Mars Life

9.16.2003

Improvving... wait, that is a verb, right?

So oh yeah, I'm an improviser now.

I keep meaning to write about my new venture into improvisation. Now that I've been at it for a bit over four months, I think it's about time I did.

Ever since I've been a kid, I've loved Saturday Night Live. I even used to stay up and watch it with my mom. As I progressed into college, where I started getting comedy central, I became a big fan of the original 'whose line is it anyway?’ the British comedy show that sparked my interest in improv in general. The offbeat humor always appealed to me, as it seemed to for so many of my friends, as well. All the other sketch shows followed suit along the way, too, I loved In Living Color, Tracey Ullman, Mad TV, and still do.

Had I known Chicago was the improv capital of the world, I would have seen my eventual participation coming a mile away. I never expected to get involved in performance when I was growing up, but it did always appeal to me. I was in a couple bands, performed as a spoken word poet, and even took a part in a play when I first moved to Chicago. I moved here knowing only theater folk, and pretty much transplanted myself into a group of performance-oriented artists. The truest quote I heard in my first few months living here was, 'Don't worry, these actors will drag you in too,' said to me by now-fellow RoxBox company member, Breon Bliss.

Now, here I am, a couple years later, still hanging around all of these artistic people, and throwing my hat in the improvisational ring. I am having a blast. I've been told I have great instincts and support a scene well, and also that I've got some physical crutches and that I could stand to initiate more. All are good criticisms, and I'm hoping I can use them all someday to create a coherent piece on stage out of thin air. Now I just need to figure out, as a newbie to this community, what exactly that entails. I know I’ll eventually have to go out on auditions, commingle with the rest of the improv community, and do some shows with some fellow improvisers, which I’m completely open to explore. It just has to eventually make its way to actually happening if I want to have some real fun in this exciting artform.

Of course, you'll hear about it when that happens, meanwhile, more to come!

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