Jesster's Junk

[jesster]

And so it begins...

Let's see if I have the wherewithall to keep up a journal out here on the IRC. Just another time waster that will eventually lead to me being fired, I am sure.

The title of the journal is going to be the name of an improv troupe or team one day, mark my words. It really stems from the fact that everytime I have gone to show members of my troupe my thighpiece tattoo, thinking that I am wearing boxers and am safe, I have accidently revealed my junk to some female in the troupe.

My improv experience started many moons ago in college, more than ten years ago. I am getting fucking old, I am. My improv PASSION started maybe a year ago. I think there is one true thing that drives my passion: realizing I can always be better.

I'm no slouch. I'm above average and that's not being pretentious, that's just a belief in my own abilities. But there are a ton of people out there that are better than me and I want to see them all and learn from them all. Hell, everyone has SOMETHING to teach! The one thing I want to always concentrate on is taking direction and learning from others. If I can take direction well, I will be able to to adapt to anyone's ideas and thus establish my own deal.

That's the vision... that's the drive... we'll see how I do.

-Jesster

[jesster]

Okay... went and saw long form show done by another Utah troupe with Ryloc and JD. I wonder if other improvisers, when they go to improv shows, fantasize that you will be asked to perform as well?

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen. Why, I see that Jesse Parent is out in our audience! Why don't we get him up here to play as well? Give him a hand for encouragement, folks!"

That never happens... at least not to me. But I can pretend it could in my mind!

Anyway, it was a fun show but their take on long form seems very different from ours. They did a Shakespearean type of long form from my suggestion of "Venetian Apocolypse" and it was fun. I think there were some definite offers being ignored and some focus issues. There was a female improviser named Hailey Smith who was not "just a good female improviser" but was easily the best improviser up there on stage. She listened intently, took what was offerred and made something with it, and even made sure to call out a few things that were really fun. They also did a BAT (blackout thingie) and that was fun, but again the listening and focus was a bit off. Overall, I had a fun time and got to see another troupe's take on long form, which is always educational. The last time I went I saw them do a musical long form that blows away ANYTHING I have seen so far, locally or in Chicago.

I did get to talk a bit with some of the actors afterwards and they were super friendly. I told them about UtahImprov.com and hopefully they will start visiting and participating. Yay for community! They even remembered us from the last time we saw their show (I had suggested "Sattellite of Sproing" for their musical that night - I feel so supportive!).

On the way back, I decided that after I get back from CIF I am going to start with the free level 2 type classes I have been thinking about for a while. I had a good reaction to the class I did on patterns and beats for our free KYSOff workshop and the class I did on scenework and Harolds at WPI for Guerilla Improv, so maybe I have a knack for this teaching thing. I just hope I can learn from (and keep up with) the folks in the advanced class at CIF and take that back to Utah with me.

Ryloc moves to Chicago next week. What am I going to do without him?

-Jesster

[jesster]

Improv troupes should hang out. Honestly, if you only know these people in rehearsal and on stage, how can you know what they are about and where they can help you take an idea?

I had a chance to perform this Saturday with another troupe, but turned it down for a "meeting" we had for KYSOff, which was actually a surprise birthday party for one of our members, JD. Joe Rogan, our troupe leader, and I faked a loud argument as she walked through the door of his house for a meeting and as she got downstairs and saw all of us (there were people she knew there that were both in the troupe and not) we all yelled "Surprise!" It was fun. I played Jenga, Truth or Dare Jenga, swore profusely and drove away some returned missionary friends of Erin's (whoops), wrestled with Jose (I gator rolled him and got a huge rug burn on my forehead), and played Dance Dance Revolution for the first time in my life (I suck). Then, as everyone started to leave for other things like clubs and bars and such, I went home to my lovely family.

Luke organized his weekly frisbee get together Sunday at a park and I brought the family with me. My wife got mad at me because I told Luke I saw an old video of him and didn't realize what a clear complexion he used to have. Upon further reflection, this was probably not nice. I played with my kids on the playground for a bit and then headed up for frisbee as they were about to play Ultimate. I got thrown on a team and played in my jeans, long sleeve shirt, and steel toed boots. I am old and out of shape. But, Luke told me I had great hustle, I assisted a cross field goal, and caught a goal/touchdown/whatever. I left after that because it couldn't get better and my wife commented how beet red I looked.

Sometimes I get irritated that I have to be a responsible family man and can't hang out with folks as much as I like, but that is what makes me me. I hang out when I can in my own way, and I try to discover what makes other people them. It does help with them trusting me on stage and vice versa, but it also helps me have fun with people I consider my friends.

It's easy to have fun on stage with people you just plain have fun with!

-Jesster

[jesster]

I don't think people in improv rich towns realize how hungry the rest of us are.

A while ago I posted to a topic pleading for folks to video tape their improv and make it available. The response was not so hot. There is a real feeling that improv is only valuable as a live experience and video taping a performance, even for educational purposes, simply should never be done. Ryloc did get his hands on a Neutrino video, but that is a much different experience to a performance on stage (but still extremely valuable).

I was reading Mullaney's journal last night and there was a point where he mentioned the following:

"It's so fantastic when someone who is primed for it sees their first good Harold, or just good long form."

That is so true. Most of us out in areas where "long form" is a term most people associate to porn are frothing at the bit to see good improv. Who gives a fuck if it's taped? We want that "ah-ha" moment. We want to say "Oh... I get what they mean" by seeing good improv we have only read about. We are fucking hungry! FEED US!

What it ends up coming across as is almost a sense of exclusiveness. It's almost like they don't want folks to know how others are doing it. "Come spend a bunch of money and fly here to see us" is not the answer for most people. "Come spend a lot of money and fly out a coach" also can be problematic.

So what can I do about this? Well... here is the plan: I am going to spend a bunch of money and learn and experience this for myself. Then, I am going to teach it to others who want to learn from me... for free! I think I can teach. I have had good feedback so far when I have done it. I make good money at my "real job" and am not afraid to spend it on educating myself.

But, there is only so much time I have. So here is the other part of the plan: inspire other people to do the same thing! I think it could work. If I can be good enough and folks start forming a community around the art, perhaps others will want to share what they know and not charge a ridiculous sum for it.

The last part of the plan: get good teachers to fly in and basically teach for airfare, then charge an appropriate amount so I don't lose money. This last idea actually worked out great, recently, with getting Ross White out here in Utah to teach. If I can find more people interested in doing this, I can try and start something out here in Utah that could be truly worth something.

That's the plan, the idea, the thinking. I hope I am able to pull it off and not suck while doing it. I will start after CIF so I can recharge and try to learn from some great teachers and see some great improv and hopefully I can communicate what I experience effectively.

Let's Roll!

-Jesster

[jesster]

Sometimes you just need to improv.

With the loss of our theater, KYSOff has been in a bit of limbo with shows, free classes, and, unfortunately, rehearsals. So, at the last minute (which is typical) a place was decided upon and an email was sent promising a room would be reserved. Of course noone ever said WHICH room it would be (typical) and I showed up, waited for almost half an hour, and decided no one was coming and left. As I was headed back home after calling my wife to let her know she could go to her Mary Kaye party and get her foot rub and so forth, Scott and Jarky called me to say they were on their way. My loving ad understanding wife let me head back.

We had a blast. I must say, it is easy to have a good time improvising when the people you do it with are passionate and have fun. When I arrived, Scott and Jarky were having a good time trying a Scene in Reverse game. We did some scenework, tried a couple of 3 person scenes, and Jarky and Scott humored me with an approach to a duo format I had been thinking of that was comprised of an opener with three beats of a scene. It was magic. They did a scene the same way three times but with different stakes, which at first I thought was weird, but it worked so fucking well!! There was some nice details, like Scott signing "Thank you" while they were in the scene about the apes who knew sign language attacking, and they were having *SO* much fun! So was I!

One of the nicest things was Jarky and Scott telling me they thought I was a great teacher and thanking me. I wasn't looking to teach, just share some ideas I had gotten from Mullaney's journal that I liked. It really felt nice for them to say that and it caught me off guard for sure. We had dinner afterwards and it was pretty nice, although Salisbury steak is Salisbury steak, no matter what you call it!

On last note: It's hard to improv without at least an audience of one. Feedback outside the scene is important.

-Jesster

[jesster]

I've decided that the term "game" confuses people.

This especially evident in the short form heavy atmosphere of the Utah improv scene. "Game" has so much weight to it, I am not sure if people get it. So I have started asking, "What was that scene about?" and "What was fun about that scene?" instead. Seems to get the point across a bit more readily. Hopefully that is not the wrong way to phrase it, but it seems to help at least initially. Then we can talk "game moves" and so forth once that gets hammered in a bit more.

Anyway, that's what this entry was about.

-Jesster

[jesster]

I hate when people leave.

Ryloc is bound for Chicago. Mecca. He is going there to be an improviser and learn all these great things and kick all this ass and he's going to go and do it without any of us back here in SLC. We used to have lunch almost every day. We would talk about improv every day on-line. He helped me start UtahImprov.com. I hope I can keep going without him to prod me along every day. On the bright side, I will see him again in a couple of weeks at CIF, so that is cool.

We're supposed to find out if The Saint makes it in to the Del Close Marathon today. Maybe. I hope so. If we don't get in, there is no way I will be able to convince Julia (my wife) to let me go to New York. And I REALLY want to go and see some improv! I need to learn learn learn from these people. The suspense is killing me. Plus I want to try and hang out with all these virtual friends I have made. Just have to hope we get in, I guess.

Have to figure out if I am able to or want to try and teach at our first Improv in the Park session this weekend. Scott is leading the charge and I don't want to take anything away from that. I don't know how well attended it will be, anyway, and I have a ton of house stuff to do (plus, Julia just figured out she got her purse stolen out of her car, so we have to deal with that). We'll see. I did offer to teach up in Clearfield next week, where the troupe leader up there is interested in me teaching solo improv, but I wonder what they will do with it. Oh well.

We'll have to see how it all turns out.

-Jesster

[jesster]

Lock your car doors, folks!

So Julia figured out her jacket got stolen along with her purse, yesterday, and spent the day cancelling things and moving bank accounts. Our nighbors called this morning to tell us they found her stuff in their garbage can. How cool is that!?! Now, Julia will FINALLY start locking her car doors in our driveway, I suppose. We had someone rifle through our cars once already (when I, for three days, decided to stop being a paranoid city boy and agree with my wife that we were in a safe suburb) so you would think that would have done it then. In her defense, she does have to lug around two kids and keeping the doors open is convenient, but not worth it. But at least she has her social security card (which you shouldn't have on you ANYWAY) and stuff back.

There's a story in the news about a guy who was climbing and got trapped by a boulder, so he cut off his own arm with a pocketknife! Holy crap!! Better than that story about the kid who got his arms cut off by a combine, ran to the house, called 911, and waited in the bathtub so he didn't get blood everywhere. The only thing is, if this guy was such an avid outdoorsman, why was he alone?

Looks like I will be teaching in Clearfield for sure on Tuesday. That should be a fun time. They are all really excited about improv and it's easy to get excited with them. Ryloc tells me that they are too caught up in rules and judging each other, so I hope I can help out with that. What's a rule anyway but something that can confine you. Sometimes it pays to be rude on stage and break a rule, as long as the folks on stage with you can handle it.

Hopefully, by the end of the weekend, I will know if we will go to the Del Close Marathon or not. I think we will do well if we go, but I am still nervous. I really want to see other people do improv without sticking their heads in a bucket of water for laughs. I hope at least the girls from SLC get in. They are a riot.

If I do go, I am locking my doors, wherever I stay!

-Jesster

[jesster]

Amazing how much gets fit into a weekend!

Ryloc called me and let me know that The Saint got in to the Del Close Marathon and will be playing on Saturday at 4PM, a pretty sweet spot in my opinion. Also, all the girls in KYSOff got in under the name SLC Skirts and will be playing Sunday (around noon, I think). That's a huge load off my mind! Of course, I try not to think that we are in because we are more of a curiosity. After all, in YesAnd.com's Road to CIF issue Salt Lake City gets mentioned in the same breath as Tel Aviv when we performed in last year's CIF Showcase. Curiosity be damned, we still great review from that show.

I went to the Improv in the Park class Scott put on Saturday. He was mostly playing games with the few people who found the place. It was really interesting and Jake had them do a neat exercise for monologues and characters. You pair up and tell stories to each other, then rotate to new pairings and tell the same stories again. After a few of these, everyone comes back and tells an amalgamation of the stories they heard and sells it as their own. I was really impressed at what people came up with. This further enforces my opinion that you don't have to be truthful in monologues, but you should at least start from truth.

I went to Erin's birthday party that night at some apartment complex, and it was neat to hang out with everyone. Even some folks from Clearfield showed up. Not enough people wanted to play Zoom-Schwartz-Pifigliano with me, so that was sad. But we did get to teach a couple of fun improv games to non-improvisers and they seemed to enjoy it. Also, I talked to Laine about working with her on character development. She seems to want to work on this, and I think solo improv can help her with developing distinct characters on stage. We'll see.

Saw X2 last night... drool... Colossus and Nightcrawler were so cool. We Catholics need more superheroes.

What a weekend!

-Jesster

[jesster]

The IRC is such a great example of giving back.

I started patrolling the YesAnd.com bulletin boards long before the IRC, but the IRC seems like more of a community, to me. At least, I feel more attached somehow. Maybe it's an East coast thing, being as I am originally from Massachusetts. Who knows. But there is a lot of information to be had here. Especially in the improv journals.

I was up into the wee hours last night rereading Mullaney's journal as well as reading Billy Merritt's journal. If you haven't read those, go do it now. Billy's is especially fun because he teaches through a pretty fun story. When the story starts to peter out, he returns to explain why it did in improv terms, denouncing plot and encouraging discovery. What gifts! These folks have basically written sources of information as valuable as any book out there and it's free! Go and learn as much as possible NOW! I absolutely envy Ryloc for going out to Chicago to learn from people who are so on top of this scene. I wish I could do that.

I also took the time to read Gypsy's thread of questions. She fearlessly asked all these simple questions I think most improvisers would cringe to admit ignorance to, and got some fucking fantastic answers! What a great source of information on what people feel long form is and what their takes on improv are. What a community!

It also reiterated a real problem out there. People need to SEE this done. How can you educate without examples? Flying out to Chicago and New York and etc. are just NOT options for many people. I wish someone would go and tape their work and show people what their take is on it. I so want to put KYSOff's work out there, especially from the Trolley Brawl, for analysis. My big fear, though, would be to be judged. Folks who are insanely more experienced looking at the work we've done and lambasting it rather than saying, "Oh, this was nice. And this was also done rather well." Maybe that is what keeps others from doing it as well? Fear that you'd watch it and go, "Eh." Fear that you won't be swept up in the spirit of the audience because you are watching on a TV. Fear that a tape can be analyzed and you won't lose yourself in the moment.

Taking a page out of Mick Napier's book, "Fuck your fear!"

I am going to Clearfield to teach tonight. Initially they wanted solo stuff, but I don't think that there will be enough time and perhaps that is the wrong step to make right now. I think I will focus on listening, recognizing offers, patterns, and game moves in general. Touch on relationships and heightening. Sounds like a plan... I hope I can help out.

I just want to give back.

-Jesster

[jesster]

Salt Lake City is being raped of its talent.

Mick Napier once said that New York was raping Chicago of its talented improvisers. At least, I am pretty sure he said that. Now, Ryloc has been stolen away by Chicago, off to take classes at IO and so forth. Yesterday, I found out that Ross White wants to get Austin (Oats) to move out to North Carolina! Son of a... It's not like we are overflowing with people who are passionate about improv and advancing the art! Leave the ones who are alone!!

I take that back. I went up to Clearfield and taught last night and was welcomed with open arms! They are really hungry for improv! The drive up was not too fun at rush hour. Now I know why all those folks want to decimate the wetlands to build the Legacy Highway... what a nightmare. Anyway, the Clearfield folks are mostly short form focused, so I tried to teach scenic concepts like relationships, staying positive, and touch on the game of the scene and beats and walk-ons. Also read a relevant bit from Billy Merritt's Elven Bag of Holding journal entry. It was all received a lot better than I hoped and they were all very good. I had a fun time, watched some great improv, and got a lot of good feedback. Lots happened in an hour and a half!

I did have a conversation with the troupe leader, Jake (not KYSOff Jake), about making sure to stay positive and compliment his people. I think he really wants to advance the art but has a complex that other troupes are better than his by default. He seemed to receive that well. He and his troupe are the definition of support and community in the Utah improv scene. They are always going out to support other people's shows. I think Jake gets the feeling that some troupes see that as, "We'll show you how it's done *pat* *pat*" which is unfortunate. We had a long conversation about his future plans for his theater and troupe and it all just sounded so great. I think if he can make it a fun place to be he will really do something positive for the community around him and his troupe. He invited me to come back and teach a series of classes and I told him that I wanted to wait until after CIF to see what I could incorporate from that. I just hope I can keep up when I go!

Jake also mentioned flying in more people to teach, like we did with Ross. I wonder if more people would be willing to fly out for basically air fare and a few bucks and crash on a couch while they are here. Any takers?

I am okay with that as long as they don't rape us of our talent, as well.

-Jesster

[jesster]

I am so jealous of Ryloc right now.

Not ONLY has he moved to Chicago and not ONLY is he taking classes at IO he is also taking classes from CHARNA HALPERN. I met Charna briefly at last year's CIF and took a workshop with her and I instantly knew what all the fuss was about. She seems REALLY nice and genuine. That's my impression, anyway. If there were a way to take a class of that caliber in this neck of the woods, you bet your ass I would take it. But there isn't, so away I go. CIF is next week... so nervous!

Got my ticket to New York today. I fly in to JFK at 6AM Friday, July 11, on JetBlue. I hear their planes are really comfy and I got to pick aisle seats, so I don't mind that it is a red eye. Cost me about $250, though, and I still need to figure out sleeping arrangements. I guess Ross will do whatever since he is in two other groups that got in, but Austin, Ryan and I at least need to figure it out. Hopefully, I can catch wind of any classes that come up, as well.

On Saturday I get to go up and teach Off the Wall in Ogden. Should be fun. I wonder if I should post my quickie lesson plans here? Someone might like them. Better yet, someone might want to help me tweak/fix them! That would be cool!

We actually have a rehearsal scheduled next week, which is nice. I am really frustrated with how things are going with KYSOff as far as communication and organization. I want to help, I just don't know how to. I've offered to meet with Joe, our troupe leader, especially to talk about the new theater, but I don't know how it will go. Bottom line is that it is his troupe and theater and I have to respect his decisions. Whether I can live with them is a different matter. All in all, I really like Joe a lot and have a lot of respect for him and it would take a lot for me to abandon him or the troupe so I will just probably have to deal, even if I don't like it.

Ryloc doesn't have to deal with this shit... LUCKY!

-Jesster

[jesster]

See... it's not all just drama at the theater!

Talked to Joe via email about some of the theater stuff. I am a lot more comfortable now that I understand what he is up to. We'll all find out more at rehearsal next week, I suppose. Since I would guess that the two hours allotted for rehearsal will be mostly troupe business, I offered to conduct the first two hours of rehearsal. I am not a director in the troupe, but since noone else offered and I know I have some things I can teach, I figured I would offer. Bottom line is that I feel a bit better.

Tomorrow involves a trek up to Ogden to teach at Off the Wall. I am looking forward to it. Austin has a lot of hopes for the troupe and I think it should be fun. Austin has also approached me about getting a two man show together. I would LOVE that. I will have to see what I can do to make that happen. With Clearfield opening up their theater Thursdays for an open mic kind of show, it might be fun to try and do it there. It would be ideal to have a coach, though. *sigh*

Next week is CIF. I hope I can meet a lot of people there. Last year we went as a troupe and I think they prevented us from doing a lot of socializing. Especially during our hours long team builder that Saturday eve/Sunday morn at the hotel. This year it might be fun to just hang out and put faces to screen names or what-not. And I really need to visit with my uncle and cousin in Chicago.

Chicago is weird for me, because my aunt, who died a few years ago, lived there. At her funeral, a friend of hers told me how proud my aunt was that I was the only member of my family to get out of Massachusetts and do something to expand my horizons. I'll always remember that and Chicago will always mean Aunt Marcia to me first, and improv second.

Sorry... I'm getting a little dramatic.

-Jesster

[jesster]

Games are fun.

Whenever you play a game, it should be fun. If it's not, go the fuck home. If you play football because your dad is trying to relive his lost youth through you, football isn't going to be fun. If you play because it excites you and you are passionate and the first thought you have as you get in the locker room is, "I can't wait to do THAT again!" you are in the right place. If you look at every practice as an opportunity to learn and play some more, you are dead on.

Improv is like that to me. I tell people I get on stage maybe once a month or so, and they ask why I don't play more. I tell them I do, I usually do for 4 hours every Tuesday rehearsing with KYSOff and 2 hours Saturdays in public workshops. Rehearsal is not work, it's an opportunity to do improv with and in front of my friends and fellow improvisers. These are people who really appreciate and understand what we are after on stage, and what better audience is that?!?

Teaching Off the Wall up in Ogden was a blast! Getting there was not so fun (Riverdale Road is an abortion!) but the payoff was huge. All these folks who were used to short form were blowing me away with their scene work. There were a lot of great things done on stage, from some nonverbal "I want you" communication between two friends talking about one of the friend's girlfriend getting in an accident, to some fun, selfish scene I did with one of the students where we played three beats of a "everything I do or have you undermine" game (as white trash, scientists, and evil geniuses). Again, the explanation of the game came up, and I went back to "what was the scene about." I also said, "what was fun about the scene."

Then it clicked. Games are fun! If you are playing a game with someone in a scene, it should be a mental orgasm of excitement! Love it, nurture it, feel it and want it more more MORE!

Austin and I stayed and tried out the three beats duo format I tried with Jarky and Scott, and it went really well. Austin makes cool game moves and pays attention, and I tried to do the same, it I had a LOT of fun with him! I was glad it worked out, because nothing would have been more embarassing than establishing myself as the teacher and trying to lead folks to understanding a concept and then trying to do it myself and fucking up. The format would probably make a good opener as it lasts about 10 minutes.

Our first real KYSOff rehearsal is tomorrow. I agree with Austin, it feels like it has been MONTHS. I am going to teach the first two hours, then when Joe get there, he will take over. I think he will probably be inundated with questions and we may not get a lot of improv done because of troupe business, so I am glad he is letting me teach the first two hours so we CAN improv.

Then on Thursday I leave for CIF. I am so nervous. I'll get to hang with Ryloc again, which is very cool. He just got accepted into the Incubator program at The Playground in Chicago. Way to represent, dawg! I am so proud of the fact that he is there showing people that folks in Utah can improvise. That something is happening out here and it's worthwhile. Maybe if we can build up enough support, we can make it worth staying here so talented people can quit leaving us and people can start mentioning Salt Lake City in the same breath as Chicago and New York instead of Tel Aviv and Hong Kong! We are an artistic community not a fucking curiosity!!

What am I so mad about? It's just a game!

-Jesster

[jesster]

Bad feelings are more contagious than good.

If you bring a lot of negative shit into a group or practice, there is a high probability that negativity will undo any positive energy that exists. I had lunch today with a friend from my troupe and while I have a lot of respect for him he can be a total drag. Nothing is ever good and it is all shit. It's easy to get caught up in that. There are events occurring in his life that will minimize his exposure to the troupe more and more and perhaps that is for the best. What frustrates me is that he is very talented and has a strong will that can accomplish a lot, but he chooses to use that to sew discontent rather than accomplish positive changes. Ack!

I think we all have our mood swings... granted. But we need to actually change things rather than bitch about the status quo. I was so proud of Ryloc and my efforts to get Ross White to fly in and not only teach our troupe, but others in our improv community. We didn't just talk about it, but went ahead and got it done. And Ryloc organizing folks to not only get the Trolley Brawl to happen, but to spruce up the theater as well, including painting our logo on our stage!

Have I mentioned how much I miss Ryloc?

On this note, I noticed I was griping about the situation with our rehearsals, and decided to help out however I could. That's why I am teaching the first half of tonight's rehearsal. Again, I am trying to help solve a problem rather than just bitch. Less talking, more doing.

I wonder if people realize how powerful negative emotion is. Maybe they do and that is their way of exhibiting control. I wonder if folks just took that improv note of "make the positive choice" to rehearsal and to their troupes, how much more fun they would have, just as scenes can be more fun when you make that choice.

Typhoid Mary was probably a pessimist.

-Jesster

[jesster]

The IRC and CIF owe me a good night's sleep.

That's all I could think about all last night. CIF coming up and the IRC and ideas I had after last night's rehearsal. It was maddening! That and my kitty cat loudly purring while sleeping on me.

The first half of rehearsal went pretty well, I thought. We got into scenework quickly, then I tried an exercise where we did two person scenes with a third person on the backline. The job of that person was to try and find a way to heighten the game or relationship established by the other two actors without making the scene about that third person. It started slow but caught on. Then we tried two beats of a scene, which went well, and four person scenes, which went GREAT! Lots of listening and good focus and good scenes! Yum!!

Joe arrived and the troupe business did not go as badly as I feared. We spent a half hour on business and news issues and went into working on openers. I think after working through them with Joe, I get it a bit more. Here's my epiphany and feel free to correct me if I am wrong:

An opener should blow up the suggestion
An opener is meant to kick start group mind
An opener should avoid being scenic
Inspiration, not obligation
Everyone should try and get in synch with each other

This last one seems important to me. If someone kneels and says a prayer, everyone should kneel and pray. If we do word association, that's what everyone does. Group scenes and subversions are for games, not openers. Also, in relation to inspiration, not obligation, the actors should avoid going in a set order. Rather, everyone should contribute when they are inspired to contribute.

That's where I am going to come from with my thoughts on openers from now on until someone convinces me otherwise. Hopefully I am on the right track. I feel like I am.

The Todd Stashwick advanced class is really making me nervous. I hope I don't reek and fuck everyone else up. It will be a long six hours if that's the case. I am just going to go there, be humble and support, and learn as much as I can. I think CIF overall has me worried. Feels a lot less organized this year. I still don't know when my improv all night slot is and I haven't received a confirmation email like Ryloc has. And I can't get any emails returned. Grr...

Maybe I'm just cranky because I'm tired.

-Jesster

[jesster]

It is so weird meeting people.

It is ESPECIALLY weird if you "know" them from online. No amount of textual communication can prepare you for the sounds and sites of this person. Dan Telfer called me as I was finishing packing for the plane. He was really friendly and laughing on the phone, and seemed to be genuinely concerned when my son heard me mention I was going on a plane and was upset because he wanted to come. Dan and I made tentative plans and my son finally said, "It's okay, daddy. You can go." (Awww) Of course, he tugged on the heart strings by calling me back as I drove off with a "Daddy! I need to give you a big hug!!" a couple of times. Well worth it.

Got in and met Ryloc at the "L" near O'Hare. I met his roommates at his place and they were really friendly and accomodating. It sucks because we don't really have a lot of time to hang out. Ryloc told me about a class Gary Austin is teaching Friday night on Harold and we are going to try and get in to that. Hope it's not full.

We met Dan Telfer for dinner and he is really friendly. I expected him to be bitter or something, but he was easy to laugh and just really high energy. Since one of our troupe mates can't make it to our Improv All Night deal Saturday, we are going to try and sneak him on stage with us as a replacement. We'll see how it goes.

We went to the Neutrino video show and it was very cool. I got to meet Jill Bernard from Minneapolis, who is a sweetie! The show itself was neat. I guess I never realized they filmed it right there and then and just put it together in the back room. The people editing must just be un-FUCKING-believable. Wow! And the things they got away with filming were wild. Everything from a foul mouth puppet scene in some day care, to letting on improviser behind the counter of a 7-11 to play a guy at the register, to Kurt being naked on a sidewalk of a very busy street. I'm not talking streaking, they did a scene for about 3 minutes, where he just sat there naked. No one seemed to mind. Hilarious! And this random guy they got to talk about pulling blood clots out of dead people at his mortician job... crazy!

Ryloc and I jetted over to IO to see their "Orange" format. It was experimental and interesting, and overall a good time. As with the Neutrino stuff, though, it seemed to suffer a bit from the amount of people involved. Lots going on. But it was wild to see how they worked connections and patterns and themes together.

We tried to hook up with someone from YesAnd.com at Weeds because there was supposedly a big gathering there. We went in and there was a guy filming some scenes and asked Ryloc and I if we wanted to do a scene in the bathroom about personal freedoms. We didn't know this guy from a hole in the ground, but it sounded like fun. He was really complimentary and nice, so I introduced myself and it turns out this was David Shepherd, one of the people being presented with lifetime achievement awards at CIF. Wild! I think he was kind of drunk, but he was very nice. Got a pic with him, which should trun out fun.

Off to the Lincoln Tap room where most improvisers had congragated. It was cool, because I got to meet Andy Eninger again and saw the guy who took our group picture at CIF last year (Scott from Detroit). Small world! I even got a pic taken with Armando Diaz and embarrassed myself by telling him I would "cream" if he taught classes during the Del Close Marathon. I'm a moron.

I did get to meet some folks from the IRC, including rainswept (Lisa) and Billy Merritt. Billy Merritt was especially friendly and I complimented him on his journal. It really is a great journal! But it was still weird introducing myself and mentioning my screen name to see if people "know" me. Especially the folks who nod politely, smile, and turn back to the conversation you just interrupted them from. Which intimidates me because some of them will be in my classes this weekend. NOTE TO SELF: attend class to learn, not to attempt to impress classmates!

:nerd giggle: Hi, I'm jesster from the IRC and YesAnd.com!

-Jesster

[jesster]

I am *so* not a party person any more. *YAWN*

Being up til 3AM has me a bit tired. Interesting statement, given it is 2:15AM and I am meeting my uncle for breakfast tomorrow (today) at 9:30AM. Dumb.

Did the Joe Bill advanced workshop today and it was cool. Annoyance style is a lot of fun for me and Joe Bill is just a nice, supportive person. Got a pic with him as well, so fun fun fun. Also got to do scenes with a girl from a Martha's Vineyard troupe called WIMP I met last year. Her name is Laura and she is very nice and fun to do scenes with. We did one together about drowning kittens and blaming each other that made Joe Bill get up and start pantoming jerking off, so that was nice. Another WIMP member named Dave is on our Instateam for Improv All Night. He is a nice guy and a good improviser. Rainswept was in the class, too, but she really was sore from the Neutrino gig the night before so she didn't do any scenes, which was too bad because it would have been nice to play. Oh well.

Met up with Ryloc at the forum and saw the Q&A forum with Angela Shelton and Frances Callier. If you have ever met or seen Angela, she is fucking HOT! Wow! And both her and Frances were *hilarious*! You could tell they had a total vibe with each other. Then saw a trio performance with Susan Messing and two other girls in a group called TROIS. For having a lot of piss and poop jokes in it, it was pretty funny.

We got into the Gary Austin Harold workshop and left with a guy we met named Jeff from Second City Detroit. We had actually hung out with him last night as well. That workshop was ok, but a bit confusing. His structure is much looser than I am used to and felt more like a pastiche to me. The edits were quick and on top of each other and I told him I felt rude. He said be rude and selfish, so I did. I told him I felt almost like a criminal and I liked it. He had me write the quote down for him. Funny. Ryloc was *on* and doing some great stuff with supporting and callbacks and people were loving him on stage. Laura was there as well. We ended up getting a beer and some food with Gary and some students after, but it was pretty low key. Again, he was nice and the class was interesting, but in retrospect I wish I'd gone out to see a show. On the other hand, we did a 15 person Harold and it was a fucking great time! I'll have to review my notes and see if I find anything interesting past the long diatribes about Del Close.

Todd Stashwick tomorrow... time to celebrate!

-Jesster

[jesster]

Why would someone take a class and not get up on stage? Weird.

Everyone in my Todd Stashwick class was up and going. After getting a full cup of coffee spilled on my jeans at Starbuck's when my uncle's cup tipped over after I brushed the wobbly table we were at, I went upstairs to take my class I was so very afraid of. I just said, "I am not performing so my classmates will be impressed. I am performing so I can learn" and it worked out well. We went over a very organic format Todd had started in Burn Manhattan and brought to L.A. called "The Beast." Pretty wild stuff. By the end of 6 hours, I was frigging tired, but had met RottenRhymer, Louise, Paul Imboden (again) and Kevin Robbins from the YesAnd.com board, so fun fun fun. The organic stuff is growing on me. We had 20 people on stage just jamming and it was neat. I wish things went as well on stage as they do in workshops and rehearsals sometimes. The students in the class have a slot to perform at Improv All Night at 4AM... I'll be in bed!

Ryloc and I caught the IO venue afterwards and saw ImprovBoston, Johnny Lunchpail, and Deep Schwa do some fun stuff. I really enjoyed Johnny Lunchpail's 4 man format. Very frenetic. One weird thing I picked up is that it is ok to tag more than one person out in a freeze tag to clear the stage. Weird thing to take home froma long form show. I loved ImprovBoston's opener and ending. Neat stuff.

We met up with Dan Telfer and the others performing in our Imorv All Night team. There is no sneaking that guy into anything. He is either famous or infamous and I can't figure which. The other folks were Dave from WIMP and Eddie, Mason and Justin from North Carolina. We had some fun warm ups and got to know each other pretty well, and the stuff we did on stage was fun and good! Everyone was so patient and the scenes were neat, even though they cut us off after 10 minutes I felt it was a strong set. I was pumped. Ryloc's roommates came and were real supportive. That meant a lot!

Tomorrow the Master Class has changed venues to the Playground, which is a tiny theater that CANNOT hold 70 people let alone 200! That should be very interesting.

Ryloc disclosed to me a conversation between himself and Charna Halpern. It sound like he has caught her eye. I am so proud of what he is doing here, I am beaming. Way to fucking go.

Now pay for those IO classes and get the fuck up on their mainstage, ya bald gimp!

-Jesster

[jesster]

I am paying for all these late nights!

Sunday was a bit of a rush. I wanted to sleep in but my uncle called me at 9AM to make plans to see me off at the airport. Ryloc couldn't go with me to the Masters Class at the Playground because he had to switch his IO class to Sunday because of a conflict with his Incubator group at the Playground. I read the email exchange between him and his coach about trying to not have this be a conflict, and I must say I was pretty unimpressed with the coach's approach to solving the dilemma. But that's Ryan's deal, not mine, and he seems ok with it so whatever. But no matter what, that is not just the coach's group! There, I said it.

So I saw him off at the Belmont stop and stepped instantly from the Red line over to a waiting Brown line train to go to the Playground. I am glad that I did because Jeff, a guy from Detroit I met and liked, was there thinking the class was at noon (I was an hour early) and I was able to tell him it was at 1 and calm his worries. I know I would have appreciated it, because if I showed up somewhere knowing that the venue had been changed at the last second I would be going insane wondering what happened! I got to hang out and wait with some pretty cool folks, but I drank too much liquid.

Dave Razowsky spoke for about an hour on the importance of being actors first, improvisers secons, and getting theater back into improv and doing stand-up and bits less. It was interesting and a bit over the top, but towards 45 minutes into it I *had* to go to the bathroom. I was in the front row and the only feasible way to go was to hop on stage and cross to the bathroom. I did it while he was moving around on the opposite end but he still noticed so I felt bad.

Mick Napier got up and talked a bit. His book is due out in January or February of next year (I've read the manuscript, or what I think is the manuscript... hee hee!). He got into the usual "take care of yourself" mantra and "fuck your fear" and I got to go up and play on stage. He didn't say anything good or bad about any of the scenes I was in, which is disappointing because you could always use feedback to improve. But whatever. I talked to rainswept (Lisa) some more - she was very sweet. Got a lot of people's email's, cards and whatnot as well. Pretty neat!

I ditched out around 4 so I could make my flight. Met up with my uncle and cousin and bought some big dinosaurs at a dollar store close by the L stop. Got back in and paid for my parking (I had parked in the covered lot instead of the open long term lot. It turns out I made the expensive choice. Whoops!). Got to my car to see the insides TORN APART! Someone jimmied the lock and took out my 10 CD changer, which is mounted in the trunk so you have to take out all the panelling to get the wiring out. FUCKING MESS! After dealing with the cop, I drove the car (lucky it started) and gave the attendant my prepaid ticket, which now had a dollar on it because I spent so long with the police.

I did not pay it.

-Jesster