The Numbers For 2018

Year #6 without a drink. I didn't do it alone, I couldn't. I've stayed sober because of the help of others and the grace of my Higher Power.

I read 62 books my top 5 were The Sudden Appearance of Hope, The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, The Minotaur Takes A Cigarette Break, The Anubis Gates, and Paradox Bound.

I saw 82 movies in the theater.

I fired a gun for the first time.

We(Nicole and I) went to 2 author events(Christina Henry and Esther Perel).

We went to 2 Michelin starred restaurants(Topolobampo and Parachute).

We went to 4 weddings.

We went ice skating once.

I went on 3 vacations (Richmond, motorcycle trip around Lake Michigan, New Mexico).

I saw 1 adolescent hero- Broon.

I did 48 shows with Deep Schwa.

I did 47 shows with Sight Unseen.

I did 9 shows with Plane Station.

I did 4 shows with Terrific Six(various mixes of members from my first improv team The Album).

I directed 1 solo show.

I understudied and performed in the play Deerfield Inn once.

I wrote 68 poems, 3 essays, and did 9 readings.

I rode my motorcycle for 6 months.

I went to 1 magic show.

I went to 0 funerals.

I went to 0 plays.

I went to 0 concerts.

I helped celebrate my niece's 2nd birthday.

Nicole and I celebrated our 5th Anniversary.

A full year, a satisfying year, a fast year. I'm grateful for each and every day.

SNL

(Hallway with headshots of all SNL cast members, Alex is the latest)

Alex my old teammate and roommate got hired on SNL at the start of this season. It had been a dream of his since he was a kid and he's been doing an incredible job. I went to the show with his fiancé and watched the show from his dressing room. Pictures aren't the best quality because there were "No Pictures" signs everywhere so I had to use my phone.

(Alex's office, supposedly the same office shared by Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi)

The whole experience was surreal. There were tons of staff and everything was very controlled and regimented. Saw some celebs in the hall way and got escorted onto the stage to watch the first act of the musical guest. Very cool. Alex was in a good amount of the second half so we didn't see him much after the first couple sketches. He did a great job and it seems like he's really making a spot for himself on the show.

Got the tour afterwards and took the obligatory SNL stage pic. It's been a good couple years since Alex and I were in classes together at iO and did shows in bars and storefront theaters with our independent improv group The Album. There's been a lot of ups and downs for both of us since then. It's pretty amazing Alex is on SNL, I never doubted his talent or ability but in some ways its like winning the lottery. He's been doing good work on the show and I'm so incredibly proud of him and so happy to call him my friend. Very bizarre and cool to see your friend leave his work and be asked by a group of twenty people for pictures. What a world.

The Big Orange

Alex dropped me off at LAX a little after midnight so I could catch my 5am flight back to Chicago. A miscalculation on my part because I was unable to sleep at the airport or on the plane. Now, back home, I'm exhausted certainly worth it though. Some thoughts on the experience as a whole.

The best part of the vacation was spending time with Alex. We had been close since we went through classes together some years ago at iO, roommates for a year, but after that grew apart. Not for any particular reason just in the way people do as time moves on. Our old chemistry was still there, the inside jokes, the silly slang, it all came back quickly. We reminisced a bit during the visit but mostly just joked, enjoyed each others company, and told each other about our lives now. Shared our fears, triumphs, and plans. Reconnecting with Alex and discovering our friendship as solid as ever was easily the most fulfilling part of the trip. The second best thing was swimming in the Pacific, the third- tacos from El Flamin' Taco.

With so many people moving over the past year I couldn't help but view LA as a potential destination and a lot of people asked me if my visit was to scope it out. My reaction to LA was similar to that of NYC which was I could live there. Previous to my visit the concept of LA was daunting and I certainly suffered under the misconception that people there were shallow or self involved.  I found the city much more manageable then I had anticipated- the lay out of the different neighborhoods and suburbs made sense to me. There were a lot of cool bookstores, restaurants, and parks. The people, on the whole, were outgoing and approachable. I noticed eye-contact between strangers seemed to be normal which I found rather odd but kind of endearing. Taking all of those elements together I think I'd be capable of living there, that it wouldn't be too overwhelming or unwieldy. However I realized it wasn't terribly appealing for me without some kind of motivation- a job, an opportunity, a school.

The weather was beautiful, all that's said about LA weather is true, it's like forever summer. I found this kind of bizarre, the five days I was there it was cloudless and 80, unchanging. Without the shifting of the seasons, the mercurial movements of the weather, I would be lost. I mentioned how weird the perpetual sunshine was to me to one of Alex's friends and he agreed saying "When I'm happy it's great but when I'm depressed it's almost mocking, cruel." A nice environment to visit during the Midwestern cold but it'd drive me crazy if I had to live there.

The interpersonal climate was interesting and different. Alex called LA "a city of extroverts". There was something disarming about how chatty people were but it also made me a bit wary. Everyone seemed unilaterally content and either they genuinely were or there is a reticence to say anything other than "I'm great! I love it here!" Either way I'm accustomed to a little more edge. There's also an urgency about commercial success, a concern about auditions and managers, about meeting people and making connections, which at this point I don't share. Not to deride that mindset it strikes me as necessary to move forward but it seems grueling.

A wonderful place to visit but at this point not a path I want to tread.

Goodbye 3541

I started taking classes at iO in 2007. I didn't go to a show for my first term there because I was too scared to use my student ID and I was too broke to pay for a show. During level 2 I mustered up enough courage to go see the Sunday 10:30 show which turned out to be GhettoBlaster and 3033. The first show I didn't care for much but when 3033 took the stage I was enthralled. They took a suggestion and for thirty minutes danced and interpretively moved to a soundtrack, no dialogue. I remember it being funny but it struck me more as an engaging piece of theater, even more impressive given these five men were big, big but graceful. From then on I was hooked.

The following week I went back on Sunday this time for the whole evening. That was the first time I saw Deep Schwa. I fell in love. They were so fast, so smart, so wickedly playful. I don't remember much about the show but after it my face hurt from laughing. The team at the time was Jeff Griggs, Brett Lyons, Dan Antonucci, Kevin Fleming, Meagan Flanigan, Brian Jack and Colleen Murray. Craig Uhlir got back from Vegas a month or so after I started watching Schwa and at first I didn't like him- too sharp, too mean, too aggressive. As a teacher Craig won me over and that roster of Schwa became my signpost and my inspiration for what improv was and could be. Subsequent additions and returning members like Rob Janas, Brian Wilson, Kate Duffy, Joe Canale, Danny Mora, and Neil McNamara were also incredible to watch. Since that first show back in 2007 I've only missed a handful of Sunday nights at iO, less than ten.

                             

I didn't got on a team after classes, I was crushed and angry. I did some work, auditioned, and made it in. My first team at iO was FireCup, it was a great first team, we really cared about each other and most of the time it showed on stage. It was a huge accomplishment when we started playing downstairs in the Cab, in my mind that was always the stage to play on, the goal, where the real work was being done. My second team was Rick where I think I did some of my best work with the Harold. My third team The Hague was great in its atonal weirdness. My independent team The Album and Julia and I's two person show Salute Jive both got runs in the Cabaret, both were unexpected and I couldn't have been more grateful for the opportunities. Ted and I put up our two person sketch show "A Year Of Saturdays" in the DCT, it was the first thing I did that I felt was in my voice. I found that voice at iO.

I had some great teachers and some bad teachers who talked too much. I had some boring teachers and some creepy teachers and some inspiring teachers. I learned some great lessons, some of them because of how angry and biting they were delivered. Some people were mean to me, I was mean to some people, I embarrassed myself a number of times, sometimes I was too proud. Occasionally I talked too much shit.

I had the pleasure of coaching JaJaJa, Echo my first Harold team the members of which will always be near and dear to me and currently coach Attica. I made a lot of friends, was involved with many interesting projects, got inspired, got motivated, got beaten down and picked myself up. I had a place to go whenever I wanted. I found a home and an art form that excited me. 

I don't have much attachment to the building itself, it's the people that are important, but I'll miss the Cabaret stage, the low ceiling, the simple lights, the way the laughs and indifference sounded. I'll miss watching a great show and getting pumped up to go on after or watching a terrible show and getting pumped up to get the crowd back. I'll miss doing a great set coming off and feeling sorry for the team that has to follow it. I'll miss the challenges and the energy, the heat and the camaraderie. It was such a unique space, part bar part theater, compact and intimate. I'll miss sneaking in the back and watching shows from the hall way and then disappearing during freeze.

It wasn't a flawless place. It could be dangerous both interpersonally and in regards to performance. It could be a place of judgement but also kindness and acceptance. Of contradictions. It was a place where you could seek and find some clarity of purpose. Hone your comedic chops in a classroom or on a stage.

It was a magical place and after tonight it's gone.

The Coalition Theater

Tonight the Coalition Theater opened its doors for the first time and it was an incredible evening. Matt and I were in the space all day getting everything ready for visitors. If I didn't know before I realized in this visit that Matt is a perfectionist. Opening a theater is kind of like a wedding, there's so many little details that need attention that you would never have thought off. The audience was packed and full of the RCC's friends and family. I was fortune to play with Middle Management- Matt, Katie, and David's three person show, the founders of the theater. We had a great set and it was such a joy and a privilege to play on that stage during the first show.

Two more RCC teams played after us and all in all it was a great night of improv. There was such a sense of fun in the room and watching the show I felt a part of this wonderful opportunity, this great potential. I can't wait for the theater to be open to the public and for them to start doing weekly shows. There's no telling where they'll go from there.

Matt's wife Katie prepared a wonderful spread for the occasion. I skipped dinner because we were doing last minute preparation so I feasted on cheese, crackers, and fruit. Delicious.

When Matt left Chicago in 2009 we talked a lot about what he would do in Richmond with improv.

Matt: Well, I think, I can do everything there I want to do here but I can do it faster in Richmond. I want to coach, I want to teach, and at some point, the big dream, is to open an improv theater.

After four years he did it and I couldn't be more proud of his accomplishment or more grateful for his friendship.

Inciting Incident 11

I ask friends "When did you first feel the need to perform?" This comes from Richmond Comedy Coalition co-founder, my first improv friend and constant source of inspiration the eclectic Matt Newman.

Inciting Incident 5

I ask friends "When did you first feel the need to perform?" This comes from actor, musician, and Talkie Pictures creator Brendan Kelly.

Kzoo Improv Fest

Yesterday was the final day of the Kalamazoo Improv Festival. The Album performed in the 8 o'clock slot and Craig and I performed at the 10 o'clock slot. Both shows were tons of fun.

The Album show was real fun. We hadn't played together in a long, long time and it was nice to get back into the grove. The group work was just as good as it ever was but we got cut early. It felt like we had just started getting going when the lights got pulled. For some reason the way the festival was structured the first two groups got twenty minutes only. I really didn't understand that and felt like we were slightly gypped.

Craig and I's show was great. Our suggestion was 'proctology' which kind of threw me. The first scene Craig was doing most of the talking and I wasn't doing much. Then about 2 minutes into the show Craig hit himself in the face with a stool causing him to bleed. That also took me out for a second. Once I realized the cut was minor we both kicked in to gear and ran pell-mell till the end of the show. My favorite part was a scene we did where I was flying a bi-plane. Craig was a rich guy passenger and we were doing a bunch of plane tricks which we would act out with the chairs. Eventually we got out on the wings, parachuted down to Craig's pool, drank a Tab then jet packed back up and into the plane. The audience went nuts. It felt great. After the little hiccup in the beginning the show was effortless and so full of joy for me I can't really describe it. It was like when you are a kid and you start to fall over and then you run so that you don't fall but then you lean more so you have to run even faster not to fall. The show was like that. Or at least that's how I felt.

Joyous momentum.

The Album Returns

The Album has our first show since October coming up a week from Saturday at the Kzoo improv festival. The Album was my first team made up of my best friends. We've drifted apart in recent months but hopefully the show will bring us back together. I'm very excited to take the stage with my friends again to see how they've changed and what results. The last show we had in Kzoo was one of our best. Our opening is a series of personal monologues. I'm looking forward to what they'll be. Some old monologues maybe which would be great to hear again and maybe some new ones, new discoveries.

Your first team will always have a special place in your heart. Maybe the most special place. The Album was there for me when I was living in Rockford and my life was on hold. The Album was there for me whenever I needed a place to stay or a friend to hang out with. The Album was there for me when I needed help with my sobriety. The Album made me into the performer that I am today. Any modicum of success or opportunity I have I owe to Eli, Alex, Megan, Matt, Travis, Amrita, Will, Jillian, BK, and Vince. And of course Craig.

The clip is from our DeMaat run in the summer of 2010. It's one of my favorite improv moments. It's not super funny, I know. But it is honest and simple and discoveries were made while were doing it.

We also picked up a show 5/15 at the CIC at 8. Love to see you there.

Album Love.