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

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.

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