even more fringe

and time keeps on ticking...

So i just am fresh from what i believe is the best matinee show CRUMBS has ever done. There were people there and it was also a good one.

I have also realized that i have forgotten a couple of shows that i have seen.

-Tales from Another England by Screwed and Clued (which is really just Justin now)

-Heaven"s to Betsy by the Steve Breadstone Experience (in which Lee, myself and other local comedy superstars are featured in video)

So now grand count so far:

shows done = 9

shows seen = 6

which means i am behind and must see some more shows (as should you).

more fringe action

Wow,

It is already tuesday and i have not seen enough shows this year. Every year it is the same, so i shouldnt be surprised (but i kinda am).

The CRUMBS show is going well. After an opening show that was in the -alright- catagory, we stepped it up for our secound show (which sold out) and then kept it humming through to our third show (which i believe was a sell out as well). Now we have a 2:15 matinee to look forward to. Improv in the early afternoon is not that great of an idea, but we will see who shows up and what comes out...

The BIG STUPID improv shows are also going well. The crowds are really digging the Search For The Super Scene (which is the form\game we are playing this year. The casting of the shows are the hardest part, what with all the fabulous performers in town right now. It can be stressful to try and satisfy all the improv players and non-players who want to take a crack at it.

shows i have seen so far:

-pornStar by Chris Craddock

-Freak Out Under the Apple Tree by a New York company (which was a really dry and understated and strange comedy, check it if you like comedy from a different place then ususal).

-Pajama Men (formally Sabotage) always funny, i am a huge fan.

-Fully Insured (who are from London, Ontario) Very cool sketch comedy that is like Lo-Fi funny, i loved their transitions into and out of scenes. Kept me guessing as to wether or not the scene was over or not. Liked it a lot, had a blast.

Damn, gotta see more shows now...

Fringe Day 3

It is already day 3 of the Fringe. I have done two shows and i have seen one. I have had some beers and i have reunited myself with performers who blow into town but once a year.

The shows i have done are:

1- the Becky and Kevy experimental improv hootenany (which was a whole lotta fun to do)

2- Sex, CRUMBS and Rock & Roll (which was an alright show, but we got more in us then that...)

The show i saw was pornStar by Chris Craddock

There is so much more to do, so much more to see... But i must relax and take it all in stride, no use in stressing out.

Stolen bike...

Well jeez whiz you just cannot win anymore.

Angela (my best girl) just had her bike stolen from right outside our house. She had it for a total of four days and rode it a total of twice. It was even an old bike (although it did have its charm).

It’s a bummer man...

The Fringe is here...

Well, the Fringe is pretty much here.

The Fringe Festival here in Winnipeg starts on Wed July 20th, but the posters are up, the technical rehersals have begun, the performers are arriving from abroad and all hell is breaking loose, so really the Fringe has started already.

The Fringe is a time to hang out in Old Market Square, see a bunch of shows and do a bunch of shows. It is a time to eat vendor food (the falafel cart and the india booth) to drink beer at the beer tent and people watch.

The Fringe is about seeing live theatre that is taking a risk, from somewhere else or just really cheap. You should see lots of shows. My personal formula is: as many shows as I do, I see.

SHOWS I AM DOING:

CRUMBS at venue 4
awesome freestyle long form comedy tragedy play with two actors and one musician

THE BIG STUPID IMPROV SHOW at venue 9
the improv jam show that gets folks from all over the planet to play along together (it is a lot like world peace, but funny)

SHOWS TO SEE:

-Becky and Kevi’s improv experiment and Hootanany
it is at venue 5 and is going to be a fun time. Becky is from Toronto (via Vancouver) and Kevi is from Edmonton (but hung out in Toronto).

-Tales from Another England by Screwed and Clued
This is Justin from Screwed and Clued all by himself, don’t make him feel lonely, go to his show. It is at venue 4.

-Under the Door by RobYn Slade
This show just did a run in L.A. (as in lala land, which is totally the bigtime so check it out). venue 5

-Pajama Men in ’Stop Not Going’
These guys are formally Sabotage, which is a way cooler name, but they know that. This is surreal comedy for those that like fast paced absurdism (and its fun). venue 5

-Everything Falls Apart and More by Rob Appleby
Rob is from Regina, he is with the General Fools and is a really funny guy. I am going to check out his show, so should you. venue 6

-Illuminati: the Musical
What do I need to say... it is going to be weird folks. venue 6

-Heaven’s to Betsy by the Steve Breadstone Experience
These guys are funny and have hung up the sketches to bring you comedy in a multi-media play (both Lee White and Steve Sim make small cameos in the videos). venue 6

-BoyGroove by Chris Craddock
Our buddy Chris writes good funny smart, check it (i did).
venue 6

-pornStar by Chris Craddock
Our buddy Chirs writes good funny smart again. He is from Edmonton and for some reason the shows he writes has titles with capital letters in the middle of the words. venue 9

-Over-sexed Teenage Zombies in a Small Town by Andrea Shawcross
Zombies, that is all you need to know. venue 9

alright, that is enough for now. I will update this with more shows to see when i get some more time (and i start to hear the BUZZ). I hope this isn’t to long a blog.

Devin McCracken

When was the last time i performed with Devin McCracken... Well it was last night. It was the first time in some time (certainly the first time since Devin left CRUMBS).

He asked me to do a set with him at the Toad. Toad in the Hole pub in Osborne village has been housing a weekly improv show for some time now. The show consists of three sets that have one ’pro’ improviser playing with volunteers from the audience (sets are 8pm, 9pm, 10pm). It really is like the kareoke of improv comedy. Anyone can get up and do a scene (though usually it is the same set of regualrs which ends up being a blast anyhow).

Then, at 11pm, the set is a special presentation. Usually the 11pm set is some more pro improv folks, possibly an actual troupe, sometimes Dev would read some of his bizarre good rantings and other times it is a dirty show (like it was last night with Devin and myself).

It was dirty, it was quick and it was good to climb back into that improv land with Devin.

Up north a little

Had a gig yesterday up north a little ways.

A four hour drive north of Neepawa to a reserve to teach a workshop and do a little show for and with the community. Lee and I went as the improv people and David went up as the tech guy (lights and sound). It was a really positive experience for the community there and for Lee and myself. The reserve is Skownan and is just a wee bit north of Ste Rose du Lac (which is a cute little town we stopped for lunch at).

So we drove for hours, set up the sound system, the stage area, the lights and then started to teach a workshop like we have never taught before. The community showed up together and we taught for toddlers up to adults. It was really nice. Then we were able to chill out for a little while until we had the performance. The show was Lee and I on the stage and volunteers from the audience (à la Stephen McIntyre style) and we would guide people through some improv scenes. We also tried a couple classic improv games with them as well.

It was great to see and feel their eagerness, we really did not know what to expect. In the end they loved it as much as we did. It wasn’t the best show in content, or in comedy level or in process but it was one of the best shows when it comes down to making people feel as though they have the power to create theatre out of nothing and to have the courage to look failure in the face and laugh.

I will chalk it up as yet another reason why I do what I do.

CRUMBS radio show...

Now, i have mentioned in a couple of recent posts the CRUMBS radio show.
Allow me to explain.

CRUMBS (more specifically, Stephen and Lee) have been performing/producing an hour of radio for 101.5 UMFM for almost three years now. The show started off as an improvised radio show where we would get callers to phone in their suggestions and we would perform scenes, but then it gathered a life of its own as a call-in show. The evolution (or mutation) continued and it rears its ugly head as a fake improvised call-in talk/bullshit radio show. We advertise it with the slogan:

-don’t just listen to the radio, be the radio-

We have several people call in who we fondly refer as our regulars. They include:

-heavy metal chris
-jimi jimi
-HR Jammer
-Q-base (calling from London, England)
-Mr Slade (calling from London, England as well)
-the guy who puts his phone up to music in protest to us talking to much
-the guy who does a live DJing thing (hasnt called in a while)
-McIntyre
-and you... (or at least you should call in more)

As you can see the show is popular in London, England (at least two people) and that means it must be somehow reachable to those overseas. It is in fact true. 101.5 UMFM is reachable to those with computers and internet access (like all of you fine folks reading this blog). Simply type in www.umfm.com and follow the steps to live stream the station, then call 269-umfm and talk to us live on the radio/interweb.

again,

don’t just listen to the radio, be the radio

Attila the Stockbroker

I had the fortune of meeting Attila the Stockbroker this afternoon. He ended up doing the CRUMBS radio show on UMFM, which was lovely.

He is an old school punk rock DIY political satirist poet musician and he is in Winnipeg for a couple of shows.

check out www.attilathestockbroker.com

His shows are as follows:

Tuesday July 12
noon at Mondragon Café

Tuesday July 12
8pm at the Gas Station Theatre

Wednesday July 13
8pm at the Gas Station Theatre

I believe you should check him out.

They are all safe

All of my friends in London ended up being safe, and thank goodness. If they had even just one hair out of place i would have had to resort to vigilante justice (though i think thats why we are in this mess in the first place, american vigilante justice).

Robert G. Slade was the first to email (and he called our radio show). He and Christine were not blown up. He was on a number 13 bus when bombs went off (a number 30 bus exploded) and Chritine was supposed ot be at work that morning and would have been around one of the tube stations around the right (wrong) time. Glad you are both safe.

Jarred Christmas emailed next, he was actually in Hong Kong when the shit hit the fan. So he was mega-safe. His lady was safe as well.

Chris John was next, he reported that all his friends and family were all safe and not blown up at all. Good news (and it was nice to hear from these lads, it has been a while. It is a shame that its the tragedies that bring us people together).

Last, but not least, is Q-Base (AKA Q, Queue, Q-tip, Q-tsee, Quinn the Eskimo, Jason Quinton) who waited until worry had krept in just enough. In fact i was about to send him another email begging him to reply or i was going to start building the memorial.

I am glad noone i know was hurt. My heart goes out to the victims families.

bombs in london

so someone (or someones) decided it would be really cool for their cause to blow some folks up in london.

furthering my hate of humans.

i have sent out my emails to the folks in london that i know (Q-base, olderslade, christine, chris john and jarred christmas). i hope that they are alright, probably they are because none of them would have been up that early (perhaps rob and christine?)

now london is used to the bomb thing (WWII & IRA) so you know that they weren't slacking in the "look out for strange packages" department. which just means that those idiots who did this had to really be pros.

furthering my hate of humans.

perhaps this hate of humans when increased leads one to think that blowing up innocent humans is a good idea to further your cause. i hope not, i would hate to become one of them bomb blower uppers.

it makes me sad, the world right now feels a little crazier then it always has been.

p.s. don't blow up people

improvaganza

Example

Example

When CRUMBS was in edmonton for their improv festival there was a really good photographer. These a coule of his shots of us.

follow this link for more of the festival:

www.klyment.com/gallery2

stand up show

I did another stand-up comedy show.

It was my first performance at Rumours Comedy Club (which is actually spelled rumors which is the american spelling). This was probably my 12th stand-up performance ever (i have lost track, which is a good sign).

I started doing stand-up comedy for the fun of it. I saw so much crap comedy in the stand-up world i thought i would give it a shot. The bad stuff is so bad, the good stuff is so good (kinda like improv, suckaz). The first time i ever did it, i was scared for the first time onstage in years. I was hooked.

The show at Rumours was an Alternative Comedy Night and it featured some "alternative" comedy. Ron Moore did the show as an 8 mins long talk show, ImproVision did the show as a short form improv set and the show was hosted by a dirty talking comic in a gorilla mask. It was a fun show.

I was scared the whole week leading up to it (i had about one week warning of the show). I was so busy that i didn't write an act and then i just dreaded my slot as the minutes passed. But then i didn't feel the same pressure i usually felt while about to do a stand-up show.

Now part of the point of doing these shows was to get out of my element and take on a new medium. So the challenge for me was to actually write a routine and perform it. And it was both scary and fun. The pressure for me comes from the idea that what i have written and prepared i have actually thought was something worth performing and something i thought was funny. If it bombs, then it means real failure. When an improv show sucks, it was just being made up anyway, the pressure is off.

This show was the first time i actually fully improvised the act. It was fun, i liked it and i think that i had people in the "laugh zone". Perhaps i will do more fusion of the two mediums. The problem is i can't really remember what was in my act (good thing Ron Moore taped it).

Bad improv shows

Bad improv shows happen everyday, sometimes even more often. It is both a blessing and a curse, a double edged sword, a catch 22 and i wouldn't have it any other way.

While i am watching a bad improv show i a m filled with mixed emotions. If it sucks and the audience loves it, i feel like the audience is stupid and i feel discouraged to ever perform again for them. If it sucks and the audience hates it, i feel like the audience will never give improv another chance and i wish that it would be illegal for shitty troupes to perform in public. To deal with these situations i usually just leave the theatre, or find my happy place and smile.

While in a bad improv show it gets more complicated. Panic usually bubbles to the surface (which of course just makes things worse). The need to "fix" the problem overcomes me. I want to make sure the audience enjoys the show. Sometimes it is just a personal bias that makes the show bad. The show could be really awesome, but the things i am doing in the show are unsatisfying to me. After the show i need to feel the "rush" or the "high" of performing and it doesn't always happen, when it doesn't, it is a bad show. Sometimes it isn't what you personally are doing, it is what the other improvisers are doing (or aren't doing) and this can be frustrating. Usually i can just find my happy place and smile while improv suck falls down around me. This can actually be fun, especially if you have someone else in the show you can share it with.

Now with all these scenarios of improv suck, let me assure you that they are necessary evils. I again state that i wouldn't have it any other way. It has to suck sometimes. It has to be painful sometimes. The risk of the ultimatly shitty show, the bomb and the boring show must be present. The old saying is true "we learn more from our failures then from our succeses". It is what makes the good shows so good.

So...

-if you see a shitty improv show, don't blame all improv (if you hear a bad band you still like music).

-if you do a shitty improv show, don't give up, smile and let it suck. Perhaps somewhere in that suck there will be a way out.


The good news is the shitty shows only happen once and are then gone forever. The bad news is the awesome shows only happen once and are then gone forever...

Edmonton day...

Where do the days go?

One minute i am in Edmonton waiting for some improv, then BAM, i am back home and its all over.

Edmonton was great, some excellent improv (and some improv that was not so excellent, but more on this later). Edmonton has great audiences, people come to the shows in great numbers and applaud in great decibles.

The best part is always the people. Yeah, you perform some kick ass improv and you party, but when it comes right down to it, the folks you got to hang with outweigh all the glory of the improv stage. Improv folks from across the country and around the world get to hang out only at improv festivals and so that is what it becomes, a sort of family reunion of like minded funny folks who like to make it up as they go.

What else do i have to report?

-team vancouver took first place at the theatresports tourny. Taz Van Rassel and Ryan Biel with Kurt Smeaton (from Toronto) rocked the house. They totally cheated though...

-team winlanta (a winnipeg and atlant co-production) had myself (Stephen) Lee White and Renee (from Dad's Garage) ended up in 2nd place after some contravercy (like team vancouver cheating, ha ha).

-again craig and renee did some shotgunning

-crumbs show worked well, one of the best shows we have done in Edmonton

-crumbs had special guests throughout the tourny which is always fun for us to play with our buddies. Tom from Portland, Chris from Rapid Fire, Jacob from Graz and finally Renee from Atlanta (thank you dudes).


So i will end this little chapter by thanking Rapid Fire Theatre for hosting yet another marvelous Improv Family reunion.