TCIF Day 1 blog -
After all the waiting and planning and hustle the Twin Cities Improv Festival finally arrived yesterday, just as sure as the little countdown timer on my desktop said it would - and it was awesome.
People kept checking with me asking 'how you holding up?' , which I find funny because to me this is the fun part, all the footwork and sending emails and scheduling and hounding press contacts and crap doesn't do it for me, that's the part that will wear a guy down. When we opened house and there was a line of familiar (and new) faces ready to kick back and enjoy the festival there were no worries. A quick recap -
Larynx and T- Rex Force - set the tone. If you had never seen Minneapolis improv before I would have to say that Larynx put out a pretty top-notch introduction, it was playful and dark, which are probably the two best adjectives that capture the style here. We play dark and somehow make it fun.
Stevie Ray's and SCRAM - brought the house down. Stevie is always an odd part of the whole Twin Cities scene, he's off in the suburbs in his own theater workin' it and when they bring the show they bring the whole show. It was great.
SCRAM was mind boggling, sweet, smart, specific, technically insane and brought people to their feet. It was one of those sets you watch in disbelief of what you're seeing until the lights go out and there's nothing to do but stand up and applaud. If you missed it you missed out in a big way.
Vaudeville with a Pig and 123 IMPROV! - kicked the party off right. Watching this show and knowing that we had a good number of visitors in the house to see it was awesome. You wanna see something brilliant? These guys are brilliant for fun.
The party was great - a chance to say hello to performers just getting in to perform, share a couple drinks and just have some fun together. That's why we do this, right?
Day 2 - morning.
Back in the theater this morning and you'd never know that we were here too late last night because not only did the staff rock it all night they worked after we dragged our asses out of the space and off to bed. You should tip them and I have to thank them. People act like the producers make the show run when really it's the staff at the doors, running drinks, getting the lines of people in the door and making sure everyone is taken care of. Thank you again and again.
Today is really a lot of waiting time now, lots of the performers for tonight actually got in to see the space last night, one of my favorite parts of doing this - I am proud as hell of the theater we get to perform in and I'm excited for them to get to play in our sandbox because it is a damn cool sandbox.
the only part I have to say I have mixed feelings about is the Five Man Job set - just like the festival itself I've been talking about it for so long that it's strange that it's actually here. tonight.
Dan Hetzel departs Five Man Job after this evening and while I'm excited for Dan, his new wife and more than a little jealous that he'll be living in the idillic San Diego weather I am really sad to see him go.
Dan has been part of this thing since we taped a note to his locker in the Brave New Workshop telling him he was in the group and he's been a major part of creating the style of play we have. We've been to Chicago together many times, Miami, St. Louis, Atlanta and through that weird little tour of the Midwest we did and everywhere we go I've been able to relax and have fun knowing that I've got one of the best there is on stage next to me.
Come see Five Man Job tonight and give the man a hand.
People keep asking about 'highlights' of the Festival and I'm totally unable to help because of the shows we've got on the schedule for the whole festival. More than a couple times last night I was asked who to come see on Friday and I caught myself listing every show - pH/Election Show, Coldtowne/Five Man Job, Rampleseed/Irish Mutts, Girls, Girls,Girls/Pimprov AND Neutrino??!! I dare you to find a better lineup in any city on any weekend.
You get the idea - "I'm stoked" is a ridiculous understatement.
This is what it's all about.
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