Outrider

[Sammy]

12/26/03
Having been cut loose from the IO Schedule, I decide to make Geek Theatre happen.


12/27/03
I decide that the best way to make Geek Theatre happen is to start out offering workshops. As a performer, I know people are jonesing for workshops—the Playground hasn’t offered any in a while and IO’s improv elective program is a joke. I jot down a couple of notes about what I want in these workshops i.e. teachers, class size, price points. What I want boils down to this: quality instructors, cheap prices.

I think I can make it work.


12/30/03
After playing with the numbers, I wonder if it’s possible to offer super cheap workshops for a three-hour class that is capped at 10 students. My first price is brutal--after the instructor pay out and room rental fee, I would make little or no money. It sounds crazy on paper, but I wonder if making a grab for mindshare of the Chicago improv community is more important than turning a profit, at least initially. I decide that getting the Geek Theatre name, “the brand,” out there is what is important at this point. But even more important is helping performers improve. The Art is what matters. But money is needed to make things happen.

I hate money. Money is stupid.


12/31/03
I buy a Virgin mobile phone. To make these workshops happen, I need to be available.

I begin to worry if I can do this without a website?


1/1/03
Running the numbers in my head keeps me up late. My first price is selfless but would leave me no room for error. I would have to sell out workshops. End of story. Also, my first price wouldn’t help build a financial reserve for future Geek Theatre operations and projects.

Quandry: Up the price or bite a big bullet?

There is no correct answer, right?

Right?

* * *

I sketch out Geek Theatre’s philosophy:

Serve the Art.
Serve the Artist.
Serve the Audience.

Serve the Art: Art above all else.

Serve the Artist: Provide the artist the tools he needs for success. By serving the artist, we serve the Art.

Serve the Audience: Offer the audience quality shows at affordable prices. By serving the audience, we serve the Artist.

I realize there’s some weird circularity to this and revise slightly:

Serve the Art: Art above all else. By serving the Art, we serve the audience.

It feels a mite forced, but there’s something there that I like, so I leave it.

 

[Sammy]

1/2/03
I meet with Charlie McCrackin, a former classmate in my second stint in the IO Training Center and current castmate in The Bruise. I want to bounce my workshop ideas off him. I ask him questions about his likes and dislikes about workshops he’s taken. We then compare philosophies about what makes a good workshop good. I tell him about my workshop idea and share my reasoning for certain decisions. Some of the things we discuss:

SITTING IN: Initially thought I would also sit in on workshops (an earned benefit of putting together the workshop), but Charlie and I agreed that may be a bit too much. However, we both thought it wouldn’t be out of line if I stayed and watched—both quality control and learning opportunity all rolled up into one.

SURVEYS: A couple of days after a workshop I want to follow up with workshop attendees and get their feedback. This way, I can keep on top of things and make changes as necessary. (note to self: remember to handwrite thank you letters!)

EXPERIENCE: The biggie. How to keep workshops free from widely disparate skill levels—a long time improvisor wanting to sharpen his game vs. a beginner who has problems just getting a scene going. On one hand, people are at a workshop to get better. On the other, if they are deficient in skill, the workshop may not be fun for everybody else. I’m still trying to figure out if I should either: A) leave it open to all comers, first 10 to pay get in; B) put a requirement such as “(x amount) of experience required”; C) let people apply for a workshop and let the teacher decide on what 10 they will work with; or D) an “improv combine,” a free one-day workshop where you’d do various scenes and whatnot that would help us appraise your level of play and decide which of the offered workshops you are eligible for. Each has its plusses and minuses and we puzzle over it for a bit…

…but the conversation soon takes a life of its own and we end up discussing a self-contained 4-hour workshop that follows a natural progression while attacking various facets of an improvisor’s skill set. He seems to have a better handle on the whole of the idea, so I leave it to him to flesh it out. Later, I decide we’ll need to test run it once before actually doing it for a workshop.

I also think to myself that I might have to give Charlie some sort of reward for all his help.


1/3/03
I walk 5 miles on an unusually warm winter afternoon, my mind consumed by thoughts of the workshops.

Near Clark and Fullerton, I stop at a Caribou Coffee. It’s the first coffee shop I ever visited in Chicago. Back in 2000 I planned my first years out here. Now, it seems only apropos that I also plan out the next stage of my career here too.

Time for some decisions.

First off, I’ll present the workshops under the “Improv Geek” moniker i.e. “The Improv Geek is offering workshops.” Since there is no Geek Theatre to speak of, yet, I decide it’s best to start off simple and, if I’m successful, the Improv Geek will naturally evolve into Geek Theatre.

I prioritize my hit list--which instructors to approach first about teaching workshops. I top off the list with some big guns. My working list (in no order): Abby Sher, Liz Allen, Dan Bakkedahl, TJ Jagadowski, Lillie Francis, Bob Kulhan, Paul Gronde, Alex Fendrich, Jean Villepique, Bumper Carroll, Jen Bills, Mark Sutton, Joe Bill, Susan Messing, Peter Grosz, Sue Gillan, Deb Downing...there’s probably a bunch of others I should ask, but this is a great group to begin with.

PRICE: With great reluctance, I decide that $20 may be the new workshop price. At that price, I should recoup my expenses and maybe make a little money for the G.T. (now I.G.) operating fund.

SPACE: I’ll be operating my workshops out of Shiel Park, a nice facility that is much more preferable to Gil Park; not only does Shiel feature actual walls and enclosed rooms, for $45 you get a 4 hour block of time. Also, Shiel is on Southport and right down the street from me. Yes, if I’m running the damn things I’d like it to be walking distance from where I live.

Briefly, I wonder about the status of Steep Theatre. Steep Theatre is a small black box theater in Wrigleyville that was open for a short while sans PPA license. At the end of summer, Steep closed its doors while it worked its way through Chicago’s unfriendly bureaucracy. I had hoped to rent out their late night slots and run my own shows there last summer, but that idea got shelved when it closed. Now, many months later, it looks like it might be back in business soon and looking rent out the space during the weekend day for some $$--hopefully for less (or at least the same) as the park district buildings.

In short, Shiel is preferable to Gil. A rented theater space is preferable to a Park District space. My own theater space is preferable to rented theater space.

COMPETITION: I also wonder if there will be any fallout for my friends if they join me in this endeavor. In no way would the Improv Geek be able to compete with the Big 4 (Second City, IO, Annoyance, Comedy Sportz), but it might not be looked upon favorably…that is, if we even register on the radar. It’s paranoid to think they would care what I’m doing, but then again, it’s naïve to think they would be oblivious to it either.

ETIQUETTE: Abby Sher is leaving for L.A. in a couple of days and I’m sure that a couple of instructors on my “hit list” will be at IO or Guthrie’s Tavern on Monday to wish her farewell. I debate on whether I should approach anyone that night, it feels crass to do so—but by the same token, I rarely see these individuals. Something else to think about, the art of the approach.

FUNDS: I should be able to come up with some scratch to meet the initial costs. If not, I might be able to coax a little start up cash that would be re-paid upon each workshop. (The thing I didn’t realize was I had to figure out how to work payments out—should I have the students make checks payable to me and then write a check to the teacher and the rental facility? If so, I need cash in the bank to cover my checks while the student checks clear.) Also, sadly, I won’t be able to offer discounts for signing up for multiple workshops—I don’t have a large profit margin. If I owned my own space, it would be easy enough to do, but I don’t so I can’t.

FEAR: I admit I’m a little afraid. This is an undertaking that requires a great deal of investment on my part—but with a solid payback for everyone involved. It’s not a true gamble, but it is definitely a risk to start a workshop program from scratch, banking only on my sincerity, idealism and sheer willpower to make it succeed.

Oh, yeah, and big name teachers.

RESEARCH: I need to meet with Zach Ward, Executive Producer of Dirty South Improv, regarding business issues. He has a lot more experience at this than I and can give me some good advice to base my decisions on. Also, he speaks his mind and is a straight shooter. Invaluable.

NAME: Geek Theatre v. Ephemeral Theatre. An eternal debate that rages on in my head: which name works better? GT lends itself to easier branding and is a catchy name. ET is seems have more credibility and encapsulates the essence of what we do. One seems jokey, the other pretentious. Yet another thing to think about.


1/4/03
I stop by IO to watch 4Square and pick up some phone numbers.

After 4Square, I talk to Dan Bakkedahl and give him my spiel: He teaches what he wants, when he wants to who he wants. I’ll do the legwork. By serving the artists (cheap, quality workshop for students; teaching gig for Dan), I am in turn serving the Art (better performers; instructor sharing experience), which in turn leads to better shows, serving the audience. Is he interested?

He’s interested!

The ball is rolling.

 

[Sammy]

1/5/03
I e-mail Lillie Francis during the day. In the last couple of years, both the percentage and the population of female improvisors in Chicago has grown and I’m hoping that Lillie will teach a female-only improv class. While a female-oriented workshop is nothing new, it’s been a while since one was offered.

I meet with Mikaela Siegel for dinner at Salt & Pepper and, just like my meeting with Charlie, to get her opinions about workshops. Mikaela is very much in my target audience and I’m interested in her opinion: she’s recently finished her 5b show, was just placed on a Harold Team and performs on other ensembles around town. She is a post-boom improvisor who is hungry and looking to get better. Mikaela surprises me is when I throw out the names of possible instructors and she doesn’t recognize ‘em. These are fantastic performers and great teachers, but they may not be well known (or well remembered) by the cyclical northside improv ghetto--if you haven’t done anything high visibility in a year or so, there’s a couple hundred of new students and performers who don’t know who the fuck you are.

Sad but true.

sigh

Yet another thing to consider: the “generation gap”

(Ironically, some of these performers are constantly touring, and it takes ‘em out of town and away from the “scene”—hence their lack of face time with the newer crop of performers.)

After dinner, I wander into IO--I want to touch base with Liz Allen and see if she’s interested in doing a coaching workshop. With the recent surge of new directors/coaches at IO and The Playground, there are many people who are being called on to explain the craft and share their vision and these people who may not have the tools to do so.

A word about Liz: She is the reason I moved to Chicago in the first place, she’s that inspiring a teacher. She’s an even better coach. In fact, at IO, at the annual Del Awards the “Coach of the Year” award is named after Liz Allen because she won it three years in a row. She’s that good.

I pass through the Del Close Theater (and the new intern orientation) on the way to the Training Annex. I wait in the empty Annex for 20 minutes before I realize there is no class that night. Knowing if I miss Liz now, it may be awhile before she is reachable, I decide to call her at home. Luckily she’s there. I give her my spiel...and she’s interested!

As the conversation winds down, I realize how loud I’ve been talking. I worry. Did anyone hear? There’s nothing wrong with what I’m doing, it’s just that I’d rather it not be too public right now.

Later that night is Abby’s farewell party at Guthrie’s. There are many current and former SC people there that I want to ask to do workshops, but I take a pass--everyone’s playing board games and having a good time. Why spoil it with business talk?


1/6/03

Lillie e-mails me back. She’s interested in doing a workshop. As the former coordinator (and originator) of the Playground’s Master Workshops program, she offers me plenty of good advice.

* * *

E-mail to Charlie McCrackin:

Well, it looks like the Gold Standard of Price Points, $35, will have to be the workshop price--for the teachers I want, that’s the price that works. I’m not making any more money than before, but the teacher’s take jumps considerably. The price of doing business in Chicago I guess. A little disappointing since I really wanted to keep the price down, but $35 for a workshop was what I paid back in 2000.

Maybe I’ll do a dual track workshop thing in the near future: $35 for the big guns, $20-$25 for our peers whose names may have cachet.

E.T.C. begins rehearsals next week, so those people may be exhausted from the new show process come March and April, so Peter Grosz, et al, are off my “hit list” of instructors.

Liz Allen is interested in doing a coaching workshop. Looks like Lillie will do a female improvisor workshop. Dan Bakkedahl will do a scene-work workshop. With any luck, I’ll have my March Workshop schedule locked up in a matter of weeks.

Improv Mogul,
Sammy

 

[Sammy]

1/7/03

Insomnia at night forces me call off work. I use the afternoon to do some business research at Borders.

I dig up three awesome books:

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

Selling the Invisible by Harry Beckwith

The Invisible Touch by Harry Beckwith

(later I find a third book by Beckwith, What Clients Love)

Selling the Invisible and The Invisible Touch address and illuminate many things I was unsure about. It's very gratifying to have some of my instincts validated. It's also very humbling to have some of your ideas shot down. The best part about Beckwith's books is that they work well with the theatrical world.

The Tipping Point posits some interesting theories on fads, trends and information dissemination. I enjoy the case studies. I don't agree with everything Gladwell concludes but it certainly gives you something to think about.

That night at the Got Your Back meeting I tell the steering committee I have to scale back my responsibilities. If I'm going to do Geek Theatre right, I need to be able to devote myself to it without shafting GYB. I'll still volunteer for any events they sponsor, but I'll be free from the meetings and planning pow-wows that would cut into GT time.

* * *

I stop by IO to catch Paul Gronde and TJ before their Carl and the Passions show. Ironically, as I try to set myself up as a thing separate from IO, the necessity of visiting IO increases. I briefly speak with Gronde and get TJ’s number right before he steps on stage.

I head on out before their show.


1/8/04

Much communication. Leave voice mails. Write e-mails. Make follow up calls. Hurry up and wait.

I hate the waiting.

* * *

I make the decision to just go with “The Geek” instead of “The Improv Geek.” I just like the way “The Geek” sounds.



1/11/04

Before 4Square I talk to Peter Grosz and ask if he’s up for it.

He says yes.




1/12/04

Joe Bill e-mails me back. He’s interested too! My first proffered date doesn’t work for him—it’s the weekend Ed Fuhrman is getting married in New Orleans. I tell Joe to send me his available dates.

* * *

I get a message from IO—they need a tech for Armando that night, am I available? Having just dropped $200 on a ticket to Sea-Tac for the Seattle Improv Festival, I reluctantly say yes. $25 is $25. I decide to make the most of my tech by following up with TJ.

TJ says yes!

Where I stand:

Liz Allen is interested and I'm waiting on workshop date from her.

Lillie Francis is interested and I'm waiting on workshop date from her.

Dan Bakkedahl is interested and waiting on a workshop date from me.

TJ is interested and waiting on a workshop date from me.

Peter Grosz is interested and waiting on a workshop date from me.

Joe Bill is interested and I'm waiting on workshop date from him.

Still waiting word from two other possible teachers.

Wow. Six people rarin’ to go. Enough that I have to sit down and work out workshop dates for each of them.

The joys of scheduling…

 

[Sammy]

1/14/04
I contact and leave messages for the teachers who I’m waiting on dates from. I hope I don’t come off as too aggressive. I need their availability to schedule their workshops and then fill in the holes with the instructors who are flexible. I want to be able to officially go public on Feb 2nd, the first Monday of February. I’m considering a day or two heads up beforehand to people and groups who've helped me put this together and give them the option of an early registration. It’d give me both word of mouth in the community and an early indicator on the desire for workshops.

* * *

Liz Allen is locked and loaded for March 27th.

Joe Bill is locked and loaded for April 3rd.


1/17/04
Sketch out designs for a website. While working out the various sections, I accidentally write “classes” instead of “workshops.”

Hmmm…


1/19/04
Lille Francis is locked and loaded for March 6th.

Scheduling is almost done. Now I gotta work on my marketing…

* * *

Thinking back to the classes thing…I don’t want to run a training center. I have neither the infrastructure nor the energy to do so. However, I could set up 4-week classes that focus on a specific form or improv aspect with the teachers best suited to do so (ala UCB and their 4P classes).

Also, I was thinking about drop-in rehearsals with guest teachers every week. How to keep this from clashing with workshops? I want the casual and relaxed feel of a pick-up rehearsal but I don't want to undercut my workshop program; if I charge too little for the rehearsal, people might opt for the pick-up rehearsal instead of the workshops, if I charge too much then people won't want to pay for it. And I'd have to figure out my rotating list of guest coaches for the drop-in rehearsals.

Workshops, Form classes, drop-in rehearsals...

...that’s the problem with ambition. You keep thinking of cool things to do and, goddammit, you have no choice but to put it together.


1/20/04
I start work on a poster. Nothing fancy. Just the basics.

I finalize a couple of more teachers:

Peter Grosz is locked and loaded for March 13th.
Dan Bakkedahl is locked and loaded for March 20th.

* * *

The Playground is booked Saturdays in March. Some April slots are still open however. Looks like Shiel Park it is in March.

* * *

I meet with Zach Ward, founder and executive producer of Dirty South Improv, for dinner and discussion at Chipotle.

Very enlightening. He opens my eyes to many business issues I have thought about in passing but never analyzed in depth. I learn a lot. So much, in fact, it’s almost discouraging—Zach is a total pro, so very smart and rational about it all and here I am, so very naïve and idealistic. I feel like country mouse in the big city.

I realize there’s some things I should have done differently, but it’s too late for that now (at least for the first round of workshops). But from Zach’s questions and points, I see what I need to do in the future if I want this to succeed...and I need to define what I want to do with The Geek so I know exactly how everything I do works towards that goal.

It’s given me pause. Not in an Aliens “17 days?! We’re not gonna last 17 hours against those things! Game over, man! Game over!” kind of way, but more in a Jaws “We’re gonna need a bigger boat” way.

I want to do the right thing for everybody but I don’t want to hurt myself in the long run.

I don’t want to take advantage of anyone but I don’t want to be taken advantage of either.

I need to be true to myself.

But it’s a business.

But it’s art.

Crap.

 

[Sammy]

1/21/04
The boring part is here. I gotta get class descriptions and bios from the instructors. E-mails sent out to my March instructors.

TJ is locked and loaded for April 17th.

I have April 10th and April 24th open. The 10th is the Saturday before Easter, so I don’t know how that will play out if I offer it. The 24th I should definitely try to book.


1/24/04
I sit down and scribble out a three-year plan for The Geek. Probably totally unrealistic, but it gives me a hypothetical timetable.


1/25/04
I peruse the Chicago Reader looking for Live/Work spaces. I can offer the front space for workshops and classes, rent out for rehearsals to ensembles and live in the back.

Will my crappy personal credit fuck me up?

* * *

A Bug’s Life plays on the TV.

I take index cards and write down teachers, workshops and any ideas I've had so far and tape them to my wall. Just a bunch of little white rectangles in the corner of my studio. I feel like the police will walk in one day and go, "Yep, this mofo was cuh-ray-zee!"

* * *

The Bruise rehearses at 10 P.M. (on a Sunday) at the IO Annex. Towards the tail end of things, the discussion turns towards Harold teams and other things IO. I just listen and keep quiet.


1/26/04
I pull Armando lights again. The $25 I make tonight is the only money I’ll have until Friday. I laugh about the absurdity of it all. A dirt broke improvisor scheduling workshops and booking teachers—arrogantly assuming it will all work out because…

…because it has to.


1/27/04
I have coffee with Jake Schneider and bounce ideas off him (ala Charlie McCrackin). Jake is a personal hero of mine. I've never told him that. I should.

Later that night, I meet with Peter Gwinn at Mullen's and ask him if he wants to teach a workshop. He says yes (!) and I book him for April 24th. I discuss my forms workshop idea with him and he gives me some great feedback. (more on that in another post)

Kyna is sitting with Mammal 79 on the other side of the bar and says to me later that she thought "Oh, I bet I know what they're talking about!"

1/29/04
Called off work today. Did my best not to think about The Geek. This weekend I wrap up loose ends. Then I launch on Monday.

yikes.

 

[Sammy]

The Geek is proud to offer workshops with Chicago’s top teachers and performers!


STRONG WOMEN ON STAGE

Instructor: Lillie Francis

This workshop will discover and celebrate the feminine and feminist voices in improvisation. Don’t be frustrated by being a woman in a predominantly male environment! Learn how to utilize your strengths and to express your unique viewpoint. This workshop will emphasize creating full characters on stage, discuss the importance of giving attention to detail, and promote interesting scenework.

Saturday, March 6th
12 – 3 p.m.
10 students max
$35



BREAKING YOUR HABITS

Instructor: Peter Grosz

Everyone has bad improvisational habits, some we are aware of and others that elude us. In this workshop, Peter will pinpoint the tendencies that hold you back and help you work through them. He asks that you bring one or two ideas to class of elements of your performance you'd like to work on and they, along with things Peter notices, will be addressed. Despite the focus on the individual, this will be a group effort as everyone will take part in ridding each other of the bad habits that get in our way.

The Geek strongly recommends that students have completed their training at Second City, ImprovOlympic or The Annoyance before enrolling in this intensive.

Saturday, March 13th
12 – 3 p.m.
10 students max
$35



SCENEWORK INTENSIVE

Instructor: Dan Bakkedahl

“This will be an intensive scenework class. You will do scenes and I will give notes. We will try to determine where scenes go bad and how we can get them back on track. There will be little talk and a lot of accountability. If you take things personally, you may want to skip this one.” -- Dan

The Geek strongly recommends that students have completed their training at Second City, ImprovOlympic or The Annoyance before enrolling in this intensive.

Saturday, March 20th
12 – 3 p.m.
10 students max
$35



HOW TO COACH AN IMPROV TEAM

Instructor: Liz Allen

This workshop covers the top 20 things Liz Allen thinks every coach should know, and shows the attendees how to create a vision for his or her team, how to structure rehearsals, what scenic and game exercises are best introduced when and why, and how to best lead a team towards to success. Specific skills such as tips on giving notes will be offered, as well as answers to the most frequently asked questions by new coaches. This workshop is designed for the coach of an improv ensemble who wants to hone his or her skills.

Saturday, March 27th
12 – 3 p.m.
12 students max
$35



INSTRUCTOR BIOS:

LIZ ALLEN has been improvising in Chicago for over a decade, and has been teaching, directing, and coaching for the past 7 years. She currently coaches the ensembles Mission Improvable and Fatty Four Eyes, and is the former Improv Olympic Theater Training Center Director and coach of the IO team Valhalla. Liz has performed with many ensembles including IO’s team Frank Booth, creating Frank Booth and the Blue Velvet Lounge, Therapy, and Harold on the Holyrood (at the 1995 Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland). A member of the IO’s touring company The Roadshow, Liz teaches workshops to actors, improvisors and corporate clients. Liz won the Del Close Award “Coach of the Year” in 1999, 2000, and 2001--now called the "Liz Allen Coach of the Year" Award. Her directorial credits include Coco Pouche Returns to the Blue Velvet Lounge, Pong, The Two Horsemen, and Devolution (at the Neofuturarium), and SmellFungus in Funbling Towards Ecstasy.

DAN BAKKEDAHL is currently performing in The Second City's Mainstage Revue entitled "Doors Open on the Right". Dan has spent the last six years improvising, acting and teaching both. Dan came to Chicago from Florida where he spent 3 1/2 years studying at Florida State University. College did nothing for him. Everything he knows, he learned on stage.

LILLIAN FRANCIS discovered improvisational theater as an undergrad at Northwestern University where she received a Bachelor of Science in Theater. She has performed, directed, and taught improvisation for the past fourteen years in Chicago and elsewhere. Favorites include the ImprovOlympic house team Frank Booth, Close Quarters and Calendar Girls (a two-woman improvised show) at the Second City e.t.c., and Neutrino Project, an improvised movie. Lillie's passion for improvisation took her all the way to Amsterdam, where she assistant directed and performed in Boom Chicago, and also to Newport, Rhode Island, where she founded, directed, and performed in Chicago Comedy Company. She directed a Second City National Touring Company and is currently a Core Teacher at the Second City Training Center. Lillie was one of the founding members of the all women’s group Jane, and has had the privilege of directing Jane as well as the all women’s improv groups Sirens, RED, and Lipschtick.

PETER GROSZ has been performing improvisation in Chicago for 8 1/2 years. He was on the Harold teams Stuhlwich and Preponderate at Improv Olympic and is a current member of the Second City ETC cast. He also performs in 4 Square, a four-man improv show with John Lutz, Dan Bakkedahl and Rob Janas, Sunday nights at 11:15PM.



TO ENROLL IN A WORKSHOP, CONTACT:

SAMMY TAMIMI
(773) 655-7347
sammytamimi@aol.com

 

[Sammy]

Exhausted.

Monday and Tuesday were busy days at work. Combine that with the stress of launching The Geek and handling registration and I was wiped out by the end of the workday. But it was a good exhaustion. I'm doing something I want to do and people seemed really jazzed about it all.

Things I've learned so far:

*Proof read
*Have a standard enrollment confirmation letter
*Proof read again
*Cross posting on four boards is a lot of work
*Proof read again, again
*No matter how many people eventually sign up, it will always seem not fast enough

OK. I'm done talking about The Geek for a while. It seems that's all I've talked about of late. Back to blogging about improv and life...

 

[Sammy]

It felt like an eternity.

The last Home Run Kids show was December 26th. I didn't take the stage again until February 1st at Donny's Skybox with The Bruise. Even with KOKO rehearsal every week and a couple of Bruise rehearsals along the way, I was afraid I had lost my edge, my stage mojo. I have no idea why. I guess when you get into that performance rhythm of a show every week, it's a bit off putting not to have that outlet, that release.

The Bruise started our five-week run at Donny's Skybox last Sunday. Small-ish house but a fun show all around. The stage manager had never seen our show before and Griggs, our director, didn't know he could go into the booth and call lights, so we ended up going a couple scenes past where would typically end the show. So while the end of the show was a bit clustery, the rest was typical Bruise silliness.


KOKO is gearing up for the Seattle Improv Festival. We've suspended work on our new form to reinvigorate and retool the old form, the Scary Mary, for the fest. Once again, KOKO has lucked out when it comes to sub-directors: the awesome Karen Graci is our director while Abby is in L.A. So, KOKO's sub-directors have been Bumper Carroll, Pat Shay, Jean Villepique and Graci. Amazing improvisors and excellent directors.

The only blech part of the KOKO experience has been figuring out fest stuff (hotels, transportation, etc.). This is our first fest and we're figuring out things as we go along. We held an official business meeting to get everyone on the same page for Seattle and also decided to have another meeting afterwards to set policy for future fests and discuss our April show run at Skybox.

We're going through some growing pains, but in a good way. We've been around for 1 1/2 years and we're at the point where we need to decide what our goals are. Do we stay an indie troupe just picking up shows around town? Do we take it to the next level and start consistently applying to festivals around the country? etc., etc.

A new project I've been toying with has been bumped around a bit; the director I want is out of town and semi-out of touch and the cast availability is semi-suspect at this point. We'll see. It'll work out. It almost always does.

I feel a little guilty in a way. The Geek is stealing time away from all my projects, but not my focus. I still bring it 100% to shows and rehearsals, but the little things I liked doing in the downtime to help my ensembles have been minimized.

It's gonna take awhile, but I'll find the new balance.

 

[Sammy]

9:15 am
Enter Secretary of State to get new driver's license.

9:25 am
Take visual, written tests. Pass and Pass.

9:40 am
Get picture taken.

9:50 am
On way to work, realize picture makes me look like I have a mullet.

Post-excursion deep thought:
Would I rather be quickly processed and have a horrible picture for four years or be dragged into the hell of molasses slow bureaucracy and have a great picture?

Sadly, my vanity wishes I had a great picture.

A mullet!

A MULLET!

 

[Sammy]

Dunkin' D coffee--
You make my mouth so happy
but my tummy sad

 

[Sammy]

Coffee Addiction
A Brutal, unending need
Damn you chickory!

 

[Sammy]

Dave Gilley posted this on CIN:


You will not be able to stay home, Brothers and Sisters.

You will not be able to tag in, do bits and tag out.

You will not be able to lose yourself in the back line,

Skip out for beer during The Dream,

Because the revolution will not be improvised.



The revolution will not be improvised.

The revolution will not be brought to you by Charna

In 3 beats without theatrical intermissions.

The revolution will not show you pictures of John Belushi

in Kabuki makeup and leaving the stage with Dan

Ackroyd, Gilda Radner and Bill Murray to eat

pork extravaganza confiscated from Frankie J's.

The revolution will not be improvised.



The revolution will not be brought to you by the

Lakeshore Theatre and will not star TJ Jagadowski and Mark Sutton or

Joe Bill and Noah.

The revolution will not give your mind a group.

The revolution will not get rid of stagefright.

The revolution will not make you sound five times

wittier, because the revolution will not be improvised, Brother.



There will be no pictures of you and Chris Farley

wearing that plaid jacket and those thick Matt Foley specs,

or trying to stay up all night for a 24-hour benefit performance.

IO will not be able predict the Next Big Thing in Level One

or from any of from 31 teams.

The revolution will not be improvised.



There will be no pictures of Playgrounders taking

bows in the Reader Critic's Choice box.

There will be no pictures of Playgrounders taking

bows in the Reader Critic's Choice box.

There will be no pictures of Dave Pasquesi being

run out of Steppenwolf on a rail to a brand new Wednesday revival.

There will be no slow motion or still life of Del Close

strolling down Clark in a Black and White

Swirled beret that Jeff Griggs had been saving

For just the proper occasion.



Weirdass, The Mosaic, and Screw Puppies will no longer

be so damned relevant, and

women will not care if Peter Gwinn finally gets to do a song with

Bob Dassie in Baby Wants Candy because Improv people

will be in the street looking for a brighter day.

The revolution will not be improvised.



There will be no highlights on the Conan O'Brien

show and no pictures of black and white

alumni players and Jamie Swise blowing your mind.

The theme song will not be played by Larrance Fingerhut,

James Jackson, nor sung by Mary McCain, Josh

Funk, Alex Fendrich, Mike Descoteaux, or Rob Janas.

The revolution will not be improvised.



The revolution will not be right back after a brief intermission

as you head to the bar, the bathroom, the back alley.

You will not have to worry about a student ID in your

pocket, a tuition check for your class, or the house at your show.

The revolution will not be Louder. Faster. Funnier.

The revolution will not let Two Teams Enter, and One Team Leave.

The revolution will put you in the director's seat.



The revolution will not be improvised, will not be improvised,

will not be improvised, will not be improvised.

The revolution will be no callback brothers;

The revolution will be live.

-------------------------

Whether or not it was done tongue-in-cheek or in sincere homage is irrevelent. What matters is its effect on me.

* * *

IO is in trouble. Not financially. Spiritually.

IO has no "vision." No overriding purpose that drives its decisions. No goal that inspires performers.

While the performers themselves may do empassioned, sincere work, it is in spite of Charna and the The Powers That Be, not because of. Charna's out of touch with what improv is becoming. Even her coaches and teachers admit that. If not explicitly, then implicitly. On the rare occasion she gives a team notes, it's not unusual for the coach to underplay, if not ignore, her observations.

There are successful shows at IO. None may be revolutionary, but all are evolutionary. All sprung forth from the ensembles vision and flavored by director's sensibilities. These projects born of passion sometimes die a lingering death. They hope and wait for approval and slowly waste away. No one really knows what IO wants. And when IO "knows" what it wants, it's decisions are so inconsistent it renders its own voice null and void.

Fellow performers may inspire. Your teachers may inspire. But it's in spite of the IO hierarchy. IO should take proactive steps to foster a creative atmosphere. Instead of letting the artists come to them, seek out the artists. Give the artists carte blanche to create and explore. Support them with every resource available. Instead of placing the burden on the artist, enable the artist. Take their burden. Unfetter them from worry and the mundane. Let them fly wherever their wings may take them.

Let them be artists and they will never fail you.

Instead...

The players have loyalty to each other, to their teachers.

But not to IO as an institution.

And definitely not to Charna.

And that is why is IO is in trouble.

* * *

2006

If the Annoyance reopens this summer, the true impact will be felt a couple years down the road. When they start doing shows again, who will be their off the street audience from their neighbors Aragorn Ballroom, The Riviera and the Green Mill?

Alterna-punks. Jazz fans. Beat poets.

They will see shows. They will take classes. They will perform. They will find their voice. They will create. They will create shows and forms so unlike the stultifying sameness of post-grad whiteboy improv in Lakeview. Some of these shows (and performers) will be horrible. Atrocious even. But their ideas will infect the bloated body of Chicago improv. Reactionary antibodies will attack these ideas. But the ideas will survive. And the body will adapt.

Not a revolution. An evolution.

Or at least an invigoration.

 

[Sammy]

Beat poets? I meant to say spoken word poets.

* * *

Andrea Swanson just called and gave me some terrific news. I don't want to jinx it, so I'll wait for more info at KOKO rehearsal on Sunday.

I feel like this right now:

alsd!=kf^so(idy!!!!

Yes, I'm that excited!

 

[Sammy]

Long weekend to be doled out in small chunks.

Biggest professional news: KOKO is playing CIF.

Biggest personal news: I may have lost weight inadvertently.

Biggest social news: John Lutz and Liz Cackowski hired as SNL writers.

 

[Sammy]

Friday:

To celebrate Tim Whetham's 27th birthday, Mike Enriquez (AKA Mrs. Tim Whetham), set up a whirlyball party Friday night, to be later followed by debauchery at Trader Todd's.

I jumped off the Red Line at Fullerton and, with an hour and a half to kill, I decided to walk the mile or so to the whirlyball place. I figured I could find a coffeeshop and read a paper somewhere along the way.

Amazingly, I did not pass a single Starbucks.

Perturbed (and cold), I spied a Super Cuts and thought, "What the hell, why not?" 20 minutes later, I was back on the street and definitely less shaggy.

As I drew closer to the whirlyball place, the sidewalks grew slushier and messier with every step. In Chicago, businesses and residents don't have to shovel their sidewalks. Most. Retarded. Idea. Ever. It took longer to walk the last quarter mile than it did the first mile or so.

Feet wet, face numb, I slopped into a Dunkin' Donuts for a coffee and a muffin. After a while, I realized that a haze hung in the air. Burning donuts? When I got the whirlyball place later, I stood next to Ann O'Neill, waiting for my turn to sign Tim's oversized birthday card. She sniffed, then said "Does anyone smell hamburgers?"

great.

Thanks, Dunkin' Donuts.

Thanks a lot.

 

[Sammy]

FRIDAY:

After a rules run down by a "referee" so disinterested in his spiel that his words blurred together into a low hum, improvisors gathered in honor of Tim's birthday took to the whirly ball court to ram and jam the shit out of each other.

What is whirly ball?

It's basketball.

But in bumper cars...with a wiffleball and scoop instead of a basketball.

Much bruising and battering did occur. Dave Gilley, semi-professional whirly baller, doled out helpful advice. I couldn't shoot and I couldn't catch, but I could pass and set sweet picks. I'm a utility player. Put me in coach! Jeremy Sosenko became my designated archrival for the evening. Over the course of 7 or 8 games, 30 or so improvisors platooned in and out of the games. When not playing, they were eating, drinking or heckling each other mercilessly. Ann O'Neil, Dan Sipp, Paul O'Toole, Tracy, Todd Schanbacher, Megan Hovde, Charlie Hovde , Robin Nisi, Pat Gallen, Robyn Clark, Mike Enriquez, Josh Chamberlain, Erica May, Chad Reinhart, Scott Goodhart, Lauren Glass, Min-aha Beeck, Robyn Norris, Chris Gelbach, Laura Personick were among the many merrymakers.

The party eventually moved on to Trader Todd's. I called it night and went home, smelling of donuts and bumper cars.

 

[Sammy]

Yes, I realize how lame it is to still be posting about last weekend today...

Saturday:

Woke up late and wandered over to Salt & Pepper for breakfast/lunch/dinner around 4 p.m. Some improvisors were in the booth next to me and I headed over to Mullen's with Boomtown's Mikaela Siegal, Jamie Allen, Sarah and a girl who dates a guy named Alex. As the night wore on and the drinks went down, Amanda Ohly, Noelle Ohly, Dunbar Dicks, Scott Markman and Heather Connelly stopped by to socialize. Heather and I went to IO see the "Classic Armando" at 10:30. It was a Saturday show I hadn't seen and was interested in what cast was fielded for this version. Well, the house was light and the cast small. Noah Gregoropolous walked up to me. Was he going to ask me to play?

"Would you mind doing lights?"

Ow.

I said I'd pull lights.

I'll admit I was a little miffed/hurt/disappointed. In the booth during the show I vowed "never to pull lights for any Armando again." Realizing how dumb that was, I revised the vow to I would "avoid doing lights for any show unless absolutely necessary."

After the show, I grabbed my $25 from Jamie Swise. I was getting ready to leave when I found out Joe Canale was rounding up improvisors for a sold out show in the Del Close Theater--150 horny/drunk/shouty college students from a sailing club convention had bought out the DCT for a private improv jam. I volunteered and participated in two hours of sheer hell. To call it a drunken clusterfuck would be the most diplomatic thing. After a while, if you weren't actively egging the chaos on, you were calmly sitting on the side enjoying the inanity of it all. The only bonus of the night was that for playing in the clusterfuck, the performers would get free beer. A policy we definitely took advantage of.

As the clusterfuck ended with an onstage drinking game, a bunch of us swung over to a party down the street. A pair of IO students were throwing a party. They wore "I live here" T-shirts since they were pretty sure no-one would know who they were.

Because a clean-shaven Todd Edwards had ended the clusterfuck by walking around the theater yelling the address of the party, some of the college sailing students actually showed up for free beer. Nice. I wandered around and talked to same people I usually do (might as well be consistent). Beer in hand, I looked at the clock.

2:40 a.m.

February 8th.

I had forgotten it was my birthday.

I was 31.

I was 31 and drinking like I was 21.

Steve Kaminski and I called Erin Cunningham (who has the same birthday) and wished her a happy birthday. Or at least her answering machine.

2 empty kegs and a broken window later, I called it night and headed home. As I sobered up, I realized the first improv show of my 31st year was the clusterfuck.

At least, I thought, it can only get better from here.

 

[Sammy]

By Tuesday, eight days after my first Geek post, I had filled three of the four workshops.

Now I just have deal with all the paperwork (confirmations, payments, reminders). I try to add a personal touch to my correspondence. Anyone can cut and paste a form letter. I also try to be as timely in my replies as possible. If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do this right.

Oh yeah, I got to start gearing up for the April workshops...

And, since I'm renting the Playground in May and June, I got to start thinking about that too. Renting the Playground?! Yeah, on Sundays starting after CIF. I'm calling it The Sunday Night Geek Out. Many ideas for what to program, but what will shake out?

 

[Sammy]

I don't know why, but the following phrase is stuck in my head:

(exasperated)

"Oh, Lindsay Lohan!"

That ridiculous utterance vies for dominance against the following thought:

"We must become the change we want to see." -Gandhi

Half my brain revels in the idiotic ejaculation of "Oh, Lindsay Lohan!" and the other half somberly considers the implications of Gandhi's words.

I hate my brain.

"Oh, Lindsay Lohan!"