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.

Boo! Macarena! Quiet Please!

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?

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!

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!

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...

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...

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.