We're baaaccck!

Guess who's coming back after Labor Day? Mark your calendars, Thursday, September 6, 2012 for the next round of DC Improvisational Open Mic Night. Doors: 6:30pm. Sign-up until: 7:30pm. Show starts at 8:05pm. FREE to play and watch. Don't forget to like us on facebook and stay up to date.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/DC-Improvisational-Open-Mic-Night/50930701244

New date in 2012!

The people have voted so DC Improvisational Open Mic Night returns on Wednesday, July 11 in The DC Improv Comedy Lounge. Doors open at 6:30pm. Sign-up is until 7:30pm. Show starts at 8:05pm.
Please note this is for improvisers not stand-up comics. See you in July!

Next Open Mic Night in 2012

Yes, I am aware I have not updated this blog in quite sometime but the most important information is when the next event will be held. The next DC Improvisational Open Mic Night will take place on Friday, April 20 in The DC Improv Comedy Lounge. This event is FREE to attend and participate in. Sign-up from 6:30pm - 7:30pm and the show will begin at 8:05pm. Hope you can make it!

New date for first show in 2012

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

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...

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!

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!

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

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!

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!

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

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...

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!

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...

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...

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...

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...

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!

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?

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.