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!

DATE CHANGE FOR IMPROVISATIONAL OPEN MIC NIGHT!!

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...

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...

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!

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!

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...

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!