Improv for Evil , Thursday, May 10, 2007
Improv for Evil is celebrating their one year anniversary as a troupe this Friday, May the 11th. Spawned from the womb of Austin Improv just as the current upswell in the scene was beginning, the evil ones have had quite a busy year. We caught up with IfE on this momentous occasion to find out a little bit more about how it feels to be so very very evil.DB: What are some of your favorite/proudest memories of the past year?
 | Jason: I have had many proud moments with my troupe but I think I was most proud of our run at ColdTowne with Pgraph and Spices. Being the new kids on the block, it was nice to be given the chance to do a two month run and share the stage with some extremely talented folks. It gave us a chance to bond more as a troupe and really pushed us to come up with a marketable format. We may have had mixed results with our "Apocalypse" format but I was really proud of us for trying something new and really going out on a limb. |
 | Matt: I remember our first show, when we were overwhelmed with the support we received - I remember a cookie cake from Pgraph, a bottle of Whiskey from McNichol & May, and the general good vibe in the green room. Some of the most fun shows we ever did were during the Blank Show slot - I remember we did a Nightmare format with just two people in the audience. By the end of it, they asked for our autographs! Another time, a bunch of us took a random road trip to the middle of nowhere to buy poppy seed rolls, and on the way we passed a giant LED sign advertising some lame pecan shack. Ever since, PECANS! has been a troupe joke when things start getting weird. We just recently took a troupe camping trip - Valroth of the Stump has spoken! Performing every Thursday in January and February with Parallelogramophonograph at ColdTowne was a huge highlight as well. |
 | Bob: Doing amazing work with a great bunch of people. Our Wafflefest show was a real high point. |
 | Marc: It's been great watching everyone learn new techniques and hone their skills and grow as improvisers over the last year or so. There have been plenty of ups and downs, but it's all gone by so quickly that it's hard to pick out specific bits. I suppose that the high points performance-wise have been our festival appearances - at Frontera and WaffleFest - and our recent two-month run at ColdTowne. Also, some of the best moments we've had during shows are when we can hear certain other improvisers with distinctive laughs cracking up in the audience. Sometimes, the not laughing is even better, though - we've had a few shows with some longish scenes that we thought were dying because nobody in the audience was laughing or making any kind of noise, but then, when the scene ended, got a big round of applause. I love those. |
 | Mike: I guess my proudest moment of the past year was our very first show. I guess we were all anxious to get to the show and really do a great job. I was really nervous when we were warming up, but once we hit the stage everything just seemed to fall into place and I had a great time. |
DB: How has IfE's improv/philosophy/style changed over the past year?
| Jason: We have tried so many different things just trying to find our own voice in the community. When we started out, we were pretty much strictly shortform players. Since then we have branched out into multiple longform styles with varying results. I think our current philosophy/style is a very organic one. We like to try out different forms and blend the elements we enjoy into a new form that plays to our strengths as performers. That's the goal at least. |
| Matt: We've elevated our game significantly over where we started from, but we know there's always further to go. We started out with your basic flowy donut montage, but we've done Deconstructions (or our modified form, the Destruction), Nightmare, Harolds, Armando, and even forms we've made up the night of a show, like the successful Groundhog Day style or our current project, Lines. Our philosophy is that we can learn from all of these styles, and we shouldn't be afraid to try them. |
| Bob: We've gone back to a more experimental approach, trying new intros and formats rather than working on a signature format. It's helped the group develop its chemistry and made us a bit more agile and confident. |
| Marc: I don't think it's changed all that much, really. We've always been about pushing the boundaries of what we already know, and constantly trying new stuff - new formats, new techniques, new everything. We like to take risks, and see how far we can go before breaking down completely. We've really gone out and failed hard on occasion, either doing something totally wacky at a Blank Show, trying crazy ideas for the Cagematch, or jumping up with a new, untested format on a Friday night show - sometimes these come out better than we'd anticipated, sometimes they flop horribly, but I think we've learned something from most of them, and come out better for it. |
| Mike: I think our style has changed from performing mostly the same stuff (Montages, short form) to where we are more apt to take chances on new formats. We've tried several new formats: Groundhog Day, The Cutting Room Floor, A Harold, and now we're trying our hand at a modified "living room" format called Lines. We've definitely left our comfort zone and are looking to try new formats and ideas to really challenge ourselves. |
DB: IfE has brought in a lot of coaches throughout your career so far. What skills and techniques have you learned from them that you might not have picked up otherwise?
| Jason: I'm not going to name names for fear of leaving someone out. There are so many talented and generous people in the Austin improv community and I am very glad that we have had such a diverse array of coaching. Here is a short list of things that I have learned from coaching. * Improv is not for cool people * Gay Balls! * "I've got a confession to make" * Eye contact! * Be obvious * If you're uncomfortable on stage, the audience loves it * Play big to small houses * LISTEN! * React emotionally * If you can't think of what to say, start with a sound * If you're not failing, you're not pushing yourself I really could go on and on and on but I'll stop now to conserve bandwidth. |
| Matt: We're very lucky to have the chance to work with such talented people - they've given us a perspective on improv that you just don't see by going to a jam or playing in Maestro. Christina de Roos, Dav Wallace, Shana Merlin, Erika May, Asaf - all of these people have helped us grow as a troupe. Everything from ways to open a show to group warmups to exercises in rehearsal that help us focus in on aspects of our play that need work. Every troupe should have such good coaches! |
| Bob: Though they've used different techniques, every coach has pushed us to be bolder and stronger, to play to our strengths but not use them as a crutch. We have a tendency to go all 'crazy town' and we've learned a lot about grounding scenes and starting with an emotional investment. |
| Marc: Wow - we've had so many great people help us out in the last year. From our original sessions with Christina, classes from Buckman and Bob and Erika and Shana, more coaching from Andy and Wallace and Rachel and Lamb and Asaf and Jastroch and everyone else that's come by that I can't remember right now. We've learned so many different things from our different mentors, sometimes we get all confused and start bumping into each other and yelling at walls and whatnot, but we eventually pull ourselves together and get down with the science. It's nice to have so many resources to draw from, but it can lead to a lack of focus at times. I'll let everyone else answer for themselves, but for me, I've gotten a lot out of learning to take it slow with the funny, being comfortable with just being on stage and being quiet and patient and leaving room for stuff to happen - crazytown can be fun, but you don't have to live there all the time. |
| Mike: I have learned a great deal from all of our coaches. Erika helped a lot in maintaining characters, developing a stage presence, and keeping grounded when the desire is to go off into some odd place. Asaf just taught me a great technique to really keep the scene between the improvisors and not get lost in the scenery or the extraneous stuff. It's these little bits of information you pick up from those who have a lot of experience and stage time that you can't learn by yourself. I like the idea of a coach because they can give you an honest evaluation of your performance and show you where the rough spots are, then let you know how to correct them. I may think I'm doing well, but a coach will see me blocking, dropping out of character, or just not committing to the scene as I should. |
DB: If you could change one thing about the troupe, what would it be?
| Jason: I wish we could all quit our day jobs and focus on honing our craft. |
 | Nadine: doing more narrative long form |
| Bob: I'd lose thirty pounds and we'd get a giant robot. I guess that's two things. Maybe we'd get a giant robot which would help me lose thirty pounds. And crush SUVs. The robot would have to be able to crush an SUV, definitely. |
| Marc: Everyone advances at a different rate, even in the same troupe, but I'm feeling like everyone's at a really solid spot right now, and really starting to take off, skill-wise. I'd love for IFE to get some more regular performance slots, so we can play with a couple of different formats, and just nail them - really polish them up and get good at one thing for a while, and just knock it out. But we still love variety, so it'd be nice to have a venue where we could do that on a regular basis, still playing around with a lot of different styles while being able to take the time to get a good handle on each one. I'd also love to start moving in the direction of working on some longer narrative-style improv with IFE sometime, too. A lot of us have strong Johnstone-style narrative leanings, and it'd be fun to bring that out to shows more often. And a lot more singing. La La La! |
| Mike: I wouldn't change a thing about any of the members of the troupe. I think we all bring something to the stage and our different personalities and interests allow us to really create some good scenes and stories. |
DB: You were the new troupe in town for almost a year. Now, with the advent of groups like Look Cookie and The Starter Kit, how does it feel to be all grown up, and what advice would you give to the new troupes just starting out?
| Jason: It does feel kind of strange not to be the new kids anymore. I'm excited for the new troupes and hope they all break their legs. My advice to them would be... * Get a coach (talk to me if you'd like recommendations) * Rehearse EVERY week * Remember to have fun |
| Matt: Its about damn time! We thought we'd only have the honor of being the noobs in town for a couple of months, but with the groups coming up, I'd say it was worth the wait. I can't wait to see their shows! Be fearless! Take as many classes as you can digest, because there is so much talent in this town to draw from. |
| Bob: Play a lot. When you fall down, get up and try again - don't worry about it. You can work hard and have fun - if you're not having fun, something's wrong. The stage is the best teacher, but get a coach to help draw out the best that you don't know is in you. Forward! |
| Marc: It's nice not to be the "baby troupe" any more. I know that moniker rankled some of us every time we heard it, but we pushed through, and check it out, now we're the surly teenaged troupe with a bad attitude and a inflated sense of self-entitlement and hair growing in weird places. It's been nice, though - everyone in the AIC was super supportive when we started out, and we continue to feel that support as the troupe matures. I look forward to the future, when we're able to vote, drink, drive cars, and fire automatic weapons at foreign devils. Advice for new troupes: Get as much stage time in front of an audience you can - play in maestro, make cagematch teams, go to the jam, do shows in bars and coffee houses, whatever. Every minute you're up there helps. Get as much coaching, training, and advice as you can handle, then sit down and figure out how to integrate all that good stuff into your own individual troupe style. Work it the way you know. Don't forget the shameless promotion, either - you don't have to start out being the best performers in the world, but if you have good marketing, you can build a following, and play more, and become the best performers in the world, then get hooked on the dope, become fat and bald, and die in a puddle of your own vomit. You really can make dreams come true. |
| Mike: I like the fact that we're not the "new kids" anymore. A year has passed, and I think we've come a long way since that first show. Advice? Hmm. Just have fun. Be playful. Be open to new ideas and don't be afraid to being any new ideas you may have to your troupe. I love the fact that IfE can just sit down and say "Hey let's try __________ next time!" It took me about six months, but I really learned to have fun while on stage. I think having fun and being playful is important. |
| Nadine: Have fun. |
DB: What are your plans for the future?
| Jason: I would love to develop a following for our troupe locally and eventually branch out to take over the world. I would also love to make a name for ourselves on the improv festival circuit. We've got a ways to go but we are getting better with each show and rehearsal. Also, I want to purchase an island in the South Pacific, call it "Evil Island" and have improvised luaus year-round. |
| Matt: Take over the world. |
| Bob: Push to do tighter, more evocative work. Make every show more fun and more interesting than the last one. Play some festivals, see the country. |
| Marc: More shows, more venues, more different good stuff. There's idle talk about opening a theater someday, which will serve as an ideal foothold in our quest for world domination. I want to start a white-boy nerdcore rap group, too. Oh, and we need lots more groupies. Talk to us after a show to set up an audition. |
| Mike: Get the cloning vats online and create a genetic race of supermen all in my image. |
DB: Ask yourself a question and answer it here.
| Jason: Q. Who is the greatest rock vocalist of all time? A. Ronnie James Fucking Dio |
| Nadine: Q. what is your favorite food? A. sardines! |
| Bob: Q. What's been the hardest problem IfE has faced this year and what did you learn from it? A. Problems with group chemistry. They're tough to deal with because you want to be on good terms with everyone. You have to trust your partners implicitly and have zero reticence to going onstage - you can't pick and choose your scene partner. You can't force people to get along if the chemistry is broken. The most you can do is support people, not take sides, try to mediate, and not fuel the fire. You also have to be honest with people when their behavior is distracting the group. It's impossible for everyone to agree all the time, but at the same time it's really difficult to work under the shadow of stupid interpersonal bullshit. You do the best you can to make the group work or leave when it's a lost cause. I've been in that situation before and it's awful. I wish there was a way to channel that energy into something positive; my best advice is to not feed it and just play forward. |
| Marc: Q. How many times have you ascended in Kingdom of Loathing? A. Twenty-five, with twenty-one in hardcore. An adventurer is me! |
| Mike: Q. What is your favorite non-improv moment with your troupe? A. I would say our camping trip in March. We were able to just head out to the woods, drink beer, and just hang out together. We were able to get together in a non-improv setting and just have fun together, be it making a cake in a box, drinking gallons of alcohol, grilling, or just sitting around a fire and talking about nothing for hours. It was a really great trip. |
Improv for Evil is playing in the Double Barrel on 5/11/2007 at 10PM.
Labels: improvforevil, interview
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