DC Improv Comedy Open Mic Night

New date for first show in 2012

2011-12-28T09:42:00.001-08:00

Hi all, I had to change the date of the first DC Improvisational Open Mic Night of 2012. Please mark your calendars for Wednesday, February 1, 2012. Sign-up is from 6:30pm-7:30pm and the show will start at 8:05pm. See you then and in the meantime have a happy new year!

New date for January 2012

2011-12-28T09:42:00.000-08:00

Hi all, I had to change the date of the first DC Improvisational Open Mic Night of 2012. Please mark your calendars for Sunday, January 22, 2012. Sign-up is from 6:30pm-7:30pm and the show will start at 8:05pm. See you then and in the meantime have a happy new year!

A year to remember...

2011-11-25T08:59:00.000-08:00

The last DC Improvisational Open Mic night of 2011 was held on November 9 and had an incredible turnout. The room was packed (not a single seat left in the house) and about 35 people were interested in performing. Unfortunately, I was under the weather that night with almost no voice so thanks to Jinah and Bryant for pitching in to help host the first part of the show. Even though I sounded like a 13 year old going thru puberty, I had to jump up and host the second half of the show. The event lasted a little over two hours and was filled with tons of laughs. At the end of the night we played the signature ending game, "Lines from A Hat" and we actually ran out of lines! The grand finale was the entire room being videotaped singing Happy Birthday to a friends sister in Istanbul. Unfortunately that video did not go viral. I want to thank everyone who has helped make DC Improvisational Open Mic Night so much fun over the years and I'm looking forward to continuing in 2012. December is so hectic for everyone so we won't be hosting a show that month, but I'll be back (with a voice hopefully) on Sunday, January 8, 2012 for the first show of the year. Save the date for me and have a wonderful holiday season!

November Improv Open Mic Night!

2011-10-22T08:52:00.000-07:00

September's show was so much fun, I didn't even write about it. Next open mic night is scheduled for Wednesday, November 9, 2011. Sign-up from 6:30pm-7:30pm and the show will begin at 8:05pm. Hope to see you there!

New Date Added!

2011-07-22T12:15:00.000-07:00

To all my improvisers -- I just added a new date for DC Improvisational Open Mic Night. Next one is scheduled for Thursday, September 8, 2011 in The DC Improv Comedy Lounge. Sign-Up from 6:30pm-7:30pm. Show time is 8:05pm. Save the date! Oh and it's FREE!

I hope you can make it.

May Day

2011-05-25T10:06:00.000-07:00

So after a six month break I was able to finally host DC Improvisational Open Mic night on Wednesday, May 11 (sorry for the delay in writing this blog). We had a great crowd featuring some new players as well as some of the regular peeps. I started the night off with the warm up "Yes Lets" where everyone was able to participate and get focused on performing some improv. Right afterwards, I decided to bring back good ol' "Dance Prov" where everyone was able to participate. I called two people on stage, played a song from the sound booth, had people dance and then when the music stopped they froze and started a scene. Some other games played that evening were Superhero's, Sounds like a Musical, Ally-prov and Remote Control. We also had a couple of groups perform: Two Bits, Saturn Force and Jive Turkey. My apologies to Bart and Bryant for not realizing they also wanted to perform a group spot that night. Of course we ended with the lightning round of lines from a hat. Overall I think the event was a great success and I'm looking forward to hosting this again once my schedule frees up. Stay tuned and I'll be announcing a new date. Thanks for all the support and laughs over the years.

I'm back!

2011-04-06T08:52:00.000-07:00

After a few months off and being way too busy to host this event, I decided it was time to bring back DC Improvisational Open Mic Night. The next event is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, May 11, 2011. This event is totally FREE. Sign-Up from 6:30pm-7:30pm. Show time is 8:05pm. Hope to see you there.

Celebrate good times, c'mon!

2010-11-23T18:54:00.001-08:00

November 17, 2010 I hosted another night of DC Improvisational Open Mic Night. It was a great night. Super relaxed (including the host - me) and I really didn't do too much planning for the show. I guess after a few years I took the true spirit of improv to heart for once. For the preshow music there happened to be a CD of New Years Eve Music from 2007 playing in the background. It was the perfect way to amp up the crowd. I got on the mic from the sound booth during Kool and The Gang's "Celebration" and welcomed everyone to Barry's Bar Mitzvah Party (thanks Barry for playing along with me). We did a warm up of Yes Let's with everyone in the crowd (approximately 35 people) which was a great start. We then went on to play some short form games and had a couple of short long form sets from Gio, Matt and "The Unemployed". Special thanks to Phillipe who guest hosted two new games and to everyone who came out for a fun night of Improv. I did try one new game featuring lines that I found from the worst lyrics of all time. Best line was, "If you kill my dog, I'm a gonna kill your cat." Thanks Jay-Z for that gem. We ended with a lightning round of lines from a hat. The night was a lot of fun and I'm so glad we are ending 2010 on a high note. I don't know when I'll be back yet to host this forum again (I'm taking December off) but as soon as I figure that out, I will let you know. Thank you for all the support over the past few years of The DC Improv ans especially this forum. Have a great holiday season! - Allyson

New Date: November 17, 2010

2010-10-13T09:17:00.000-07:00

Hey all, so the next installment of DC Improvisational Open Mic night is scheduled for Wednesday, November 17, 2010 in The Comedy Lounge of The DC Improv. Sign-up is 6:30pm - 7:30pm and the show will begin at 8:05pm. This event is FREE to attend and participate in.

Hope you can make it!

Yes And I Vow...

2010-09-29T13:11:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, September 16, 2010 I hosted another round of DC Improvisational Open Mic Night. Since this was the first one after I got married in August, I decided a great way to start the event was to share vows between the audience and myself. I wrote my own vows and had all the attendees repeat after me to help us loosen up for the evening. We high fived and then I pronounced us all ready to Improv. Now, this was a lighter attended show as we had about 14 people interested in performing. I decided to make this less casual and let people do what they wanted too. We played some short form games and then some troupes consisting of 2 person and 3 people combinations got up and showcased for the rest of the crowd. I think everyone had a good time and I appreciated those who came out that night to participate. It's a free event so I think everyone left happy. I'm not sure when I'll be back yet and whether it's better to host this on a Friday night vs. a weekday night. We'll see what happens. Stay tuned...

I'm back!

2010-09-09T12:23:00.000-07:00

So after a few months off, I'm finally ready to return and host DC Improvisational Open Mic Night. The next FREE event is scheduled for Thursday, September 16 in The DC Improv Comedy Lounge. Sign-up is 6:30pm - 7:30pm and the show will begin at 8:05pm. Hope to see you there...

Dance Prov...

2010-05-20T12:08:00.000-07:00

It seems like I am taking longer and longer to enter these blogs. I'm sorry about that! So we hosted Improvisational Open Mic Night on Friday, April 30 in the Comedy Lounge of The DC Improv. There were about 25 players interested in performing and roughly 20 audience members there to get some free laughs. I was trying to be creative and think of a new way to open up the show to get people focused so I decided to play a quick game of "Simon Says". I have to admit that game is way more fun as a kid but at least it got everyone on their feet moving around for a bit. I also tried to start off the evening with a new twist following that. I called it "Dance Prov". Basically, I called three actors to the stage; played a song where the actors had to move around and dance. When I stopped the song from the back whatever position the actors were in; they had to freeze that way and start the scene from that position. (It was a twist on Freeze Tag). I have to pat myself on the back and congratulate the actors who played along with me when I played Sarah Mclaughlin's "Angel". HAHAHAHA...some things I do just for me. We played mostly short form games for the rest of the night and of course ended it with the standard "Lines from a Hat". Thanks to everyone who came out to the event. Regarding the next one; I don't know when it will be yet (hence the delay in this blog) since I have some personal things and priorities I have to deal with. Email me at allyson@dcimprov.com if you are interested in the event and I hope to get a new date finalized soon.
Happy Improvising!

I Saw You Improvise...

2010-03-25T11:05:00.000-07:00

I know, it's been a very very long time and I am way behind on this update. I'm sorry but things have been very hectic for me this past month (and it doesn't seem to be slowing down). So here's a quick recall of what I can remember from March 5th. I opened the show with some excerpts of my first boyfriend's love letters which I believe were disturbing and funny all at the same time. We did some standard warm-ups, yelled a whole bunch, etc. I had about 40 people in the room and at least 30 interested in playing. I did some oldies but goodies and tried a couple of new things. The thing about new things is that they are hit or miss. For example, I tried to be topical and do Deleted Scenes strictly based on the 10 2010 Oscar Nominated Films. BOMBED! That was a bad idea. So I switched it up and decided to read some excerpts out of the City Paper in the Personals Section under "I Saw You". Scenes were developed based on those premises and I think in the end I can call this one a success. We had a ton of laughs and it was a very relaxed environment. Some new people gave Improv a shot while the old schoolers flaunted their skills. Red Dragon and Menorah Sailboat debuted some long form improv while Gio did his one man improv sketch. Of course we ended with Lines from a Hat, all in all I think we had a very enjoyable evening and thanks to all those who came out for the event. You definitely get your money's worth coming out to this event.

Now, like I mentioned things are extremely busy for me so the next open mic night won't be until Friday, April 30th in The DC Improv Comedy Lounge. Doors open at 6:30pm and sign-up is until 7:30pm. The show will begin promptly at 8:05pm and its FREE. I hope you can make it!

The first one of 2010...

2010-02-01T18:18:00.000-08:00

So I know I am way behind writing this blog since the first DC Improvisational Open Mic night of 2010 took place on Friday, January 22nd. Sorry but things have been hectic for me here. Let me first say that I was so not expecting a big crowd to come out. In fact, I woke up not feeling that well and I had mentally prepared earlier in the day for an intimate crowd with mostly people I knew so it would be a fairly easy night. Man was I wrong! There was standing room only and the place was packed. It completely took me by surprise and I was not prepared for it. The only plus was that I was able to use an opening video from a year or so ago (the sex tape) since most people there hadn't seen it. I started the night off and again, I was not firing at the top of my game. I made sure to explain to the crowd that this event is free and that is a safe place for people. I had about 30 people interested in performing that night. We had some hits and missed throughout the evening and I felt that the energy in the room was on the lower end. I guess that's to be expected when it's freezing outside and it's a Friday night in DC. Regardless we pulled it through and everyone got stage time. I brought back the Superheros game since it was a huge success the month before as well as some of the regular hits. However, for the first time in 3 years I actually relinquished my job as the host to my friend Phillipe since I was not feeling well about 2/3 through the evening. This was extremely emotional and hard for me to do since DC Improvisational Open Mic Night had been my baby from the start. I never missed a night hosting and I took that kind of hard. But many thanks to Phillipe and the offers from other people who said they would cover me if I ever needed it. My job can be exhausting and sometimes I just don't have it in me. I have come to realize that my health takes precedent and that in the end it's not about me hosting; it's about giving the opportunity to the community of improvisers out there so they have a place to let go and practice their skills. I'm taking February off but will return on Friday, March 5, 2010. Sign-up is 6:30pm - 7:30pm and the show will begin at 8:05 pm.

The last day of Hannukkah...

2009-12-31T07:42:00.000-08:00

Was awesome! I couldn't think of a better way to spend the final night of the festival of lights than with some funny improv people. Improv Open Mic Night was hosted on Friday, December 18, 2009. Not only was this the final night of Hanukkah but it was also my 3 year anniversary since I started this forum back in Dec 2006. Time flies! We had a great group of people with about 30 wanting to perform. There were some new faces in the crowd and some other people who were at the first ever event back in 2006 (thanks Loser Josh folks!). I opened the night up with a karaoke video I made to Adam Sandler's "Chanukkah Song". We had a few laughs and were ready to kick off the show. Some of the highlights of the night were, "Diwali" , "Jizz in a drink" (I don't know how that came into play) and of course the "Amateur Rap Battle". The Rap battle was amazing. In the true spirit of Improv, the other people on stage caught on and jumped in. It was a true "Yo Mama" show in action and everyone was "yes anding"...it was awesome! Some new things I tried was a Superheros game with a large group of people. I think that worked really well and I'll definitely bring it back. Everyone got to perform on stage at least twice and of course we did the lightning round of Lines From A Hat to end the event. Thanks to everyone who has supported this forum for the past three years. It looks like I will be returning on Friday, January 22, 2010 in The DC Improv Comedy Lounge. Sign-up is 6:30pm - 7:30pm and the show will begin at 8:05 pm. See you in the New Year!

Here's an email I received from a new patron to Improv Open Mic Night. I think she summed this up better than I could.
"Last night was totally hilarious and fun in a really supportive environment despite me knowing only 2 other people there, Allyson and Dan. It was fun cool and exciting like if your friends were standing around a trampoline/net thing and had to toss you up into the air and were
responsible and concerned for your safety as well and made sure you did not fall or bounce off, painfully, into thorny bushes somewhere. So that nurturing, watchful, considerate person was Allyson! Go girl and thanks for taking it easy on me and still getting me up on stage.
It was just fantastic and fun! For me, the biggest surprise of the night was the mean, fierce, sick and quick lyrical genius from our own Dan, who was the obvious champion in the Rap Rival scenario. Our whole table ( and yes, we met 6 new people last night who sat with us) was totally proud of Dan in all his scenes. You'd never guess he kept saying he was nervous--his style, with the thoughtful pause and then spewing out something hilarious and unexpected, worked really well. The other hilarious moment of the night was a theme that threaded through many of the acts, and that was Diwali, which then evolved into Diwanzaa and Diwannukah. Globalization and diversity in comedy, man, I was diggin it. You could see the folks using what Shawn's outfitted us with--the who/where/emotional response, the human madlib, and others. It was really funny to see when one actor would come behind another actor to add more waving and spinning hands to liken the Hindu God Shiva/Vishnu/Ram...it was all over the place, it was great!
Just wanted to share with you guys. We are gonna have so much fun, this is cool!
Hope you are staying warm and cozy on this snowfilled saturday.
See you on Monday! shaps"

New Date Announced!

2009-12-02T10:30:00.000-08:00

The next open mic night will be held on Friday, December 18, 2009 in The DC Improv Comedy Lounge. Sign-up to play is 6:30pm - 7:30pm and the show will begin at 8:05 pm.

I hope you can make it...this is the 3 year anniversary show of this event. Time flies when you are having fun improvising.

How many Firemen does it take to unplug a microwave?

2009-11-16T12:44:00.000-08:00

The answer is 38; which we learned this past Friday when I hosted DC Improvisational Open Mic night in the Comedy Lounge. Even though I was exhausted that night I decided to open with a personal story that has an embarrassing element to it. At every open mic night, the goal of the forum is to create a place where there is no such thing as making a fool out of yourself so what better way to create that atmosphere than by throwing myself under the bus for other people's enjoyment? After I told the story, I invited 3 improv actors to come on stage and reenact the events that had taken place. We had a good laugh; we all screamed and we got ready to start the show. We had about 40 people in the audience with roughly half interested in performing. I did some regular games and attempted a couple of new ones. Since it was Friday the 13th I decided to create a game based on superstitions. I found a list of superstitions and set up 2 person scenes based on the superstition I read aloud. This game seemed to work pretty well. Another new one that I think was successful was a game called "Sounds Like a Song". Basic premise is it is a series of 2 person scenes and at one point during the scene one actor leads the scene into a song. I tried to get everyone on stage at least twice in the evening in addition to the lightning round of scenes from a hat. The Migraines, Gio and The Unemployed performed as well that night. All in all, I think it was a successful event (even though I was not bringing my A game) and thank those people who came out to the show. We had about a 50/50 split between new folks and regular attendees so thanks again.

The next one is still in the works. I'll keep you posted.

Boo! Macarena! Quiet Please!

2009-10-22T13:28:00.001-07:00

Alright, so I am almost 2 weeks late writing this entry and I'm sorry about that. I hosted Improvisational Open Mic night on October 9th to a standing room only crowd. Since it was October, I decided to start off the show with something scary. So I made a short video that featured some funny/scary moments of people tormenting their kids by scaring them (thanks America's Funniest Videos) followed by the music of Los Del Rio's "Macarena", which is scary all on its own. It was not the best opening but it was an opening and we had a few laughs and got ready to improvise. I decided to open this month up to just solo performers and I did not have slots for groups. I think in the end I had almost 40 people I wanted to get stage time so I tried to do some larger group games to give people a chance. Some of them were great...others not so much. Here's a list of successful ones: Before or After, Ally Says, Freeze Tag and probably the best was Deleted Scenes. For deleted scenes, I chose a group of 10 improv actors and used only scary movies. The goal was to re create scenes that were cut from that particular movie. Too bad I can't do scary movies every month. In March, I can probably choose to work with Leprechaun 1 - 5; so start watching those movies now to be prepared. Now, we once again did Mystery Date which went over okay but we did need some assistance from random "clue people" to help with the guessing. Plus I got totally distracted by a group of people who were drunk and very loud seated right next to me and clearly lost interest in the show (they were not improvisers, they were friends of one). To the point where "fun and playful Ally" turned into "club manager get these people to be quiet Ally". I had addressed them from the stage a couple of times and then finally I had to address them off the stage, it was at this point that one of the larger group games kinda tanked. I tried to do a musical genre game after but it was a mess so we switched to a game of World's Worst (thanks to a suggestion from the audience because I was too frazzled by the disrepectful group - can you tell I'm still bent from that?). Of course we ended with the lightning round of "Lines From A Hat". Overall we had a good time and I was shocked at how crowded it was. I guess that means I'll be back for another month. Next one is scheduled for Friday, November 13 in The DC Improv Comedy Lounge. Sign-up is from 6:30-7:30 pm and the show will begin at 8:05 pm. See you then!!

What's the matter...chicken?

2009-09-14T18:13:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, September 11, 2009 I hosted another installment of Improvisational Open Mic Night. We had probably close to 40 people there with about half the audience interested in participating. I decided to get us in the mood with a group activity to help create a safe and comfortable environment. I had three volunteers on stage and asked everyone to get on their feet. Once the music hit, everyone knew what to do...THE CHICKEN DANCE! Oh yeah! Jealous? It's funny how 2 minutes and 34 seconds can feel like a lifetime. But we all had a good laugh and a good dance and after some screams we were ready to start the show. We started off with good ol' Pan Left/Pan Right which I think was a really good way to get in gear aside from the sad rendition of Rosh Hashannah (you had to be there). I tried a few new games too. Some I thought were great and will definitely make a repeat visit while others bombed. One game that was a huge success was Mystery Date. I took 8 people on stage and split them into 2 lines. One line was the guesser. The other line would be a famous person suggested from the audience. The 2 players had to go on a blind date and the guesser had to figure out who they were on the date with. Special props to Sharon Stone and Miley Cirus and the audience member who yelled out "you liar" during Obama's date...well played. I also tried a game called Horoscopes which is not even worth me describing because it failed. I had 2 troupes enter; The Migraines and The Unemployed plus Gio did his one man performance. The show ran until about 10:15pm. Of course we ended on the lightning round of Lines From a Hat. I was able to get everyone on stage for short form games twice which made me happy since I continue to struggle with ways to maximize every one's stage time. I'll be back in October on Friday, October 9 so mark your calendars. Doors open at 6:30pm with sign-up until 7:30pm. The show will begin promptly at 8:05 pm. See you in October!

Those Sum-um-er Nig-hhhhhhhts!

2009-07-20T17:51:00.000-07:00

So last Wednesday July 15 was another evening of Improvisational Open Mic Night. Times are stressful for me so I have not had time to be creative (hence the delay in this blog) but I am thankful for my boyfriend and the fact that he is creative. He was responsible for the opening video last week. I decided that nothing brings a group of people together like a good ol' karaoke song and what better song to sing on a July night than the famous "Summer Nights" from Grease? Accompanied by the lyrics on a video screen and the images of Seaside Heights, NJ above it, the packed house attempted to sing to get loosened up. It worked and we dove straight in to some Improv Comedy. During the night I tried to play some new games (per the request of the audience). One game was called Ratings where basically it was a series of 2 person scenes and I would stop the scene and change the rating. For example I would yell out "Rated G" (which apparently means talk in a high voice) or "Rated NC17" (which apparently no one knew what that meant). I have to give a special shout out to the fellas from Salisbury State MD at their first open mic night for total commitment and hilariousness. Let's just say I've never seen straight guys make out without laughing. We also played a round of Ally Says and some of the usual games. I had 4 troupes sign-up; Jive Turkey, Loser Josh (both you can catch live at The DC Improv on July 31), Bound and Gagged from Salisbury and The Unmentionables. Special shout out for Matt on the Unmentionables who managed to whack himself in the head with a chair and drew blood from the injury. He spent the rest of the night with a band aid on his forehead and a pack of ice. He is a trooper because he still stayed and performed the rest of the night and had some great scenes in our final game. Of course we ended with Lines from a Hat (thanks to whoever put in the line that said Allyson rocks our improv world). This was definitely a show for the books. I'll be back in September. I am taking August off to find a new home. Thanks for all the support and if you need your improv fix remember July 31 is a a show and new classes have been announced for the Fall. See ya soon!

BRAND NEW OUTLET FOR TRAINED IMPROVISERS!

2009-06-26T10:37:00.000-07:00

I am thrilled to announce yet another outlet for The DC Improv Comedy School Students. As part of a new monthly showcase; I will invite troupes that have formed out of the DC Improv Comedy School to star in a night of Improv Comedy. Each troupe will have 25 minutes to perform.

This month’s showcase features the improv comedy stylings of:
I Miss Blue-Ray featuring Shawn Westfall, Katie Klein and Dan Mack

Loser Josh featuring Clay Foltz, Colleen McKenna, Paul Shanoski, Elisa Cohen, Austen Villemez and Stephanie Anderson

Jive Turkey featuring Joe Randazzo, Chris Ulrich, Stephanie Svec and Katie Klein

Date: Friday, July 31, 2009
Tickets: $10 – on sale at www.dcimprov.com
Showtime: 8:00 pm / Doors open 6:30 pm
Venue: The DC Improv Comedy Lounge

*If you are a former comedy school student with your own troupe please email me at allyson@dcimprov.com for future opportunities.*

Next Open Mic Night...

2009-06-10T11:36:00.001-07:00

I'm taking the month of June off but will be back on Wednesday July 15, 2009 to host this fine event. Save the date on your calendars for me. Sign-up is 7pm - 7:30 pm and the show will begin at 8:05 pm.

See you when I'm 31!

Pants off and stand up...

2009-06-03T13:28:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday, May 27 was another round of fun for Improvisational Open Mic Night. With the weather getting nicer I thought it would be a good idea to move the show to a weekday night and I was right. We had a packed house with some familiar faces and some new ones too. I opened the show up with a video of me at 20 years old practicing for the first time I ever performed stand-up (11 years ago complete with edits and commentary titles underneath). My goal was to create an atmosphere where people feel comfortable and there is no such thing as embarrassing yourself since it can't be any worse then me telling a barney dick joke dressed all in black and stressing out about not remembering the punchline (I used to be Goth). Yeah, it was that bad. The mood was set and we were warmed up for the night. I chose to try a couple of new games; one failed and one was a huge success. The game song titles didn't last more than 5 seconds. In theory it's funny but it was a little too much thinking involved for that night. Maybe another time...However, Pants On, Pants Off! was a huge success. Thanks to Marty, Clay and Joe for committing and having no fear of dropping their pants when I yelled (PANTS OFF!). The point of the game is to start a scene and when I yell "pants off" everyone drops trough and continues the scene with their pants around their ankles as if nothing is wrong. Well played gentlemen...well played. We mixed up some regular short form games and I had 30 people who signed up to play as individuals plus 5 troupes (Loser Josh, The Four Peeps, The Migraines, Guns & Roses and Gio in his one man improvised story). All in all the night was fun and people definitely got their money's worth of entertainment (it's Free!). I'll be back at some point...I don't know when yet but I'll be back. That's a threat.

Body by Ally...

2009-04-22T07:05:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night was one of the first real nice nights in DC and I do think that open mic night was affected by that. We had a crowd of about 40 people in the lounge and I do appreciate all those who decided to spend their evenings in a basement watching and performing comedy vs. having dinner and drinks outside. SO THANK YOU 40 PEOPLE!!! Since the previous month I did not have an opening video I decided to recruit some friends of mine and film on Easter Sunday. Thanks to Jared, Chris U. and Chris W. for not caring about Jesus and for your help with Body by Ally. This video basically was a mock fitness video showing exercises that I can teach for you to have a body like mine...crooked. I had spinal fusion for scoliosis in 1997. The audience was able to have a few laughs and get focused to start the night. I was off with a headache and was definitely not firing at 100% that night. I think I was slow on ending scenes and interjecting comments along with my game explanation. However, this being a free show I can't feel too bad for not being 100% on. All in all I think people had fun. We did some standard short form games. I had 4 troupes enter to perform; The Unmentionables, The Migraines, Fountain Box and Troubled Assets. Everyone got stage time and we ended with Lines from A Hat. The show was about 2 hours long. I'll be back next month on Wednesday May 27 in the Comedy Lounge. I think with the nice weather coming, weekdays may be a better option for comedy play time.

See you next month and don't forget to attend the Comedy School Prom at Rumors on May 9. Email me for a ticket if you want to get in for free.

I was wrong and I'm sorry...

2009-03-23T18:02:00.001-07:00

So this past Friday March 20, 2009 was Improvisational Open Mic Night. Once again it was a packed house and we were split between regular open mic goers and some new faces in the crowd; which is always fun. I have been overworked here at The DC Improv so what that meant was I did not have time to come up with an opener. I felt after over 2 years running shows it was okay to not have something up front. Well, I was wrong and I am sorry. I guess embarrassing myself up front makes for a way better start to the show. To start, I had everyone scream to get warmed up. After that I decided to try something new. I had a list of the dumbest celebrity quotes and felt we can use those lines to create a scene. I thought there were multiple ways to approach this. You can make the scene about the person who said it, you can take the concept of the words, you can use the words verbatim...in my head I thought it would be a neat little experiment (again, in my head). I called up 10 improvisers and split them into two lines. My intention was that the lines themselves should get a laugh and that would be a fun way to start the show. Well, I was wrong again...and I am sorry. There were a few chuckles along the way but we definitely struggled to get the momentum going (my fault completely). We made it through the game and then I ventured into another short form game that I thought would be safe. The dating game. Once again, I was wrong and I'm sorry. Apparently, I am not the best at explaining the structure of the game and thought all the actors already knew how to play. It went dirty real fast and I did my best to pull out of it (no pun intended). We managed to make it through that game with some laughs. After that rocky start the night kept going uphill. Several times in the evening I apologized for not having an opening when things got "awkward". As a crowd we learned what Purim really is that night...I am not a good spokesperson for the Jews (sorry Mom). We played Ally Says along with some other usual short form games. I did try another new one called Before or After which I think was okay and I may bring back again at some point in the future. Four groups entered: The Unmentionables, Loser Josh, Gio with his one man improvised story and Stephanie and Matt did a 2 person act. Of course we ended with Lines From a Hat. In the end, it seemed like everyone had a good time despite the rough beginning. So thanks to the regulars and the newbies who came out last Friday. The next one is scheduled for Friday April 17. Sign-up from 7-7:30 and the show will begin at 8:05 pm. I'll have an opening...I promise.

I'm a 90 because I like it firm...

2009-02-18T12:30:00.000-08:00

I know I am a bit behind in writing about the last open mic night so I am sorry but I promise to make this a good entry, or at least an entry. So Improvisational Open Mic Night was hosted on Friday February 13 in the DC Improv Comedy Lounge. I have discovered a new formula: Friday nights plus free shows equals a huge crowd. Once again there was standing room only in the back and the place was packed. I decided to open with a video that I felt that for some it would be romantic and for others it would be frightening (that was my tie in for Valentine's Day and Friday the 13th). This was a mock commercial for the sleep number bed in which the concept was that I sleep around and no matter who's in my bed they will always be comfortable (Check out Facebook it's on there). Special thanks to Chris, Chris, Chris, Kristen, Joe and the giant gorilla for their outstanding work in the video short. After I felt the crowd was warmed up, we moved along with some short form games featuring the single improvers. I had about 40 people on the list wanting to perform and did my best to get everyone some stage time. I've said this in the past, the hardest thing to do is host and actually produce a show at the same time. But I really do enjoy giving people the opportunity to get up and perform and it is a blast to see how well people gel on stage whether they know eachother or not through the art of comedy. I also came up with some new concepts to try including a game in which I started 2 person scenes and gave them a line of dialogue from a romantic or scary movie to start the scene with (look at me with the themes). In the end, I thought this was a successful game. However, I also bombed with the game "No P". It starts with 2 person scenes and you can't use the letter P in any of your dialogue, if you do the audience is supposed to scream "DIE" (which I thought was weird) and then the next person steps up to play. This game did indeed DIE and will not be played again. Oh well they can't all be winners...at least you know you get your money's worth at Improv Open Mic. We also did my signature game "Ally Says" along with some other short form favorites. 6 Troupes entered to showcase throughout the night: Jimmis Maximus, The Unmentionables, Troubled Assets, Leonard Nimoy, Last Minute Dudes and Matthews Mother. Each group got 6 minutes to perform. The show ran a little over 2 hours and I think everyone had a good time. I had some decent one liners throughout the night and I also had a couple of jokes that bombed completely. I did participate in the last game "Lines from a Hat" and realized that I am not good at Improv and playing a character, so I will probably not do that again. Anyway, we have another event on the books so mark your calendars:
Friday March 20 in The DC Improv Comedy Lounge.
Sign-up is from 7-7:30 pm and the show will begin at 8:05 pm.

Don't forget to become a fan of DC Improvisational Open Mic Night on Facebook!!

Casting Call for Improv Actors

2009-02-11T14:08:00.000-08:00

For those who may be interested I have received information on a Casting Call. Please see below. I do not have any more information on this so if you have questions or concerns please contact the people in the below message.Thanks!Allyson TV PILOT – “THE GYM” on DV (22 minutes)HelloErika Grace Allen (creator, executive producer, assistant director, and co-developer), Ishu Krishna (director, executive producer) , Ryan Parr (co-developer) and Tom Suess (co-developer) are casting for, and forming a production team to create, a sitcom pilot for entry in competitions such as The New York Television Festival www.nytvf.com and to pitch to television networks. Using an unusual format to write and develop the show, they want improvisers to “own” the characters that have been created and “write” dialogue via in-character group interaction. Those improvisers selected will be given writer credit as well as actor credit on the media and documents produced (pilot, script, treatment, etc.) and registered with the Screenwriters Guild and copy right authorities and will be included in the “package” pitch to networks. This is a non-union, 100% purely volunteer project, although you’ll be fed during shoot days. However, once the improv actors/writers are cast and the technical crew is selected, we will then form the official production company (made up of all cast and crew) and future compensation will be discussed and agreed upon by all production company members in conjunction with pilot production.

Cast (improviser/writer) Information
Applications (resumes, photos, etc.) are due by February 21, 2009, 7pm. Interested parties should submit resume (or work you’ve done) and a headshot (or a picture) via email to:erikagraceallen@yahoo.comishukrishna@gmail.comparrryan@gmail.com

Auditions to be held by appointment only, Saturday, February 28, 2009 from 10-4pm, location in Arlington, VA/TBD

Writing/improv session to be held Sunday, March 1, 2009 9am-6pm, location in Arlington, VA TBD

O say can you sing Billy Joel...

2009-01-24T10:21:00.000-08:00

We were packed last night so I was worried for nothing. In fact we had to turn away about 10 people who wanted to get in to the show (others were seated on the floor in the lounge). I would estimate there were between 70-75 people in that room. I started off with a group mad lib to help people get warmed up and in the spirit of giving me suggestions. Since this was a very historic week I chose to turn Obama's Inaugural Address into Mad Lib madness. It worked and we all screamed a few times to kick start the night. I had at least 40 people to get on stage and 6 groups who entered to perform; The Vagabonds, The Tapwaters, Loser Josh, Guns and Roses, Matthews Mom and Giovanni. I still struggle with getting everyone stage time and keeping the show moving; it's hard to host and plot out a show at the same time but hey it's Improv and it's a free show so whatever works works.. We played some signature short form games and a couple of rounds of Ally Says... (which may not be the best game but it allows me to get a lot of people stage time). I had some pretty good one liners throughout the night; including when Loser Josh were called up and had been together for 2 years, I said they've been together longer than my marriage. BOO YA...I thought it was funny. We also did Style Slide and I gave the audience 10 seconds to yell out something I didn't have on my list of styles and we were blessed with the suggestion of Billy Joel Concert. But to my surprise the actors on stage did not know a Billy Joel song so i stopped the scene and cued the audience and everyone sang in unison Piano Man. This was a call back a couple of times throughout the night. All in all it was a blast and I think the show was a success and since it was Friday we were able to run it a little longer (about 2 1/2 hours). We ended with the signature game Lines from a Hat and also sang Happy Birthday to Chris. The next one is scheduled for Friday, February 13. Sign-up is from 7-7:30 pm and the show will start at 8:05 pm. Please come in early if you want to get seats to the show and sign-up to play.
See you in February!

DATE CHANGE FOR IMPROVISATIONAL OPEN MIC NIGHT!!

2009-01-19T15:00:00.000-08:00

The next Improv Open Mic Night will be on Friday January 23 at 8 pm instead of Thursday Jan 22. Please make note of the new date. Same rules apply. 7-730 pm sign-up and 8:05 pm is showtime.

Sorry for the incovenience. Hope you can make it out on Friday night!

Happy 2 Year Anniversary...

2008-12-16T15:05:00.000-08:00

On December 1o, 2008 I celebrated my 2 year anniversary with Improv Open Mic Night. Time flies when you are making things up. Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate along with me; except the guy who wrote in Lines From a Hat "Happy 2 Year Anniversary Allyson...I want a divorce. Love Open Mic Night". So I started off the show with a couple of hits from the past shows; including a new excerpt from my first boyfriends love letters accompanied by a slide show of his drawings and also his flame pants (yep I had awful taste). After that, I let Ian's Bar Mitzvah video shine one last time to get in the mood for laughing. It was a packed house and I was thrilled to see that Loser Josh (who was there on the first open mic night) came back again. Two other troupes entered to perform; Guns-N-Roses and Zach, Ellie and a bunch of other D-bags. We played some old games including Allyson Says and tried a couple of new games which actually worked out well; Human Props and Time Machine. I did my best to get everyone on stage...we had about 45 people interested in performing. After 2 years I realized it can be complicated when you are hosting and producing a show at the same time. The night was fun; the place was packed and I'm glad I can continue to offer this outlet for the Improv community. So no divorce for you Open Mic Night...see you in January!
Next show: Friday, January 23 2009 in The Comedy Lounge. Sign-up from 7-7:30 pm and the show will begin at 8:05 pm.

Good Directions and Good Ol' Improv...

2008-11-12T12:51:00.000-08:00

Yes I know I am week behind updating this blog since the Improv Open Mic Night was on 11/6 but I had to sort out my feelings. Well, not really...I was just being lazy. Anyhoo, last week was another round of fun featuring local improvisers from The DC Improv Comedy School and apparently Dublin (a tourist in town for a couple of days decided to participate in the last game). I started the show off with a video shot by comedian Chris White (www.chriswhitesucks.com) where I play a large role. I admittedly said I was lazy and couldn't come up with a better opener, but it got the job done and the group had a few laughs. I then forgot to put on the stage lights and had the microphone cord fall out...I feared a rough night and was out of it. Once we got into the swing of things, there were no more technical issues and the crowd of about 35 seemed to have fun. In brief, we played a couple of rounds of my own game "Allyson Says.." and I have to say I highly enjoy that. I then decided to try something new and since it was right around the time of the election I decided to try out a debate style game. I had 2 Improv actors (Joe S. since it was his birthday was one and Chris U) and then I asked the audience for a suggestion to be debated. The topic was "is Britney Spears a real blonde". I designated Joe pro her being blonde and Chris was anti-blonde. They had opening statements followed by questions from the Town Hall and then closing arguments. It was entertaining... I think. We had 2 groups enter to showcase their stuff, Guns and Roses and Charred Goosebeak (newcomers to the Open Mic Scene), both did a great job. We then played a few more shortform games in which I have played out the joke of Bolliwood to much and am laying it to rest now (Sorry Jay & Saumya). Of course we ended with the signature game, Lines from A Hat and I encouraged everyone to take part as I always do. Best line of the night in there by far was , "Jaykumar goes to White Castle". Mark your calendars for the 2 year anniversary show on Wednesday Dec, 10 2008. Sign-up is from 7-7:30 pm Showtime is at 8 pm.
Hope to see you there!!

Allyson says...what a sex tape!

2008-09-12T12:50:00.000-07:00

It's very rare that I walk away actually thinking the evening was a total success but I can honestly say it was a blast from start to finish. To start off the show, I spoke about what's it's like to be in the public eye and how some private matters end up public. I followed this dramatic speech with a short video which showcased me and my boyfriend in our version of a sex tape. I'll be adding this to youtube soon...it was freaking hilarious, sorry Mom and Dad. Now on to the Open Mic part, the room was packed with people standing along the wall in the back. People even travelled from Baltimore for this event. There were a lot of "return customers" along with some new faces. I feel like most people tend to show up a few minutes before showtime though. I think it's because people get a kick out of me trying to organize a show in 10 minutes and know that I am a sucker and will let them on stage even though they are late. Well, it's probably more like they have jobs and a life but I am going to go with it being about me. I asked the audience if they were up for something new and thankfully they were. Basically I created my own Improv Game and I wanted to test the waters last night. I knew, it could either be a complete disaster or a success. The game is called "Allyson Says" and it is self explanatory. I called up 10 performers and asked them to form 2 lines. Then I started a 2 person scene and would randomly freeze it changing the scene in any direction I felt like (endow emotions, animal characteristics, gibberish, alphabet game, film styles, etc.). It actually worked!! What I liked the best about this was that I was able to get everyone stage time which has been my biggest concern. I want single improv-ers to have an outlet and a venue to perform and I think this is the way to do it while keeping the audience entertained and moving the show forward. We played 3 rounds of this game during the evening. Since I have never formally trained in Improv I'm sure there are some kinks I need to work out but overall it worked and I'm thrilled about it. I also had 7 groups enter to perform: Loser Josh, Heavy Wet Sectional (b'more troupe), I Miss Blue Ray (debut), Ozymandis, Tara's Kids, plus 2 one man skits by Giovanni and Matthew's mother talks all things politics & indigestion. As always I invited newbies to come up and give improv a shot and we had a couple of girls who decided to get on stage. Kudos for that ladies. We ended the evening with good ol' Lines From A Hat. I'm travelling in October so the next Improv Open Mic Night is slated for Thursday November 6. Sign-up is from 7-7:30 pm Show will begin at 8:05 pm
Thanks for the continued support of this event. I can't believe it's almost 2 years running....
See you in November!!

My Mad Lib Bad and Oh My Jew!

2008-08-20T08:09:00.000-07:00

So, last week I hosted another round of Improv Open Mic Night. Sorry for the delay in writing about it but I am still recovering from my Mad Lib Bad and the weird evening where apparently the Jewish culture was thrown under the bus...A LOT. Lets start off at the beginning of the evening, a few months ago I decided to start off the show with a group Mad Lib telling the story of my failed marriage. I thought for the August Show I would attempt to write another one. This one told the story of how I witnessed a man whacking off in public. It was not the best start, but there were a few laughs gotten and I think we set the tone for audience interaction for the evening. Now on to the night's festivities. We started off with attendance on the light side but managed to get about 35-40 people by showtime. I had several groups enter to strut their improv stuff: Matthew's Mother Reads a Bedtime Story, Powder Keg, AC & Fingerpaint, and MC Bundction. For the short form portion of the night I brought back deleted scenes from TV and Movies. We got lessons on what Bali Wood really is (thanks to Saumya and Jay) and also a lesson on The Golden Girls. You had to be there to really appreciate that one though. I learned that I may be the only person who knows what the television show "From G's To Gents" is. The biggest lesson I learned is how stereotypes can get slightly uncomfortable if done for too long. I don't know where I lost control but for some reason a major theme of the evening were "Jews" and our big noses, money and yarmulkes. Let me just say that as a Jew (who is not religious or practicing at all) I felt a bit awkward that night. So I apologize for those in the audience who may have felt weird too...the thing about Improv is commitment and being in the moment so as artists the performers that evening did a great job and showcased the lessons in Improv Comedy...to bad it was at the price of the Jews. Anyway, I ended on a high note once again with a marathon of Lines From A Hat. One line was "I love Allyson"...I still wonder who wrote that. Was it Fingerpaint or AC?
The next one is on the books and scheduled for Thursday September 11 at 8:00 pm in The Comedy Lounge. Sign-up is from 7-7:30 pm. I hope to see you there!
Try my Mad Libs here: www.dcimprov.com/madlibs/mad_lib_2.pdf

Dear Improv...

2008-07-11T12:21:00.000-07:00

Last night was another round of Improvisational Open Mic Night. There was alot of competition around town performance wise and I was nervous as to what our attendance would be. Around 7:40 pm we had about 22 people (I counted) and by showtime (I started 15 minutes late) we were almost packed (about 50 people in attendance overall I would say). When I first started the show there were no group entries (except for Gio doing his one man Improv Act) and since I am a sucker; mid show two groups entered to perform and with the audience approval we let them on. Loser Josh (who came in late after their show at Fringe Fest) and a new duo AC & Fingerpaint (Katie & Chris performed an impromptu date) each got 6 minutes to showcase their stuff. I started the show off with something personal as usual. Last night I read a letter I wrote my parents from sleep away camp in 1988 when I was 10 years old. Long story short, it was hot, my bed was moved to a new spot, I had a rash and I really wanted crystal light lemonade mix. It was not the best opener but hey, how many more embarrassing things from my past can I bring to light? At least we all had some laughs. The show began with short form improv comedy antics and me busting in with my signature one liners. I tried to call back as much as possible to my camp letter and sadly that bit me in the ass as several scenes about my small boobs or lack there of came into play last night. That's okay, I am fully aware and comfortable with them now at age 30. We even had some out of towners come in and play games. Special props go out to Seattle and San Diego for representing Improv last night. Of course we ended with the lightning round of "Lines From A Hat" and I encouraged everyone to get up and play (especially people who have never done improv before). They listened to me and I was thrilled that new people gave improv comedy a shot. The open mic is really a welcoming place and I want people to feel comfortable and safe. I think being in a basement helps with the safety part too. Anyway, we have another one on slated on the books for Thursday August 14 in The Comedy Lounge.
Sign-up is from 7-7:30 pm
Show will begin at 8:05 pm
See you in August!

It's a Mitzvah!

2008-06-05T10:41:00.001-07:00

As most of you know I always like to start off these shows with something personal and preferably from my youth, so last night I opened with a 5 minute edited video showcasing scenes of me at my own Bat Mitzvah back in June 1991. I intend to put this up on youtube at some point for those of you who missed it...it was hilarious. We had a HUGE turnout last night even though tornado watches and thunderstorms loomed over us. There was standing room only and close to 70 people in attendance. We also celebrated 3 birthdays last night (Min, Tommy, Bart)...thank you guys for choosing Improv Open Mic to celebrate your parents having sex, I appreciate it. So that being said the troupes that performed were, 5-6-7-8, Loser Josh, 7:30 Bitches, Fortunes Fools, Vacuum Shark, Zach Paul and some other D-Bags. Each received 8 minutes of performance time. I had a ton of people signed up to play short form games...so much that I couldn't give everyone stage time. (I'm Sorry!!) I really like to get everyone stage time, especially as single improvisers. But like I said last night, it is a free show so you can't get too mad at me. I also realized that I need to make some changes for the July event. I noticed that last night there were several repeat performers in groups. For July if you plan on coming please keep your signing up to only one group so I can accommodate everyone and offer them all a chance to perform. The show ran a little over 2 hours and of course ended with my signature ending, "Lines From A Hat". To all who were there last night, I admire your enthusiasm with Improv and appreciate your attendance and I look forward to hosting this event again (I'm running out of embarrassing moments though). The next round is slated for Thursday July 10th, 2008. Sign-up from 7-7:30 pm. Show begins promptly at 8:05 pm.

Yo Joe...

2008-04-25T11:07:00.000-07:00

Last night was another DC Improvisational Open Mic Night and we had about 40 people in the crowd. CURSE YOU SPRINGTIME!! Nice weather seemed to trump free comedy but the hardcore improvisers were out in full force. As always I hosted the evening and as usual I needed to do something different. This time I decided to air some old 80's commercials followed by a genuine PSA from the cartoon GI JOE that talked about teamwork. It was nostalgic for some and for others it was unnecessary but for me it was hilarious (and isn't that what really matters?). After the "film" I decided to read an old letter I received back from when I was 10 years old demonstrating that I started in entertainment at a young age. That note was written by the one and only Patrick Swayze when I joined his fan club (in my father's name mind you). Not that funny but hey it was a start to a show. We then went straight into Short Form Improv Games. Throughout the show I tried 2 new games including EVIL TWINS - which was great and TIME MACHINE - which if I could go back in time I probably wouldn't do again. We had 6 Troupes enter for stage time: SPARK PLUG BULLSHIT, BOCCIE, 5-6-7-8, LOSER JOSH, SWEET ACTION and a one man improv story featuring GIOVANNI. We got lessons in how to do a proper Asian Accent and learned that during Yum Kippur we eat small horses. Of course we ended the evening with my signature game "LINES FROM A HAT". The audience seemed to have fun as did I. My goal is to have a kick ass opener for the next show...I promise to embarrass myself more for your entertainment.
Next round of Improv Open Mic Night is slated for Wednesday June 4th, 2008
Sign-up from 7-7:30 p.m.
Showtime is slated at 8:05 p.m.
See you then!

This is Improv not Stand-Up...

2008-03-20T09:41:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I am aware of that but I decided to open the show last night with some of my old jokes and one new one. I am running out of embarrassing things to share and warm up the crowd with so I figured I'd do some material. The core routine got some laughs but the new joke about water bottles bombed. I guess I should have actually written a joke out before attempting to tell it. Notice taken.

Once again it was a packed house with standing room only. I am thrilled to see that there is so much interest in this forum and really appreciate you guys coming out. That being said I had 7 groups sign up. Satan Sour Sauce, Dopplegangers, Insyndication, 5-6-7-8, The Meddling Kids, Scissors and a one man show featuring Giovanni D and his mail.

I did my best at trying to get stage time for everyone who signed up as a single improviser and I will admit I was pretty bad regarding explaining the game of Two Pillars. (Maybe I should take a class?) Other than that, we tried a new game Addicts Anonymous (which was eh) and we ended with good ol' lines from a hat. I realized that you people are sick and twisted with some of the things that end up in the bucket, but at least they are funny.

Next one has been scheduled for Thursday April 24th, 2008 so mark your calendars for that.
Sign-Up is 7-7:30 p.m.
Show will begin promptly at 8:05 p.m.

Also I am throwing at party. Here are the vitals for it.
What time is it? PARTY TIME!! I’m calling this one “DC IMPROV COMEDY SCHOOL SPRING FLING” because I am a dork. Feel free to spread the word to all your friends & loved ones and people you are trying to get with. This is an open invitation.
DATE: Saturday, March 29th, 2008 TIME: 9 p.m.
FREE ADMISSION WHEN YOU MENTION THE DC IMPROV COMEDY SCHOOL!
LOCATION: PANACHE - 1725 DeSales Street (a block away from The Improv)
http://www.panacherestaurant.com/ or 202.293.7760
DRESS: It’s a Spring Fling you can come dressed up if you want too but it is not mandatory. Just an excuse to play dress up for those of us who own one nice outfit and never get to wear it out.
DETAILS: From 9 p.m. – 10 p.m. part of the bar will be solely for The DC Improv Comedy School.
COMEDY SCHOOL DRINK SPECIALS
$4 Miller & Bud Light
$5 Imports
$6 Rail Drinks
$5 Kamikizee & so co lime shots
“The DJ starts around 10 o’clock. Music includes rock some acid jazz, up tempo blues, until about 10pm. At 10 p.m. its old school 80’s & 90’s hip hop & rock. Then once 11pm hits we are hitting full force with everything.” I did not write that…I copied and pasted it so keep the mocking too a minimum.

Everybody Improv Now...

2008-02-22T11:56:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, February 20th 2008 I hosted another DC Improvisational Open Mic night in The Comedy Lounge. Even with with the weather not cooperating being cold and snowy, we still had a packed house. When I host the show, I like to start off with something personal for the audience so this round I decided to show a video to warm up the crowd. The video was a poorly produced music video shot at Ian's Bar Mitzvah back in June 1991 and featured some incredible dance moves by yours truly to the popular C & C Music Factory Song, "Everybody Dance Now". My moves included the electric slide, the running man and my famous running man into a jazz split. Good times and lots of laughs had by all. I also sadly look basically the same as I did when I was 12.

Now on to the show. I had 8 groupes sign up to perform, 5-6-7-8, Kibbles & Bitch, and some others that I have written down at the club and will add in later on. I was able to intersperse some short form Improv games for my single improv-ers in between the group performances and had some pretty good one liners throughout the night. Ian's Bar Mitzvah was a common theme whether I wanted it to be or not and we ended the event with the popular game lines from a hat...my signature ending.

The next round of fun is slated for Wednesday March 19th, 2008 in The DC Improv Comedy Lounge. Sign-up is from 7-7:30 p.m. Showtime is at 8:00 p.m. and the event is FREE!
See you there...
I just did a split.

TV Taping at The DC Improv

2008-02-08T10:08:00.001-08:00

TV Taping at The DC Improv
PRESS RELEASE: FOOD NETWORKS "DINNER IMPOSSIBLE" FILMED AT THE DC IMPROV COMEDY CLUBDATE OF TAPING: Thursday, February 7th 2008
Last night The DC Improv Comedy Club and our own homegrown Improv Comedy Troupe were featured in an upcoming episode of The Food Network's popular show, "DINNER IMPOSSIBLE". Chef Robert Irvine cooked for 225 of our audience members. His mission was to complete a 4 course meal in just 6 hours. Starting this mission at 1:30 p.m. , chef Robert Irvine was told he had to use 15 random ingredients chosen by the 15 members of our comedy troupe. In addition, he was also allowed to go shopping and purchase 15 other ingredients for a total of 30 that had to be used in the meal. Some of the ingredients provided by the DC Improv Comedy School Cast included, Bratwurst, Bagoong, Ketchup, Kiwi, Pomegranate and Hot Pockets. Dinner needed to be completed and promptly served at 7:30 p.m. The mission was 100% a surprise to Chef Robert Irvine and also to our audience members. It was a fun night had by all; you never know who or what is going to happen at The DC Improv.The episode is slated to air sometime in April, 2008.
www.dcimprov.com

Am I a Mad Lib Maniac?

2008-01-11T11:33:00.000-08:00

Good question. So last night January 10th, 2008 was the first DC Improvisational Open Mic Night of 2008 and I was thrilled to see tons of new faces and a packed house. We had standing room only (there must of been about 70 people in the room). I decided to open the show with a group mad lib. If you had a crappy childhood and don't know what mad libs are, I will briefly explain. Mad Libs consist of a fun story that is partially created by audience suggestions. So I asked the audience for several ideas (nouns, adverbs, adjectives, famous people) to plug into the story. Once all the blanks were filled I announced that I would read a story about my marriage ending a year ago and that this story was exactly how things went down. It worked like a charm and the audience was warmed up. Apparently I am currently dating Abraham Lincoln.

Now on to the Open Mic part. I had 6 Troupes enter to perform. They were: LOSER JOSH,
5-6-7-8, The Papers, The Quest, The Flying Kopecnees and a one man improvised story courtesy of Giovanni. Everyone did a great job and each troupe had 8 minutes to strut their stuff. The troupes showcased both long form and short form improv. In between the group performances we played short form games consisting of me pulling out single improvisers who signed up to play and they were placed randomly together on stage. I also launched a new thing for the Open Mic called Scenes Cut From a Movie where I had about 10 people on stage and a list of movies to call off. After I mentioned a movie the "actors" on stage would act out scenes that didn't make the final edited film. I think this was fun but then again the movies I picked were really for my own amusement. I am hoping the audience enjoyed this portion too.

Of course we ended the 2 hour show with a lightening round of "Lines From A Hat".

It was a great way to start off 2008 and I'm looking forward to more fun this year.

Mark your calendar for the next round of DC Improvisational Open Mic Night on
Wednesday February 20th, 2008
Sign-up is from 7-7:30 p.m.
Show starts around 8:00 p.m.

Thanks for the support!

Giggles and Improv...

2008 here we come!

2007-12-19T08:31:00.000-08:00

Hey, Improv Comedy fans. I wanted to let you know that the next DC Improvisational Open Mic Night has been scheduled for Thursday January 10th, 2008 in The DC Improv Comedy Lounge. Let's kick start the New Year right and make some s*** up!

Hope Santa brings you everything you want and more.

See you in the Lounge...

Love Letters and Improv 11/29/07

2007-11-30T12:46:00.000-08:00

So last night I hosted another DC Improvisational Open Mic Night in our comedy lounge. Even though I was feeling under the weather and my voice was half gone I managed to get through the 2 hour show. I have NO VOICE today though...but I revel in the fact that everyone had a blast last night so it's worth it in the end, right? To start the show I decided to read excerpts of old love letters I found from my 1st boyfriend (over 10 years ago). Apparently I thought druggies and weirdos were hot. These letters not only included odd comments intertwined with graphic sexual content, there were some hilarious hand drawn pictures to parade to the audience as well. Upon completion of my reading I had the whole group of approximately 45 people warm up by yelling out the name of their first boyfriend or girlfriend. Following that I had them yell out what they'd like to say to them now. Good times.

Then came the antics of random people doing random short form Improv interspersed with 2 troupes performing. The audience consisted of some regulars and also a lot of new faces which was nice...I may have scared them off from my love letters though. I hope they'll be back. Participating troupes were 5-6-7-8 and Sexual Chocolate. Both performed styles of long form improv and both did a great job.

Of course we ended the event with the lightening round of Scenes From A Hat. That seems to be my signature ending for the these events.

I'm proud to say that I started this venture Dec of 2006 so am coming up on my year anniversary of this forum. In honor of the year anniversary, I am taking December off but will be back with a vengeance in January 2008. Be on the the look out for an updated announcement of when the show will be scheduled.

In the meantime I hope Santa treats you well and Hanukkah Harry gets you everything you wanted.

Giggles and Improv...

October and Improv are meant to be

2007-10-22T17:12:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday on October 18th, I hosted another DC Improvisational Open Mic Night and it was another huge success. With a packed house of 60 people and some new ideas in my head the show started off strong. Two troupes entered the showcase; 700 Clubbing and Loser Josh. Both performed for 10 minutes and showcased long form improv to the masses. My job was to run the short form portion of the show. I decided to play some of the usual games and also put in some new gems that I found on the mighty Internet. The show was running strong until I got called out to take care of a crisis in the main showroom. Every once in awhile I get a slap back into reality and that was a total bitch slap. Bart Voision ended up running the remainder of the show including the lightning round of scenes from a hat. Aside from the main room crisis, it was a fun night had by all.
Mark your calendars for Thursday November 29th, 2007 for the next round of DC IMPROVISATIONAL OPEN MIC NIGHT. Sign-up from 7:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Show is at 8:00 p.m. You can improv off that turkey dinner.

Football? Man funk that....

2007-09-09T07:21:00.000-07:00

Yea, so I didn't think this through and planned the last Improvisational Open Mic night on opening night of Football Season (September 6th, 2007). At about 4:00 p.m. I realized what I had done and figured we would have a very light attendance, but to my surprise we had a great full crowd. Take that The NFL...you can't keep us improv-ers down! So we probably had about 40 people in the crowd including a whole crew of newbies. 3 groups participated; LOSER JOSH, SUCH AS and WIDESTANCE. All were given 10 minutes to perform and split between short form games. Allyson (me) hosted again and still am struggling with the descriptions of the games to the audience but I had some awesome Zingers (sometimes I do things for myself). All in all it was a successful night and I'm looking forward to the next one. Mark your calendars for Thursday October 18th, 2007 in The DC Improv Comedy Lounge. Sign-up is from 7-7:30 p.m. and the show will start promptly at 8:05 p.m.

See you then!

July 25th 2007, a day to remember...

2007-07-31T09:10:00.000-07:00

I tried to post this last week but Blogger thought I was a spam blog and denied me access. Luckily, after a grueling test, I passed it with flying colors and can update this now. I'm pretty sure no one really even reads this but hey, I am the type of person who won't give up so gosh darn it I'm writing the blog. So in brief the last open mic was a HUGE success with standing room only. I opened with a busted microphone (that eventually I was able to fix) and a cheesy Mr. T joke to get people in the mood and focused for the event. There were 4 troupes that performed that night. LOSER JOSH, MR. PETERSON'S THUMBS, NEXT WEDNESDAY and 5-6-7-8. The show itself lasted about 1 hr 45 minutes with a mixture of short form random improving and the troupes. I ended once again with the lightening round of scenes from a hat. Good times were had by all. We even had some free cookies courtesy of one of the students who celebrated his 50th Birthday that evening. So far this venture has been a successful one. Be sure to check out the next event which will be on Thursday September 6th, 2007 in The DC Improv Comedy Lounge. Sign-up is 7:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. and the show is at 8:00 p.m. I'm taking August off but plan on returning with a vengeance in September. I don't even know what that meant. See you then!!

Yes and June...

2007-06-15T14:23:00.000-07:00

Last night on June 14th, 2007 I hosted another DC Improvisational Open Mic night on our Comedy Lounge. I'm happy to say that it was another successful venture with a crowd of roughly 45 people including our most current Harold Long Form Class representing before their graduation show tomorrow. The audience got to experience some random short form games, a stand-up joke or two from Allyson Jaffe, 2 Harold Long Form sketches and the improv comedy stylings of the troupe 5-6-7-8.

Since I'm always thinking and searching for a new way to keep an audience entertained, we ended the evening with a lightning round consisting of 2 lines of people rotating in and out of a 2 person scene playing the game "Lines From A Hat". HILARIOUSNESS for sure.

Thanks to all who came out last night and I hope to see you at the next open mic.

Mark your calendars for Wednesday July 25th in The DC Improv Comedy Lounge.
Sign-up is from 7-7:30 p.m. and the show is at 8:00 p.m.

See you in July!!!

Back in Mauve...

2007-05-10T16:37:00.000-07:00

Hey all, so we hosted another DC Improvisational Open Mic night on Sunday May 6th, 2007 in The DC Improv Comedy Lounge (which is Mauve hence the title of this blog). With fans blowing to keep the crowd cool we intertwined single improving and troupe performances for a 90 minute show. Three Troupes participated including regular open mic attendees LOSER JOSH and NEXT WEDNESDAY plus a new addition called 5-6-7-8. Starting with some single improving, the host (Allyson) was able to kindly force some voyeurs at the show to participate in an Improv Game. All and all, laughs were had even though the crowd was on the lighter side. Every person who signed up had a chance to play on stage and we ended the event with a game of Questionable Wrestling amongst 16 people (8 per team). If you couldn't make this Improv Open Mic, be sure to come and check out the next one that will be held on Thursday June 14th, 2007 again in The DC Improv Comedy Lounge. Sign-Up is from 7 - 7:30 p.m. and the show will begin at 8:00 p.m. I'll be gentle...I promise.

To Go Big or To Stay Small...

2007-04-05T07:37:00.000-07:00

I hosted another DC Improvisational Open Mic Night on Tuesday March 27th here at The DC Improv. This time we opened our main showroom up on an off night. With an audience of about 100 people (including my mom all the way from NYC) we laughed the night away. This show was structured just about the same where the first half was single improv artists, the second half featured 7 Troupes/Groups and the last 10 minutes was the lightening round featuring the game Questionable Wrestling. Fun was had by all.

This show featured troupes built out of The DC Improv Comedy School and also ComedySportz. Including performances from: NEXT WEDNESDAY, MISSING FINGERS, LOSER JOSH, BUBBA & SQUIRREL, 4 MEN AND AN ASIAN, OUTERLOOP and STEEL RHINOCERES.

The next open mic will be held in the DC Improv Comedy Lounge on Sunday May 6th, 2007 at 8:00 p.m. Sign-up is from 7:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Come get your Improv on.

The Ides of Improv...

2007-03-15T10:08:00.000-07:00

March, 14th 2007 The DC Improv Comedy Lounge hosted another Improv Open Mic Night. This was a special show celebrating the departure of Bryant Collins and the newly single Allyson Jaffe. Jokes flew out about failed marriages and moving to Nebraska...ahh the memories.
We had about 40 people in attendance and everyone who signed up to be a single performer had the opportunity to play. 2 people who just "heard about the event" and who weren't students of our comedy school also joined in the fun. Once again Allyson Jaffe hosted the show and did her best to explain the games.
Four Groups/Troupes participated last night including: LOSER JOSH, NEXT WEDNESDAY, SUSPICIOUS PACKAGE and BUBBA & SQUIRREL. Combining Long Form and Short Form games, each troupe strutted their stuff and all FOUR are invited back to participate in the next Improv Comedy Open Mic Night on March 27th, in the main showroom of The DC Improv.

BOO WEATHER! New Dates for The Improv Open Mic:

2007-02-28T08:23:00.000-08:00

As most of you know the last Improv Comedy Open Mic night was cancelled this past Sunday at The DC Improv. CURSE YOU MOTHER NATURE!

So, I decided to plot TWO MORE IMPROVISATIONAL OPEN MIC NIGHTS for you here at The DC Improv. My issue is that the main showroom is not available until the end of March and I hated having to wait so long before I can host this event and we can play up on stage. This has resulted in me hosting the event in our Comedy Lounge on:
Wednesday March 14th, 2007 at 8:00 p.m.
Sign-up is from 7:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

I will also be hosting the event in our main showroom on Tuesday, March 27th, 2007 as a replacement for this past Sunday night. Again, for me to host the event in the big room on a night I am not normally open I really need to generate a crowd eating & drinking so I don't lose a ton of money from hosting a free show and paying for my staff's time.

So long story short...come out and play on March 14th, 2007 and play on March 27th at The DC Improv. Spread the word!!

No Booze but we still had fun...

2007-02-01T08:14:00.000-08:00

So last night some Improv Open Mic'ers ventured over to The Comedy Spot for our 3rd installment of the Improvisational Comedy Open Mic Night. Despite the traffic and the cold weather and the lack of alcohol, we managed to get an audience of about 40 people and a bunch of performers. Once again hosted by me, Allyson Jaffe wearing the mighty whistle and with 3 pitchers by my side I managed to get a few laughs to loosen up the crowd and start the show. Also I had some help from my friend Joe Randazzo to explain the games when I just couldn't get the words out, so thank you Joe.

Every single Improv'er who showed had the chance to get on stage twice. The highlight game of the event was the alphabet game to which sadly many many improvisers struggled to remember their ABC's. In addition for some reason Judaism and religion were a theme throughout the night.

Two groups/troupes entered that portion of the event: LOSER JOSH and BOOTY CAMPERS 2006 had the crowd in stitches each getting 10 minutes of stage time to strut their stuff. Both troupes are invited back with a guaranteed performance slot on the next Improv Open Mic night to be hosted here at The DC Improv on our main stage Feb 25th, 2007. Remember that date as it will come up quickly. Sign-up for that show is from 7-7:30 p.m. and the show will start at 8:00 p.m. See you at The DC Improv on 2/25/07!!

Round Two!

2007-01-16T14:03:00.000-08:00

Gitty Up! The second ever Improvisational Comedy Open Mic Night took place at The DC Improv Comedy Club on January 14th, 2007 and once again it was a huge success. With a standing room only crowd of about 80 people in the room (15 plus people were turned away), we got our Improvisation on. Hosted once again by Allyson Jaffe (the queen of not knowing how to explain games well, but looks cute with a whistle) we had 8 troupes/groups enter and about 25 singles drop their names into the mix. I decided to run this one a little different and rather than pulling 5 troupes, I allowed all 8 to get their chance on stage. The first half hour featured single performers playing short form Improv Games...some faces were recognized from an article featured in The Washington Post Weekend section; http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/11/AR2007011100711.html?sub=AR Cool huh?

The second half of the show featured the following Improv Troupes strutting their stuff; including reigning champion from the fist open mic LOSER JOSH plus THUNDER HAMSTER, SUSPICIOUS PACKAGE, NEXT WEDNESDAY, DEATH TO DUCKS, LAST MINUTE SIGNUP, JACKIE NOVAK PLAYERS and 2 GUYS AND A GIRL.
After a tough voting process, the audience decided that LOSER JOSH will move on to the next open mic and have a guaranteed performance spot at The Comedy Spot on January 31st, 2007.

I realized after this night that I have created a monster so have decided to host The next Improvisational Open Mic Night in the main showroom of The DC Improv Comedy Club for a trial run so we don't have to turn anyone away again. So mark your calendars for SUNDAY FEBRUARY 25th, 2007 at 8:00 p.m. at The DC Improv. Whether you are a single improv artist or a group of friends interested in getting your improv grove on, this is an awesome outlet to showcase your talent. Oh yeah and did I mention that is was COMPLETELY FREE to the patrons?

Thanks to everyone who came out and showed support for this venture...it's only the beginning. Bare with me while I work out the kinks.

See you at the next one.

About Last Night...

2006-12-21T09:34:00.000-08:00

So Dec 20th, 2006 was the first ever Improvisational Comedy Open Mic Night held at The DC Improv Comedy Club in our brand new lounge. It was a HUGE SUCCESS!! Trained Improv Artists from The DC Improv Comedy School, ComedySportz, WIT plus several people who just happened to show up and wanted to give Improv Comedy a try were in attendance.

There were over 50 people there which is a max capacity for our new room. Since it is an impromptu show and the first of it's kind, I had no idea what to expect from it. A reporter from The Washington Post came out with a photographer to review the extravaganza.

5 Groups/Troupes signed up to take part in the group section. Participating groups were: NEXT WEDNESDAY, DEATH BY DUCKS, BRIGHT THINGS, LOSER JOSH and SUSPICIOUS PACKAGE. In addition to the Groups/Troupes at least 25 Single Improv-er's dropped their names in the bucket to play some short form Improv games. For the first night everyone who entered the bucket got a chance on stage. I (Allyson Jaffe) hosted the show last night, despite the fact that I have never taken a class in Improv Comedy before (I guess that's the irony of improv, you make it up as you go). Random names and random games were pulled and everyone had a blast. Check out the first blog to see the format of the event. The show lasted about 2 hours....

Crowned winner last night for the Groups/Troupes portion is Loser Josh consisting of the following performing members: Colleen, Paul, Elisa, Alexis, Peter, Clay and Stephanie. Loser Josh will go on to defend their honor at the next DC Improvisational Comedy Open Mic Night at The DC Improv on Sunday January 14th, 2007 at 8:00 p.m. Another one has already been scheduled at The Comedy Spot on Wednesday January 31st, 2007 at 8:00 p.m.

Be there...

The First Ever DC Improvisational Comedy Open Mic Night!!

2006-12-21T09:13:00.000-08:00

WHAT IS IT?
The DC Improvisational Open Mic Night is open to all students of Improv; we encourage anyone with training in Improv to participate in this event. My ultimate goal is for all students who never get the chance to perform your skills in improv to now have the chance to do so, for FREE. The DC Improvisational Open Mic Night will be hosted twice a month; once at The DC Improv and once at The Comedy Spot.
The format of the show will be split into 2 parts:

Half of the show is for IMPROV TEAMS/GROUPS and Half of the show is for SINGLE IMPROV'ERS.
Everyone is welcome to perform however you will not know if you are performing as it is all done randomly that evening. From 7:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. there is a sign-up for the evening. There will be 3 hats on location (One for Single Improvers; One for Improv Teams, One with various Short Form Improv Games). You will either drop your group name or solo name or both into the hats if you are interested in performing.
The first portion will consist of the host pulling out of the hat one of the short form games, and then the appropriate number of students needed to play that game from the single players hat.
The host that evening will pick 5 Team names out of the hat to perform. Each team will do 8 minutes of either short or long form Improv (it is solely your group's decision). At the end of the team segment the audience will vote on the teams and one team will return to defend the title the next time we host The IMPROV COMEDY OPEN MIC NIGHT.