O say can you sing Billy Joel...

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!