one.

I hate the way the drums come in in this song. I'm going to mess this up, I know it.

I don't mess it up. I'm happy to learn that the song is not as fast as I had worried. I won't have to switch to half notes like the other guy. I throw in a measure of sixteenth notes, just for fun. Chorus. My right arm is getting tired. I sing along loudly to distract myself. They'll probably appreciate that, right? We're all having fun.

Aw shit, I missed the quiet part, didn't I? Just fifteen minutes ago I was heckling the first guy for missing the quiet part in Aeroplane. I should have practiced this song more; I thought it would be straightforward. Oh, wait, we're definitely at the end of this song. I should be varying up my part a little. Is it too late now? I think it might be too late now. I'm gonna tough it out.

And just like that, it's over. I really want to play more drums. I reluctantly put down the sticks. I thank them, and make pleasant conversation. I really like these guys. I make eye contact with the bassist as I leave the room, and we smile at each other.

Damn, I feel really good about that. I haven't been this sweaty in like a week. Also, I forgot my glasses. I turn around and awkwardly go back into the room before the next drummer starts his first song.

I go home and shower. I set my phone to super loud, in case they call. I go to sleep really early. I check my email obsessively for the next two days, until the hammer falls. "We hope you audition again in the future... appreciate your enthusiasm in the band..." Ect ect.

. . .

Fast forward a week. I'm sitting in Gregory Hall, and I've been here for the last five hours watching improv auditions. It's judgement time. We've seen everyone, and there are nine slots available. With every name crossed off the board, I'm hearing their soul cry out in disappointment. These were good improvisors. Maybe they were having an off day. Maybe they were super hopeful that they would make it.

I'm so happy with the team that was picked. And yet, every time I think of the thirty people that didn't get picked, I'm back in last week, obsessively checking my email, waiting for the hammer to fall.

-Nick.

Nick - The Contents Of My Toolbox

I found this by Google searching "pink toolbox."

The last day of improv practice before summer, we wrote down everything we had learned all year on a chalkboard. Every technique, all the little pieces of knowledge, every improv tool we had learned, all collected in one place. We called it our Improv Toolbox. And this concept can be applied on a much wider scale.

It turns out that we can learn a lot from people. Everybody has an experience we can learn from. Everybody has that distinctive style of humor. Everybody has something that I can add to my Toolbox.

For example, let's look at Sunday Robert. Sunday Robert makes a really funny angry face sometimes. His angry impression is hilarious. Now, if I see a situation in which it would be really funny to be pretend-angry, I just pretend that I'm Sunday Robert. I pull Angry-Robert out of my Toolbox and channel his energy.

I found this by Google searching "People Trapped In A Box."

Chances are, if you've done something funny around me, I've taken it and placed it in my Toolbox for later use. In this way, I can take your interestingness and add it to my own, making me seem more interesting.

Friday Conor's Awkward Manner, Wednesday Eliot's Way Of Phrasing Things, and Sunday Robert's Texting Hearts To People are now all in my Toolbox, along with many others. I wait until I understand your particular MO, that one thing you do, or that mannerism you sometimes have, and then I capture it for myself.

It's kind of like Pokemon, but with people.

-Nick.

Nick - PK Barnjam!

With the semester coming to an end, I thought it would be appropriate to talk about many of the people whom I've met this year that have made it special for me. So brace yourself for an Overly Sentimental tag, and let's get down to business!

At the beginning of this school year, I didn't know what to expect from college. I was kind of scared and timid about the whole ordeal, and I would have rather just stayed at home. I went to classes and studied. I went to parties that I didn't like. I wrote about how I didn't like parties at least once. I never really had a social circle. But then everything changed when I started auditioning for improv.

The improv community here is so big, and so nice. When I saw how cool and friendly everybody was, I made it my goal to become one of them. One of the happiest moments of my life was getting the acceptance call from The Titanic Players.

And then, almost instantly, I had a really supportive group of friends. Most of the older Titanic members really took me, and all of us freshmen, under their wing. It made a big difference for me just knowing older people who could answer any freshmen questions I had.

Most importantly, my Titanic team is made up of 8 of the nicest and coolest people I've ever met. So allow me to briefly introduce, for those of you who haven't seen us, team PK Barnjam!

Paul: Energetic and clever, Paul comes up with some of our most hilarious ideas.
Kate: Totally versatile, and Kate has the funniest reactions of anyone ever.

Bill: Loud! Level-headed! Bill is good at starting new scenes.
Amy: Our most veteran member, Amy is master of strong relationships.
Robel: Animated! Robel is awesome with voices and interesting characters.
Nick: Hey, that's me!
Julie: Super easy to work with. Julie is very in tune with her scene partner.
Anna: Anna does what the piece requires her to do, and she's good at it.
Marnie: Our late-game secret weapon, Marnie makes things fresh when they get stale.

So let me take a moment here to thank everybody on PK BJ for sticking with me all year. They've made this semester a blast for me.

Thanks, guys.

This year has also been the last year of improvising with team Kaboot, Titanic's most senior (and most mindblowing) team. They've done such a great job of being mentors and role models for us, and they've consistently showed us time and time again what a truly awe-inspiring performance looks like. I hope I can reach that level one day.

So thanks, Kaboot.

Finally, tonight is my last performance of the year with De Bono. I made it onto De Bono at the beginning of second semester, and they've taught me a ton about improv, music, and sometimes fashion. It's my secret fantasy to one day play music as well as Robby while dressed as nicely as Gaschler.

So one last thank you for De Bono.

There's not much else I can say: these guys made this year great for me. So I look forward to improvising with you next semester, PK Barnjam.

Cheers!
-Nick.

Nick - Mindblowing

This weekend I headed over to a place called Class Act in downtown Champaign to check out a college improv tournament. I hadn't been expecting much; I was mostly just there to support a couple of our local teams, DeBono and Titanic Players Team Kaboot. But once I got there and saw tons of improv teams from all over the region, it's hard to explain how awed I was.

A lot of you from Springfield probably haven't seen (decent) long form improv before, so let me start with that. I had always assumed that long and short forms were just two sides of the same coin; different ways to do the same thing. I kind of vaguely knew that somewhere out there, there were people who do long form improv. But having been exposed to long form improv for awhile now, I'm beginning to realize that the two forms are almost completely incomparable.

Short form definitely has its merits, and I miss doing it sometimes. Jumping into the world of long form improv is a huge transition. In long form, you don't get the luxury of having good games and bad games. Everything has to flow together; if something is failing, it has to be saved and rejuvenated. Everything stems from your source scenes, and fits together like a puzzle by the end of the piece.

All of the added complexity of long form means that long form done well can go far beyond the threshold of what short form can accomplish. Watching everything come together, as well as the other advanced techniques involved, means that long form can go much deeper. It also, however, means that anything but the very best long form improv can be slow and draggy. Which is probably why it took me awhile to get to enjoy it after seeing it done badly.

I did not mean to talk about long and short forms for that long.

The competition was astounding. You had all different kinds of forms; there were long forms, short forms, intermediate forms, and musical forms. I'm happy to say that Champaign's own DeBono and Titanic Team Kaboot were my favorites, but the enormous number of styles and troupes was mindblowing. There were way too many awesome teams to write about all of them, but I want to mention some of the more interesting ones here.

First, the aforementioned DeBono is one of the most incredible troupes I've ever seen. Their style, which they invented entirely by themselves less than a month ago, is an improvised musical. And I mean a real musical, with heroes, villains, recurring characters, an incredibly talented guitarist, and a story arc. Imagine improvising an entire 45 minutes musical. (They were only allowed 25 minutes in the competition, but I've seen them go much longer.) In this form, there is no room for poorly thought out or weak scenes, and tons of musical talent is required. Were I a judge, I would have given them first place just for this form's invention, let alone its flawless execution.

We also had a representative team from Improv Mafia. Improv Mafia was a lot different from all of the other troupes performing, because they chose a form that lives somewhere in between long and short form. They start out with a short form game, and move onto a montage from that game. Their entire MO is extreme, fast paced, high energy improv. They didn't worry about conclusions to scenes or tying up ends. Short scene after short scene, thrown together quickly to draw as many laughs as possible.

As much as it pains me to have to lump teams together when they all deserved their own paragraph, there were a bunch of really great teams that employed long form or some combination of short and long form. The Crazy Monkeys (from Purdue University) was one of my favorites; their long form was hysterical. There was also a team from Vanderbilt University in Nashville Tennessee (!) who just started doing long form improv last week (again, !). I got to meet a lot of them and I feel great about getting to make friends with other improvisers from across the region. There were a bunch of other great ones I feel bad for not mentioning, but this post is already way too long.

And now we arrive at my (admittedly biased) favorite: Titanic Players Team Kaboot. It's really hard to describe with justice the way that Kaboot operates on stage. None of their scenes are ever weak. Everything is always used perfectly; every concept brought up is brought back later, every scene comes together like a puzzle before the piece is finished. What impresses me most about Kaboot is their spacebending technique. And this is hard to explain if you haven't seen it done, but they "bend" space to make a large area on a small stage. For example, maybe a couple of characters walk out of a scene, but rather than walking off they walks in place; the rest would scoot off in the opposite direction so that it looks as if they're actually walking. They can use that to have scenes which span multiple locations. This is by no means the coolest thing they can do with spacebending.

I guess I got two lessons out of this experience. Firstly, I never realized how little experience I had with improv. EATIT is pretty much an isolated bubble of improv culture in the middle of Springfield. As amazing and impressive as this is, it means we never got to get together with other troupes and compare notes. I had seen Second City a few times, but they aren't anything compared to what some of the troupes in this competition could do.

And the second lesson: I will never, ever be this funny. But this whole experience has invigorated me to try.

EATIT forever,
-Nick.

I bet I can churn out one more EATIT post... ABOUT BASKETBALL.

Tonight is a great night. Yesterday was opening night in the NBA, featuring a double-header that saw the Miami Heat lose their opening game and the Lakers winning on a last-second shot that was not-to-be for the Houston Rockets.

Now the rest of the league gets to join in the fun. In honor of the beginning of the NBA season, I have decided to present to you the starting lineup (and reserves) for the Easily Amused Teen Improv Troupe (August 2010 edition).

The fact is, Improv is a team sport. That's why we practice improv. To get good comedic chemistry. There is a reason for it. It's like a basketball team. You can score a joke, assist on a joke, or rebound a missed joke. You see? We aren't so different, you and I. (Said the basketball to the improv comedy.)

The fact is, I miss our Improv Troupe. It was a great excuse to be around ten really funny people for two hours a week. But I'm not gonna write a whole post about it. Okay, well I am, it's just got a little hint of creativity to it.

Without further ado:

STARTING POINT GUARD: Conor O'Brien

(idiots guide to position: main ballhandler. doesn't score as much as he finds the open man to score. runs the offense.)

Obviously. I had to put him at point guard for a multitude of reasons. First off, that's the position of the only basketball player Conor knows. Secondly, he runs the show. He orchestrates everything and provides guidance to our team of dominant players. He can score a joke or two when needed, but mainly he's great at giving the rest of us easy bits of hilarity to feed off of. Without him we'd be a bunch of hilarious people with nothing to talk about. He was no slouch, and one of the best at what he did. Great defender, as in, scenes will never go to shit as long as he's in them. He will pull something relevant out of his ass and more than likely you will laugh at it. He gets all the glory, because he's Conor O'Brien. Everybody loves him. Except maybe Roy Schribner.

Backup Point Guard: Ben Shane

A little more unique style. He wears thongs. Awesome. He has some inherent leadership qualities about him that make you think that what he's saying isn't utter BS, though it more than likely is. Overall, he's a good defender. At the very least he will have a coherent conversation and save the scene from those scary awkward silences that are the death of anything that's supposed to be funny. Russel Westbrook. He's starting for the troupe this year (or as I like to call them, the JV squad), and despite the last joke I just made, I feel like they're in good hands.

STARTING SHOOTING GUARD: Robert Langellier

(idiots guide to the position: scores. gets open, gets the ball, knocks down the shot.)

He's really funny. Give him an open look and he'll knock it down. If there's an opportunity for a joke he usually nails it. A comedic Ray Allen. He has literally gotten jokes that I didn't even intend to make. His level of comic thinking is realllly high. He doesn't have sincere thoughts. Sorry Hannah, he's dating you because it's funny. He can't exactly work all the pieces the way Conor can, but the kid has jokes. Through and through.

Backup Point Guard: Eliot Sill

Me. I'm funny. I give Robert the nod because I don't like to come off as a douche. But I feel like I can hold my own. I understand comedy. I try to make jokes too. Try to. You be the judge.

Actually fuck that I know I'm funny.

STARTING SMALL FORWARD: Tynan Shevlin

(idiots guide to the position: varies. can be utility guy. can be a big guy, or a shooter, defensive specialists or superstars. like lebron.)

Funniest person I know. He is probably the best improv-er I know also. He can make one-line jokes, create funny concept-jokes that everyone can feed off of, and if need be, he can run a scene. Versatile and I've never seen him do a scene I didn't laugh at. He's a superstar. Our very own LeBron James.

Backup Small Forward: Nick Dietrich

The ULTIMATE glue guy. He can do anything as well, although he doesn't get the fanfare of guys like Conor O'Brien and Tynan, but the quality of our shows would dip severely without him. He has impenetrable defense (scenes don't go down the drain if he's involved). He probably can't run the show with his own jokes as well as guys like Conor and Ben, but he is a compliment to anyone. Also he dominated practices. Dominated them. (Doctor, Oil Spill, "I didn't trust her") Can't say enough about Nick Dietrich. That's why he's a Titanic Player. And I reminisce about the improv troupe I used to be in. Nick Dietrich is a Bruce Bowen. Nick, you're Bruce Bowen.

Alternate Backup: Andrew Rogers

He's better than third-string, but we just have too many studs at his position. He's taking on a similar role in the offense and defense that Nick had. He shows a lot of similar qualities. He's really funny but doesn't get the credit that other showstopping performers might get.

STARTING POWER FORWARD: Kevin Tkach

(idiots guide to the position: these are the 6'10" guys who take the ball and dunk it really hard on everyone's head.)

Kevin Tkach? You mean KEVIN GARNETT? KT is reallllly funny. Absolute hilarity. Impossible to go wrong with him. Well I suppose you could, but it's hard. He can't come up with ideas and dish them out. He isn't Conor O'Brien. But if you get him something to work with. I mean ANYTHING. He will hammer it down and you will fall over laughing. And if you take a shot (at a joke) and miss it, Kevin will be there to pick up the rebound and make it funny. He's hilarious. Through and through. Enough said.

Backup Power Forward: Connor Lohse

Shout out to The Basement. And the guy who runs it. He's funny. Like Kevin Tkach, only a little less loud. Like JJ Hickson, he's an all-star waiting to happen.

STARTING CENTER: Mada Larson

(idiots guide to the position: defensive stalwarts, offensive beasts. a little slow because they're so big, but inavaluble nonetheless.)

Centers are big, right? What else is big? Elephants. Well Mada is an elephant. IN THE ROOM. Because she is a girl. Unlike everyone else so far. Also she has to be the CENTER of attention because all hell breaks loose if the girl gets tired. As for actually complimenting her, chemistry between the point guard and center is of the utmost importance, and Mada and Conor are on another plain of thinking. It's amazing to watch. Alley-oops upon Alley-oops. It's awesome. To watch. Better to understand. But you guys like it nonetheless. She might as well be Joakim Noah.

Backup Center: Evan Kararo

He's tall. (How cruel would it be to end this paragraph here?) But also he is the closest thing we have to Mada, looks-wise. Sometimes I can't tell them apart. Also he has a tendency to be the best at executing certain roles. Evan can take on characters and do them better than everyone else. Overall, when he shows up, he's funny as hell.

Alternate Backup: Hannah Kolkmeier

Mada's gone. Who's a girl? Looooooooovee youuuuuuuuu

Inactives:

Sean Freeman- I just didn't see him enough to fully assess his humor. SHOW UP TO IMPROV PRACTICE MORE. I love you nonetheless.

Adam Barber- Too young to judge. But he has a lot of upside. A freshman who has a good concept of what it takes to be a Robert or me.

Catherine Reid- Don't have an excuse not to write her a thing but if she wants to gripe about it I'll buy her next Steak N' Shake. Also show up to practice more.

So I think, as a post, I missed every audience I may have possibly had. If you aren't in improv, you don't care, and if you are in improv you probably don't care about sports. Certainly not basketball. But I love improv. And I love basketball. So this was fun to do. Plus it's fun to analogize improv to basketball. It's doable. I know the improv part of this is so far off topic, improv was over three months ago. I know. But basketball is ON. And I found something neat to relate it to. See ya next week.

--Eliot Sill

Jane Austen - Procrastination

You know who's the worst? Publishers. I mean, shit. I've got like three more days before the deadline and I don't have diddly squat written down. I mean seriously, I can't churn out anymore of these bullshit love stories.

And you know what's worse? I'm so goddamn hungover. Like seriously. Have you ever tried to sit down and write a lovely little novel about pompous brats while hungover? Let me tell you, it's the fucking worst.

Okay, here's what I've got so far: I'll slap some title on it that's all deep sounding and shit. Make it sound real nice. Let's take something that sounds real introspective and stuff. Like arrogance. And pride. "Arrogance and Fucking pride." That just has a lovely fucking ring to it. I'll come back to that later. It can be my working title.

Don't they just look like a lovely couple of dipshits.

I think I'll start this out with a pompous better-than-you prissy little bitch like all of my novels. Oh god, this is the fucking worst. I don't think I can write another line. All of this shit about marriage and being proper-like. I need to give myself an outlet. Let's go ahead and give the bitch a slutty sister. That oughtta make this book more fun. Yeah, there we go. Critics will eat this shit up.

And I can't stand all of this properness bullshit. I think I'll have our little prejudiced bitch end up with some old pervert. This'll liven things up a little. Yeah, that's fucking great. I'm starting to like this story more and more.

Okay, how many pages am I at? Well fuck me. Whatever, this ain't no fucking English class. I'm done. This little masterpiece here doesn't need an ending, I'm just going to stop writing. Let's add a nice couple of sentences about staring longingly into each other's eyes and shit. Yeah, that's real nice. I can just imagine all the little brats reading this thing and deluding themselves about fairy tail love and all that shit.

Well, this is a nice little work I've slaved through. God, listen to me. I'm bitching like this Elizabeth girl now. Well, whatever. I'm done. I'm done with this shithole piece of fiction.

I need to go take a drag.

-Jane Austen

(-Nick.)
(Thanks to Connor Lohse for the suggestion)

My breast implants are hand grenades

Hey folks, it has been a while, hasn't it?

Well over the past couple weeks I've had some time to brainstorm some pretty good ideas for what to write about.

I must've forgotten all of them.

The fact is, I just woke up from a nap that felt damn good as well as damn unproductive. Here at college, every moment I spend not doing things that feel important is a moment that makes me feel like I'm wasting my time. Which is awesome, if you like regretting daily activities and stuff.

Well anyway, I'm not going to do a debate on whether the improv comedy scene in college is more like a competitive sport or a video game. Not yet. In fact, that sentence alone may have been enough to get Allegra to stop reading. But I will include this anecdote about a recent run-in with collegiate improv.

A month or so ago I tried out for the Titanic Players. An improv group important enough to be an intercollegiate group with its own website and multiple troupes that are sub-groups to the whole that is the Titanic Players. They do long-form improv, meaning long scenes focused on character development (my God do they focus on character development) because apparently it's a fool-proof way to be funny. So this was after three auditions turned me down. This was my last audition for the year. I had to do well. And I did. I did do well. I was funny. People laughed when I spoke, which I felt like was a good sign for me. Apparently not, however, as I did not get in to the troupe when they announced who had made it. You know who did make it? Nick Dietrich. Cuz that dude is funny. Also he is good at taking a character and monologuing with said character for an extended period of time.

Anyway, that isn't the point, this is. They encouraged us who didn't make it to e-mail the improv professional who worked auditions and was always willing to give people feedback and see some things we could improve on in the future. I did. I e-mailed him for feedback, anxious to see what I did that led them to scratch me from their list of possible members. Mada didn't e-mail him, because she was frustrated into not caring so much. Or something, I don't REALLY know. Well a couple days later Mada gets an e-mail from the guy. He said she was hilarious and he thinks she should have made it. I don't doubt it one bit, cuz that ho be funny. Dogg. So I didn't, get an e-mail back. Which was cool.

Until three days ago. And do you wanna know what it said? It ranted for three paragraphs that, in picking members for an improv troupe, there are prerequisite things that a troupe like Titanic looks for on a gender and age level. They said that they a decent amount of freshmen and a couple juniors, so sophomores often time get squeezed because they can audition another year. Which sucks, but not for me. I don't get why he told me this. He said there was nothing wrong in particular with my audition, but that I should keep improvising. Also, conveniently for me, he's teaching a six-week class that costs just $100 dollars that should improve my improv skills (okay Carl Weathers). What bullshit. That's it? I waited from September 12 to October 11 for some bullshitty response like that? Cool. I hope your product sells, bud. I told Mada and Nick about it on Facebook and they were also bewildered by the lack of relevance in that e-mail.

Then Mada let me know that she had received the exact same e-mail. Which was weird, because she didn't ask for feedback in the first place, but also had already been e-mailed by the guy.

That is boarshit.

Anyway, that's not even what this muhh fucka about! I gots mo' to say! (what, what!)

I will proceed to rant about five TV shows that I adore (none of which are It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia).

1. Arrested Development

Greatest cast ever assembled for a tv show? My vote says "YEA".

Okay, let's just say if you haven't seen this show then you're missing out on some respect that I could have for your comedic tastes. It is hilarious to an obnoxious degree. The show is funny from every angle, the characters, the quips, the editing, the recurring jokes (my God the recurring jokes), the plot points, and even lands some points for pun humor (solid as a rock!).

This show was cancelled on Fox after three (2.5, really) seasons that were loaded with critical acclaim and stark commentary from the show's followers. There was just one problem, as a week-to-week show, AD doesn't work as well. Simply because you have a week to forget all the hilarious subtleties that you get from watching 6 episodes back to back. The show builds on itself like nothing I've ever seen. It has yet to be paralleled or even approached by another show in terms of its hilarity. If you haven't already, watch this fucking show. It will make you a happier, smarter person. Plus you'll know that I'm joking when I wear cut-off jeans and refuse to take all of my clothes off at any time.

2. Community

This show is for real. It's new, just beginning its second season. It's got a great blend of characters that aren't typical of American TV. It's main protagonist, Jeff Winger (played by Joel McHale, that guy from The Soup who I promise is funny) is a hotshot asshole lawyer who has to go to community college because his law degree that he got at Columbia wasn't legitimate. Apparently he had to get on in America too. Not to mention the great Chevy Chase and hilarious Donald Glover and whoever the hell plays Abed. With a couple nice slampieces (most disrespectful word ever? I think so) and other quirky and original characters, this show has plenty to offer in terms of entertainment value. Watch it on NBC Tuesdays at like 8 or something. You'll laugh your heart off. This show has a lot of potential.

Plus where else can you get this kind of gold?

3. Scrubs

This show. My first love. My first girlfriend. My favorite toy. My best friend. I started watching freshman year of high school (when it got syndicated onto Comedy Central, like everyone else). With two episodes on per day I was able to watch ten episodes in a week. Then WGN and CW got Scrubs syndicated to their networks and I was able to watch four to six episodes of Scrubs every day. That is why I didn't do well in school for a while.

More than bromance, this is guy love.

The characters in this show are great. Quirky and dynamic, at least for a while. This series produced five or so great seasons of hilarious and interesting comedic gold laced with drama and emotional ups and downs that were bearable due to the supplementary amount of comedy. Eventually the show tilted more toward the dramatic and unrealistic, and it spiraled into a parody of itself. Like many shows (Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Office, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) its characters began developing into their niches instead of in a realistic manner. That's hard to do as a series. I don't really know what examples I could think of other than the first half of this show. Watching Turk and J.D. grow and develop was oh so adorable. That show brings waves upon waves of nostalgia when I see it on TV nowadays because its one of the only shows of which I've seen every episode. Scrubs, I love you, and I'll always be there for you.

4. Dragonball Z

Say what you want about this show. You're probably right. It does spend hours over the course of the series cliffhanging and affirming things that anyone who is over the age of 12 can understand the first (or second, third or hopefully fourth) time around. It does have several episodes where it is hard to point out a substantial thing that happened. Also it's a cartoon for nine-year olds. BUT DON'T TELL ME IT ISN'T BADASS. Watching seasons at a time is great because it's basically a nine hour movie that builds to a climax that is so awesome because of how much was invested into it. I already made a whole post about this show, so I won't go on forever. But, I will re-mention this because it is so true that it's worth mentioning again.

Don't fuck with this kid. He's eleven.

Goku is the purest form of good I have ever seen. As a pure heart, he is flawless. He seriously, in my mind, sets the bar for a perfect soul. He is as happy-go-lucky as can be. He is everyone's friend. He is impossible to hate, unless he stands in-between you and universal domination. He turns down being wished back from the dead in order to keep the planet safe. He has instilled this gene into his son, Gohan who has it to an amplified degree. Gohan is like his dad in his happy-go-lucky nature, he's more studious than I. But he has a ticking point where if you hurt his friends, he fucking snaps. He doesn't just snap, he fucking snaps. As in, if he's getting his ass kicked, suddenly he goes Super Saiyan 2 and starts chopping the heads off of galactically powerful impish (annoying) fuckers. It is especially awesome to watch if you've seen him struggle for the last 35 episodes with the concept of self-belief and doubting whether he can handle the weight of being in-between the bad guys and world destruction. I would go gay for Gohan. And Dee Brown. Let's stop this list here.

5. South Park

This show is fucking hilarious. Matt Stone and Trey Parker are geniuses. I can never appreciate this show enough. On its umpteenth season and still going strong, I am just now starting to grasp how consistently hilarious this show is. It was never a show I got addicted to or anything, but it's a show that, every time I watched it, I'd laugh my ass off. South Park is worthy of watching every episode but, like Scrubs, it isn't worthy of owning. Simply because you don't need to. Anytime I feel like watching South Park, it's on. Comedy Central shows it all the time because of how great it is. Also the CW is now showing episodes, so there's another outlet for you to see it. Not to mention that, like all tv shows, you can find it online if you're smart at all.

Anyway I just had to mention that, since I've been cramped up here in this dorm, I've been watching a lot more South Park, and it's always really funny.

The wackiest of hijinxes

The thing about TV is that it's always a waste of time. I just am happy to say I've found five of the least self-loathement inducing (there's gotta be a better way to word that) methods to watching television. My number one piece of advice: pick your shows, and stick with them. There isn't enough time in a day to watch everything good on television. Leave room for expansion, but by golly not much. And for the love of God don't waste your time watching Jersey Shore. Those shows literally make you dumber.

Anyway I don't have a witty comment or good way to end this post. So I'll just end it like a Skype call. Those always end so underwhelmingly. I don't know why but everytime I hang up a Skype call I fee like so much has been taken from me too quickly. It's so abrupt. I don't feel that way with phone calls or chat messaging. Hm.

--Eliot Sill

Nick - The End Of An Era

One of my biggest laments as the summer ended was saying goodbye to improv. I knew that even though I would probably try to join a new improv troupe in college, I would really miss my friends I worked with in Easily Amused.

I guess what I didn't realize is how different college improv is.

Perhaps that's not even a fair assessment; probably this is how improv has always been, and Easily Amused was just a very special category of its own in the vast world of improv techniques. But what I want to talk about today is the huge difference between my experience in Springfield and my experience here.

Before I auditioned for anything, I went to a couple of improv shows and noticed a couple of strange things right away. First, their "short form" improv games regularly went on at least twice as long as any of ours. After a scene had gone on for awhile, I found myself mentally picturing Conor signaling frantically from backstage to hurry up and end the scene. But I think the other thing I noticed is what really defines this style of improv:

Character.

Improv here is all about character. Never ever will they have a scene in which the participants are simply themselves; they focus all of their ability first and foremost on developing a character and a relationship with the other characters in the scene. This creates a vastly different rhythm from Easily Amused shows; they usually set up slowly, allowing the audience to get to know the characters before beginning the process of making funny things happen. Easily Amused, meanwhile, was a fast-paced theatrical aimed at drawing as many laughs as possible; for every set-up, there was a punchline, and we never allowed the audience to go too long without a laugh.

I think the difference in character here is caused by a very fundamental difference in objective between Easily Amused and professional improv: Easily Amused was about making people laugh, and about making jokes for our friends in the audience. Professional improv is all about acting. Humor is the goal, but it isn't what the technique is centered around; the technique is centered around gaining and displaying your acting skill.

Let me make it abundantly clear that I am not, in any way, condemning the college improv scene. I've only just had my first impression of it, and I've yet to even attend my first Titanic Players improv practice. I just wanted to write about how different it is from my experience with Easily Amused, and how nothing will ever replace them in my mind.

I'm sure I'll be writing more about my new improv troupe later, so on to my next adventure; but first I want to give a shout out to all my Easily Amused friends.

EATIT forever.

-Nick.

Nick - Improv!

I had a plan for today's blog: save my improv-related post for the weekend after my last show, and then write about how sad I am it's over.

But I can't do that.

I can't write about how sad I am because I can't be anything but happy about my life with improv. I've been blessed with the opportunity to meet some of my best friends and the coolest people in the world. I got to get up on stage in front of all my friends and all my friends' friends and make them all laugh. And I got to share unforgettable moments with my fellow troupe members.

Improv has been somewhat of a surreal experience for me. Conor persuaded me to come try out, and I came in with no expectations. I was lifted from my typical life into the arms of the gods; even though I didn't think I was nearly as funny as the great people I was trying out with, I was chosen to be a part of something I didn't fully comprehend at the time. Improv was something I never earned or deserved; it wasn't something I understood and worked for. It was a gift, handed to me seemingly from nowhere.

I am infinitely thankful that I've been able to have this experience. I've watched a new generation of improvers grow together and take the figurative torch from our hands as we head off to new adventures.

And I feel like we've accomplished a lot in our time. Conor always says a couple of things that have really stuck with me. First, that before our generation, improv met once a week and practiced together and then went home. But now things have changed, and we're all friends outside of improv too; we're comfortable around each other and we really enjoy one another's presence. I'd like to think that we contributed to that atmosphere of friendliness.

The other thing he says is that his favorite moments are when someone truly becomes a member of improv; when they go from being a reluctant and newly-accepted member of the troupe, to a friend with a love for improv and a real sense of belonging. I've been lucky enough to be there to witness a lot of those moments; to befriend and see the growth of several new and wonderful people.

Even the members of our audience have something special about them. An aura that defines them as friends and good people in general. So don't think that you are left out of this because you aren't in the troupe; everyone who has been to one of our shows has a special place in my heart, too.

Improv is something I will always look back on fondly. But it's also something more than that. It's something that I will never truly leave. Because I know that I'm connected on a deeper level now; I'm marked by an undefinable bond to the people I've come to know and love, and to improvised comedy itself. So now we depart, but the people we leave in our stead are people we trust to lead Easily Amused in the right direction, and I look forward to seeing their progress in the years to come.

EATIT forever.

-Nick.

Conor - Improv

This is Conor O'Brien, and this will be on the first and last day I post on sundays. After this week I will be trading Robert Langellier for his Friday slot, which will make things work out smoother for both of us. Seeing as how this is my only sunday post, I thought it would be fitting to write about something that has been a part of my life every sunday for the past 5 years of my life: The Easily Amused Improv troupe. That blows my mind to just type, or say out loud. I've been in the troupe for 5 years. Longer than high school. Let me back up.

I'm the baby of my family, the youngest of four. I always idolized my older brother and sisters and their friends. My entire life I've been hanging out with the big kids, looking up to them and never really feeling like I belonged amongst them but trying my best to keep up. My sister Betsy was in the Easily Amused Improv troupe that her friend Matt Grant started, but I couldn't tell you anything about that entity, because my sister Betsy refused to let any member of the family come and see a show. Years after Betsy has left the group I'm in 8th grade, and I get invited by Janell Magnusson, who I'm working backstage on a Muni show with, to audition for the troupe. I audition, I make it.

When I joined the troupe, everybody else seemed like giants to me. These people were not the kind of people I could ever hope to be. They were witty, nice, cool, friendly, and hilarious. They were perfect. It took me a long time to feel like I was a part of the group. It didn't feel right, I couldn't comprehend being one of them. Everyone was extremely welcoming to me, and before I knew it I was being carted around after practice with the older members, taken to dinners, movies, and houses. I became friends with some, and good friends with others, and I loved it. I would look forward to every Sunday, just so I could go and have a good time with everyone.

Two years go by and my friends come and go. New members join, and old members leave. Watching new members go through what I went through is always interesting. It's always satisfying when you finally notice that the new kid isn't the new kid anymore. It takes weeks, months even, but eventually everyone gets absorbed into the family. That's what I've always felt about improv. It's a family. I may not know everything there is to know about Ben Shane, and I may not know next to anything about Kevin Tkach, but they're a part of us. It doesn't make a difference if I see you every day or if I only see you at improv. I have a certain understanding of who you are, thanks to the 2 hours we spend together weekly.

I've been the leader of the troupe for three years now. I don't know how I've done. I think we're funny still. Being leader has been much different than being a member. Sometimes I don't feel like I'm in control, and sometimes I don't feel like I'm one of the guys, but I've still had fun, even if I was handed some extra stress. I hope I haven't killed it. We've added new traditions, and we've lost old ones. We do skits now, and we have sleepovers. We have a bit of a problem finding young blood right now. We haven't had as many shows as I would have wanted us to have, and that's my fault. Pretty much all of that is my fault, but I think it can survive. In January we had a show that over 100 people came to. I had a hand in that, too. I'm not Dane Gaydos and I'm not Mike Watts and I'm not Matt Grant, but I think I love improv as much as any of those guys did. I really do. For 5 years now it's been the highlight of my week. It's going to be weird not having that in my life anymore. I'll miss it.

Sorry if that wasn't interesting to anyone not in improv. I'll make things better next week.

-Conor