Book of Jason - December 2000!
Nov. 6, 2000 - December 4, 2000
A lot of people keep asking me what I'm going to do now- as if I'm retiring to Florida or something. There's plenty to do! Even though I'm not coaching regularly I do sit in and coach a team or two around town. I'm coaching a Playground team for a few sessions and sitting in with an occasional IO team. When I'm at IO I'll give notes if someone's coach isn't there (and if they ask; there's nothing worse after a show than unasked for notes.)
Things are bopping along quite nicely... I'm not in a manic rush all the time, which is great and I'm even spending some quality time with my Playstation and fellow campaigners. The much beloved Dinner for Six (well, by me, at least) is back up and running at ImprovOlympic, which is weird for so many reasons. It was about 4 years ago that it was first created with an entirely different cast and to see it now in the same theater with a whole new cast and perspective is good. We had our opening this past weekend and it was interesting; the show itself was good (not exactly where we want to be, but pretty darn close.) There was a very drunk, obnoxious person in the audience who kept yelling things out. Thanks to all the improvisers in the house who kept shushing him. He eventually got kicked out, but not before unsettling the performers. The show is different from other shows at ImprovOlympic in that it is completely not designed to make you laugh- that isn't the goal of the show. Oh, you'll laugh a lot, but not from crazy scenes or lines- from the comedy of human beings attempting to relate to each other. I'm probably going on too much about this and it's nothing that couldn't be found on the actual "Dinner for Six" page, but I just like the show and I hope that if you haven't seen it yet you will. It's free for IO students and performers, but if you're aren't one of those and you write me I will pay for you (not that I'm rich or we can afford to let more people in for free since we're paying rent on this sucka, but if you're reading this page you obviously are into improv or have a lot of free time and I like to support both pursuits.)
The Pat Shay Dancers are going well (*Knock on Wood*)
We added Nicky Margolis (also of D46 and Inside Vladimir) and she's working out great. Not only is she a great player and a great person, she's very portable (she's about 5 feet even and about 100 lbs.) She's a welcome addition to a very odd team that has more neuroses and dysfunctions than actual dancers. I'm really enjoying the long-form work we're doing. The art-ethic with PSD is strong with a complete commitment to solid scene work. The other night Chris Day accidentally punched Nicky in the face and it was very funny. She was fine. Angela Forfia and Dina Facklis had their two woman show and last Thursday did a fantastic scene about a mother and daughter-in-law who live together. Just a great two-person scene that was touching and hilarious at the same time. God, I love this stuff.
Every magazine on the face of the earth offers up their "_____ of the Year/Century/Decade" around this time of the year and I thought I would enter the fray as well. I've been thinking about this (see what walking every where gets you (besides sore feet)?) What title should it be? What criteria will be used? And I came up with this; what person/institution has done the most for the advancement of long-form improvisation (with a rather Chicago-biased perspective, of course)?
In all my musings and wanderings I came up with two answers.
First up: The Person of the Year in Long-Form Improv is Noah Gregoropoulos.
When a great person dies, a void is created and Nature attempts to fill that void. When Del Close left this plane of existence the choice of who would take over his classes was never in doubt; it had to be Noah.
Inheriting Del's classes was a heavy burden at first but through stuttersteps and trial-and-error, ImprovOlympic has hit its stride with Noah and his teachings. Noah's Level 5B classes create a new long-form and then put it up on its legs in the Del Close theater. While expanding and pushing the art and possibilities of long-form improvisation, these shows remain accessible to audiences and performers alike. The trick here is not such much pushing the improvisers to new heights (as Noah did with the incredible Close Quarters, where all the scenes took place at the same time and often overlapped and somehow interacted without running rampant over each other), but in seeing what long-form improvisation has to show us without alienating an audience which may or may not be familiar with improv conventions.
While teaching these classes (and directing some additional rehearsals with some shows) Noah has also taken Chicago's most venerated (and berated) long-form show to a new plateau. Many months ago, I wrote about the history of and, what I felt at the time, the de-evolution of the Armando Diaz show. What was once a showcase for the greatest improvisers in Chicago to get together and perform long-form had degenerated into yet-another-improv-show. Sensing a need for change, Noah gathered together some performers who felt the same way and extended invitations to improvisers who had never performed in the original Armando show and they all began working on a new form. Tampering with such a well-known and well-liked format was risky, but months of rehearsal and fine-tuning have paid off. Now called The Mosaic, the show is a sly interpretation of the Deconstruction with some avant-garde performance art thrown into the mix. The original Armando show featured performers that made you wish you could be like them; this show makes you wish you could be in the show. And that's what improv should be about, isn't it; the show, more than the performers; the scene, more than the show. The Mosaic is wonderfully a show, not a showcase. Noah would probably be the first person to say that he didn't create the Mosaic himself, but someone rallied the troops, made the plan, lead the charge, and it was him. Noah's contributions to Chicago long-form improvisation this year alone will have long-range effects. Every student who performs in one of the Level 5B shows and every improviser who sees and learns from the Mosaic will see what long-form is capable of.
Now one might say that I have a personally bias towards Noah, and you know what it's true. I admire and respect him because he cares, admires, and respects improvisation like few people I know. Noah was there when
long-form began it's baby steps and now that it's up and walking around I love that he's fascinated by where it will run. Noah Gregoropoulos is my pick for The Person of the Year in Long-Form Improv. Thank you Noah!
(click here to visit Noah's Ark!)
Also, the Theater Making A Significant Contribution to the Art of Long-Form Improvisation for the Year 2000 (how's for a title?! Thank God, I'm not handing out statuettes!)
The Playground Theater for its Director's Series. The Playground has long been just a place where teams can go and perform without any critical thought or analysis from the theater itself. Producers Megan Pedersen and Fuzzy Gerdes decided to change this by creating this Director's Series for the Playground. The showcase asks a long-form director to cast and create a new show for the theater using Playground members. The results thus far have been Dinner for Six and Drive. Yes, I directed the first show in the series, but that hasn't clouded my judgment. I think the series is a worthy and noble effort to create more long-forms of substance. Rob Mello directed Drive and Mark Sutton just had auditions for his upcoming show. This is fascinating stuff going on. I wish it was more a "hit" if for no other reason so that more people would seek it out and go see it. Sunday nights are tough, but perhaps that's part of its charm and magic. Click here for more information on the Playground
Well, there's more blathering from me. Hey according to WORD, that's about 1,413 words. About a hundred and fifty bucks if this was for PerformInk. Hey, maybe I'll try to sell them this article.. don't tell them...
END OF LINE "We have, at our disposal, a captive audience of schoolchildren. Some of them don't go to the blackboard or raise their hand 'cause they're think they're gonna be wrong. I think you should say to these kids, 'You think you get it wrong sometimes? You should come down here and see how the big boys do it.' I think you should tell them you haven't given up hope and that it may turn up, but in the meantime, you want NASA to put its best people in a room and start building Galileo VI. Some of them will laugh, and most of them won't care, but for some, they might honestly see that it's about going to the blackboard and raising your hand. And that's the broader theme." -CJ Cregg, from the West Wing, written by Aaron Sorkin
- December 15, 2000
Still getting used to that 2000 thing. Next year is 2001. It's still pretty cool sounding. Can't believe there's still a movie coming out with the word "2000" in its title ("Dracula 2000"). I still can't believe that Prince's "1999" wasn't completely overplayed last New Year's Eve.
Dinner for Six is running and running well at ImprovOlympic (by the time you read this we will have two more shows in December.) We should be finding out soon whether or not we will continue our run either at IO or someplace else. The show was excellent last week (12/08) with a not-so happy ending that seemed very real to me. It was rewarding to see wonderful, real anger on-stage that was played with honesty and a lack of the dreaded "sit-com" emotional level that sometimes permeates long-form. Before the show, I had sent each cast member a private e-mail with personal notes and goals. Some of them even called me before the show to discuss my notes. It's that level of dedication and commitment to the show that I really enjoy. The audience last week was an odd mix of improvisers (about a third) and just-off-the street people (special thanks to Brandi and Geoff in the box office for "selling" people on D46). The "muggles" (people with no previous exposure to improv, particularly long-form) are the hardest ones to "get" with this show. Some are expecting a fast, joke-a-minute show and this show starts with 8 people at a dinner table talking about their relationships. We also don't begin with a host or someone getting a suggestion (the suggestions are the fortunes we receive from the audience). I can usually tell when we "have" the audience and we've been doing so fairly early on- that's very gratifying.
The Pat Shay Dancers had a show this past Wednesday.
It was a good show, started very strong and then kinda plateaued...and then... Chris Day and Pat Shay were doing a scene where they were revolutionaries and sometimes would shout, "Revolution!" John Mulhern and I were crouched stage right when I see this guy get up from his seat, scream "Revolution!" and jump on stage to join the stage. Now, my computer brain did the following: scan individual to see if he matched any current PSDancers- he did not, check with archives to see if indivdual matched any past PSDancers- he did not, check ALLFILES to see if individual matched any known improvisers past or present- he did not.
That all being done, John and I exchanged quick glances and then jumped on stage. In the meantime, this interloper was attempting to do a scene (I think) with Pat and Chris. John and I enter as (previously seen in the show) security guards. I said something that was a callback to the previous scene (as did John, I think) and then I just tackled the guy and lifted him offstage. Jim Carlson was in the hallway as we landed and he quickly asked, "Do you know this guy?" I said I didn't and Jim, and the interns, assisted the gentleman out of the building. Then, in a show of pure bravery, John and Rich Sohn did the first scene after that. That takes the greatest balls of all since no one is really paying attention; they're watching that guy leave, they're asked their friends "Is that part of the show?", the whole room is buzzing about something that already happened off-stage... Thank you John and Rich!
High weirdness in days of snow. In hindsight, I'm a little disappointed in myself- I saw the guy coming and I didn't prevent him from getting on the stage... I wish my reaction time were swifter. I mean, I didn't immediately recognize someone coming on to the stage and I still took the time to evaluate who he was. What if he had a weapon or something or assaulted a performer or audience member? I'm glad that it ended the way it did.
Let's see what else is going on improv-wise... oh, I'm going to teach a special one-day workshop at the Playground. I'm not sure on the specifics as yet, but I'll let you know. Oh, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer Magazine (the ONLY-official, authorized magazine devoted to Buffy the Vampire Slayer) ran a nice article and photo of "Thriller Theater Three". It's a great picture. I should have it here someplace...
I think I may be playing "The Mosaic" for New Year's Eve; if they're short. I don't know. Otherwise I will plan a giant terrorist attack on Times Square; they'll never expect it. Either or.
END OF LINE
"Well, our long national nightmare is over, and our new national nightmare is set to begin: George W. Bush is the president-elect, and that feeling in the pit of your stomach should go away once you take a look at how your tobacco and pharmaceutical stocks are doing this morning ..." - Jon Stewart, the Daily Show
"The great thing about America is everybody should vote."- George W. Bush, Austin, Texas, Dec. 8, 2000
"They misunderestimated me."- George W. Bush, Bentonville, Ark.,
December 21, 2000
Anyone see/remember that Scrooge musical starring Albert Finney? Man, I love that movie. The soundtrack is out of print, but I've been able to compile (I think) the entire show from Napster. God bless the peer-to-peer sharing. Jack McBrayer is right; this thing (Napster) is astoundingly addictive. I've been able to indulge my fascination with ancient superhero theme songs (Thundarr, Fantastic Four (1967!), Aquaman, Spiderman & His Amazing Friends, the list goes on but I shan't...)
What's the deal with Improv Fests? I must admit that I have only been to the Chicago Improv Fest and I just don't understand the attraction of them. At the Chicago Fest there are interesting "reunion" shows and the like, and perhaps some workshops (usually with people I have already had classes with), but that's about it. Ironically, in other cities these same people from Chicago are teaching (and, to be perfectly frank, sometimes there are people from Chicago teaching in other cities that would never dare teach at home (in Chicago)). I would love to see other
teams play other forms in different cities, but for that I need to go to a fest? I'm not slamming fests here; I just don't understand- please someone enlighten me as I am now considering whether or not to visit the various upcoming fests.
I'm looking forward to Saturday night; the Pat Shay Dancers and Deep Schwa have a show together. That'll be fun. I haven't had an opportunity to see an entire Schwan show in a few weeks and I'm looking forward to playing again with the Dancers. Is it important to like your teammates; of course, but it's even more imperative to respect them and there are few people I respect more than the Dancers. I've said it before and I'll say it again: while other improvisers (myself included) enter a scene and fire lines like an uzi on acid, Rich Sohn will enter the same scene and just destroy the entire building with one line. The man is a Sniper.
Why am I having such a hard time figuring out if and where "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is playing here in Chicago? This new-fangled internet is impossible.
And now, a rant on the Golden Globes (click here to skip it):
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association presents the Golden Globes. This organization was founded in 1943. Today, the Association represents magazines and newspapers in some fifty-five countries with a combined readership of more than 250 million. The publications vary in size, content and readership--the present list includes leading publications in England, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, Scandinavia, Holland, Latin America et cetera, from The Daily Telegraph in England to Le Figaro in France, from L'Espresso in Italy to Stern in Germany--as well as China Times and the pan-Arabic magazine Kul Al Osra (information taken from the HFPA website). The members or the HFPA are reporters that do interviews and press junkets for studios and companies in other countries. This "award ceremony" is a farce intended only to promote and advertise certain studio offerings. You want to know how that is? Look at the nominees this year alone. I also love that the Hollywood FOREIGN Press Association gives an award for "Best Foreign Film." So, who votes for these films? Entertainment reporters! Surely the lowest form of journalism there is. Of all the award-aren't-we-swell-shows the only one that worse than this one is the Blockbuster Awards. Why do stars show up for these two shows? Money. Mammon, the god of greed has possessed them. Overseas sales can make or break a film nowadays. Blockbuster is owned by Viacom which also owns Paramount, HBO, MTV, etc. Ahhh, you're all
fuckers!
-END OF RANT.
Speaking of foreign films, a big thank you and shout out to Chris Berzac for loaning me the wonderful films Iron Monkey, The Legend of the New Shaolin and A Better Tomorrow 2. That's some crazy-ass shit. Yuen Woo-Ping directed the Iron Monkey and it's incredible. It merges actual Chinese history with Chinese mythology so the result is weird (it's pretty much a Chinese version of.. say... Abraham Lincoln (age 10) and his father teaming up with Johnny Applseed/Robin Hood if they all could like, fly and do kung-fu and knew Shaolin No Shadow Kick). Woo-Ping also did the fight choreography for "The Matrix" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." Anyway, Thanks Chris!!
Why am I having such a hard time figuring out if and where "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is playing here in Chicago? This new-fangled internet is impossible.
I've been "talking" a bit here about movies. For someone who does a much better job than I and is completely HILARIOUS... check out this site... The Master of 10,000 Things. He is not naked.
"It was me who said that, not CJ Cregg! Can I be on the website?!" - Tim Sniffen or Brendan Dowling. I get them confused with CJ Cregg.
Improv, improv improvisation.
Let's gaze into the crystal ball and see what's going on for 2001.
Dinner for Six just got extended at ImprovOlympic and is considering going to various fests in and around town. That's fun and exciting. It's a good show. I like it and I hope it continues forever.
I have an idea for a new long-form show, though I don't know if I'll get to it. It's a big commitment and a lot of work. I want it to happen however. It's a large cast idea, but with the philosophy of theatrical form. We'll see.
I will be teaching a workshop at the Playground called "Defensive Driving for Minority Players." It's how-to defend/deflect the potentially racist/sexist initiation. I have no idea what I'll be teaching at this moment, but I really liked the name.
I will be teaching at ImprovOlympic; either an elective or an eight-week session. I'm excited at the prospect of either.
I will be buying a copy of "Unbreakable" and watching it and watching it and then speaking about it ad nausea.
Ditto for the Godfather DVD.
I hope to make further progress on several of the writing projects I'm currently ignoring under the pretense that "it's the holidays" or "let me just finish this one sub-mission in Final Fantasy 9" or " Hey, Law & Order is on. Again."
Wonderful person, lover of poodies, Superbuddy and JiHaHottie, Amber Tillett keeps reminding me that we're supposed to sign up for the "Slugfest" (ImprovOlympic's one-person show showcase) together. We would just do them on the same night to ensure that neither one of us chickens out. I will probably chicken out. I haven't written a thing. I don't know what to do. I have written and destroyed about 4 things so far. Maybe I should dig out my stand-up routine from '88. Oy, what a mess. I confess.
I will be hiring someone to recreate this website. I admit defeat. I suck at this thing. I'll give a few more goes meself, but I just suck at this. I mean, I should be able to have the counters and animations and a message board, but I'm not using the software and website to their full potential and isn't that what "Unbreakable" is all about- realizing your own abilities and using them to their fullest?
Oh, and I will be playing on New Year's Eve at ImprovOlympic. That'll be fun. Free food if nothing else and now I have an excuse for not having anyone to kiss at midnight.
Hey, you know what I miss at Christmas? The free toys. You wake up and suddenly your toy collection has expanded! Free Toys! Sometimes I think we have better toys now than we did as kids, but for every Playstation 2 and N64, there's the original Superfriends Hall of Justice and the Planet of the Apes Treehouse. For every iMac and JSA pvc set, there's the original Atari set (and cartridges) and the Mego line of dolls.
You ever have a memory just sneak up on you? I do all the time. I can't wait for senility. I won't be able to tell the difference- actually I don't anyone really does if they're the one who gets it...anyway..
I was on the team "THEY!". Sort of a proto-Pat Shay Dancers.. let's see who was on there.. There was me, Pat Shay, Bina Martin, Kelly McBride, uhm Joe Something, Todd Garman and some others.. I don't have the old schedules with me... there was a scene/show that was the first one that really made me feel that "Yes, moving here, taking these classes, working 90 hours a week, is RIGHT."
We were doing the show. I don't remember the suggestion, but a scene started with me and Bina. We're 4th graders or something and she says she hates me because I still wear diapers. "But that will help me when I grow up!" I stammer. Todd Garman tags Bina out and begins a press conference when my character is now running for president (this must have been about 4 years ago, come to think about it). Todd asks, "Sir, is it true you still wear diapers?!" I tell him yes, I do because if awakened in the middle of the night to answer the red phone I can relive myself and still take care of affairs of state. Another president might waste precious seconds in the bathroom causing the death of millions of innocent Americans. Someone else asks if it's true I still eat my boogers? Yes, I say, it's true. Boogers are merely the dust, dirt and pollution particles that our noses filter out before we breathe them in and since, as a senator, I sponsored and fought for the clean air bill I know that America's air is the cleanest it's been for decades. Therefore I proudly eat my boogers as proof that the American system works. Just
about everyone on the team asked me a question that got answered similarly. It was great.
Our coach was Peter Gwinn and he was amazingly complimentary to me that evening. It was great and it was the first show moment that I can remember thinking, "Hey, I could do this for the rest of my Life."
What's your story? I'd like to know.
Happy Hanukah!
Merry Christmas!
Joyous Kwanzaa!
Merry New Year!
END OF LINE
"The ice is so slippery! And monkeys are all irrational!!" - Anya, plugging some Disney ice-hockey-playing monkey movie, on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
"Do you think the young lady could stop that until we're finished talking?" - Number 2, from the Top Ten List of Things George W. Bush Asked President Clinton, from the 12/20/00, Late Show with David Letterman.
December 26, 2000
Christmas is over. Kwanzaa begins. Hanukkah almost over. Lord Grathmor has ascended.
Had a show with the Pat Shay remnants on Saturday. It was fun. Although we had planned for more, we had only four of us there. Rich Sohn, John Mulhern, Dina Fackliss, and I asked Deep Schwan Jeff Griggs to sit in (he's rehearsed and played with us before) and serendipitously, John had run into Kevin Dorff earlier in the day and asked him if he wanted to play with us. That was the ultimate in cool.
You see, the Pat Shay Dancers perform the long-form called (after the historic show that created said form) Jazz Freddy. That show was performed nigh a decade ago and featured some of the (IMHO) greatest improvisers ever; Brian Stack, Noah Gregoropoulos, Miriam Tolan, Rachel Dratch, Jimmy Carrane, Pat Finn, Dave Koechner, and many more. Pete Gardner was my very first teacher at Second City, ironically, and was the director and creator of the show. Kevin Dorff was also a member of that pivotal show. Here's a photo of the cast at Noah's website.
http://members.aol.com/aspates/freddy.html#freddy
About a year and a half ago, we asked Jimmy Carrane to coach us. He agreed to, and we began to do the Jazz Freddy form (it's pretty much a deconstruction/time-dash. Ask me to do the dance that explains the form for you...). We've had our ups and downs, but we've really been hitting a stride of good stuff of late (knock on wood). Anyway, having Kevin play with us was exciting and nerve-wracking. We did our lame ass warm-up (which is lame-ass and weird, but it works for us) Hey, ho, the show. Dream was good. I did a "Frequency"/"Terminator" bit. We tend to let scenes go very long with the idea being "the scene's the thing." Kevin made a lot of cool and interesting edits. We were definitely moving faster than usual. Sometimes we don't call things back because the first set of scenes take up almost 15 minutes of the show, but this one went long and well. I remember something Kevin said in rehearsal for the Second City show "Promisekeepers, Losers, Weepers"- he said, "The urge to walk-on should be the urge to walk-through" and he did just that. He did a few walk-throughs and kept moving. Very cool. Anyway, it was very educational, fun, exciting and useful to do our show with one of the founders of the form. Thank you, Kevin! I learned things.
KEVIN (hugging Dina): Hi, honey... oh, something in here smells terrific.
DINA: I know, it's my pregnancy test.
KEVIN (smelling and examining the "stick") : Well, we'll get 'em next time, dear.
After the relatively lightly attended shows, came the Jam. There were about three times the amount of people for the Jam than for the shows (8pm and 10:30pm). Host Craig Uhlir with Matt Chapman ran a great Jam; it was fun and fast-paced with a great mix of audience participation and bits. Sometimes it's too tempting to just put in as many bits as possible but they have found a great balance. They whipped out some old folded up pieces of construction paper with game names on them. This were the cards used by Peter Gwinn and Craig Cackowski when they hosted the Jam about 5 years ago. I used to go to those Jams and there would be about 10 people in the audience. Painful. Games would go on forever. Joe Canale and Bob Skuprien would be there (we were all in class together) and they would proceed to mangle the alphabet in the ABC game for about 15 minutes a try. Man, that seems like a long time ago! At the time neither Peter nor Craig were anywhere near Armando or SC Tourco.
I stayed to the end of the Jam which I have not done in quite some time and was not really planning on doing. It was fun. Of particular hilarity was Craig and Matt "fighting" each other with about 2 dozen of those giftwrap cardboard rolls. Somehow John Lutz and Joe Canale and Noel Dinneen all got embroiled in it was well and all hell broke loose. A strange phenomenon are the Jam Groupies; these very young, cute girls who come to almost every Jam to see Craig and Matt. Weird.
I have yet to watch "A Christmas Story."
I am addicted to www.amihotornot.com (out of 1536 votes, I'm a "7.2")
I found a Miles Davis CD at work today. Merry Christmas!
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon lives up to the hype. It's an excellent romance film, it's a great period piece and it's a kick-ass martial arts film. Thus far, I have read two reviews that say the fighting style either "borrows" or "steals" from "The Matrix." Those people are idiots.
Happy Birthday to Susan Messing.
