Part II:

We were in Queens for a long time. Queens is confusing, even with the GPS device that was our Lord and Master for the duration of the trip. I've never worked with a GPS device before. This one was pretty handy, but at the same time, confusing. And the smooth, female British voice that we selected could sound anywhere from condescending to downright exasperated depending on how often she was forced to repeat herself. This was her advice: ‘Turn right now. Turn right n--- ...Recalculating. Make a Uuuu-Turn. Make a Uuuu-Turn. ...Recalculating. Turn left, then turn right. Turn left now. Left. Left now! (Sigh.) ...Recalculating. Make a Uuuu-Turn.'

In this way, we eventually emerged from the Bronx and into Connecticut...to sit in a stop-and-start traffic jam all the way through New Haven. But we did make it to Providence in time for our show, and even our most tardy car-full of players burst into the greenroom fifteen minutes before curtain.

Providence is charming; it reminded me of a New England version of Charleston. Unfortunately, I have no photos, because I was too lazy to ever take my camera out of the trunk. We spent Saturday wandering up and down Thayer Street, the commercial district surrounding the Brown University campus in Providence's East Side neighborhood. Thayer Street is lined with colorfully painted, old two-story houses made into cafes, antique shops, hippie-clothing stores catering to students and so forth. There were a lot of young people milling around, and everybody seemed to know each other. The main drag gave onto wide, tree-lined blocks of Victorian mansions with wrap-around porches. As is always the case when New Yorkers venture out of the city, my friends and I were delightfully amazed by the low prices and general friendliness we were met with all through the city.

Around 4:00 p.m., we piled back into the car, switched on the GPS device and headed back to New York. But on the way, we stopped at the Ikea in New Haven.

Now, since I do live in the world, I'd heard all about the Ikea thing - from back when Ikea was the most totally awesome thing ever to now, when mention of Ikea is generally accompanied by an apologetic eye-roll. But until last weekend, I had yet to actually go to one myself.

Here's my interior monologue, which best describes how I experienced my very first Ikea visit:

--

"Wow, this place is huge! This stuff all looks pretty cool. Okay, I'm ready to eat now.

...Oh. We're shopping. I guess we're going to be shopping for awhile.

Oh, this place is really huge.

Oh, we're really shopping.

Oh, I'm going to be here for a very long time.

...Damn it.

Well. These apartment set-ups all look really great. Maybe I should buy something. What would I buy? What would look good in my apartment? What does my apartment look like?

I can't remember.

I just know it doesn't look like these apartments. My apartment looks like shit.* How do you make something like my apartment look like these apartments look?

I'm not equal to this challenge.

The people who live in these apartments are probably really happy.

These apartments are cheap and cute, and probably what most people would consider good starter-apartment solutions until they get their careers going, and make enough money to have a real, nice house. Whereas for me, these Ikea apartments are like the long-term-goal apartments. If, by retirement, I am living in an Ikea apartment, I will have exceeded my own expectations.

I'm not at all where I should be at 27. I still sleep in a twin bed, have a shower curtain on my window, and nothing on my walls except for a hideous poster of Native Americans that I found in the trash! I should get a couch. And a career. And a car. And a dog. And friends. And a Relationship.

Or maybe just some meatballs. Yes, meatballs will improve matters. And then, we will leave.

Whoa, there's another floor! A whole other floor! Oh, I want all matching dishes! I want all matching dishes to eat breakfast on in the sun in a pretty dress with the whole day ahead of me and appointments and a book to write them all down in that matches my handbag, and colorful cocktails after with good-looking people at a rooftop bar where all the drinks cost $14!!!! I want everything about my life to be entirely different, and I want it all to occur in a color-coordinated, cunningly planned setting!!!! I want to design every, single inch of my life, so it's an appropriate backdrop for the huge, personal successes that will surely follow!!!!!

Or not.

Hell, I can at least buy some new sheets. This way, I don't have to wash my old ones."

--

And that is what I did - I got red and pink sheets, and I'm very happy with them. And I also got an ice-cube tray that makes ice cubes shaped like tiny liquor bottles. It's not much, but it's a start. And it all cost less than $20 which is the main reason Ikea is so very awesome. I might go again someday, if I ever feel I have things together enough to justify putting some effort into decorating my environment. But frankly, I'm still probably several years (and possibly several cities) away from that point.

And yes, I realize I had more to say about the Ikea than about Providence. What can I say? They've got a great business concept going.

__
*Roommates, if you read this, our apartment does not really look like shit. It only looks like shit when it's standing next to a precious, little Ikea model, and those models only exist to make ordinary apartments feel bad about themselves anyway.

Admittedly, it wasn't quite my best work (for some reason, I was a lot more nervous about this than I have been about any other prior performance), but it was a solid start. I don't quite remember playing as many characters as I did last night, though. Huh. I guess I had it in me all along.

YouTube clips will be up shortly!

Fast Forward Rating: FFFF (4 out of 5)

Jim Annan, Rob Baker, Jan Caruana and Alex Hatz are geniuses.

Why do I say this? Is it for their witty and entirely improvised performances in their show About an Hour (as part of the Toronto Fringe Festival)? Is it for the experience of witnessing their exuberance and spontaneity in action and in real time, as they seamlessly (well, most of the time) make it through scene after unrehearsed scene with a (nearly) straight face?

Pah! It’s obviously both. The performances of these four improv savants are clever, engaging and hilarious. From rectal exams to marital distress, no topic goes untouched. Not to be missed!

About an Hour: shows daily July 2-12 @ 8:00, the Fringe Club (The Tranzac), 292 Brunswick Ave.

First Person Arts
Gershman Y | 401 S Broad St
Wednesday, July 9th
7PM | $5 Minimum Admission

The N Crowd
The Actor's Center | 257 N Third St
Saturday, July 5th
8PM | Tickets $10

Improv while looking chaotic and without form (and at a given moment it may be) is actually governed by some clear rules and norms.

Rather than being at odds with business improv provides a framework and method for breakthrough thinking.

Improv is first about listening, then about acting. Intense listening with the intent to truly understanding the sender's message is the key to being a good improv player.

While there are others, and for the experienced improv player many additional and deeper levels to the world of improv, here are the most basic of rules:

1. Say yes, and. That is, agree with your stage partners, and expand from there. On a superficial level this agreement can be literal, eg. "let's go to the gym", "yes, and I'm going to get you RIPPED for your wedding", but on a more fundamental level it's about agreement between the players that if they are truly open to knew information -- and trust one another -- they can create something unique by building upon each others input and ideas.

2. Treat everything your partner says/does like manna from heaven. Everything is a gift, and if you take the time to really listen to/explore what he/she has said/done, there is a bounty of treasure there for you to use.

3. Make bold choices. New improvisers tend to put the onus on the other improviser to add information to the scene rather than you putting it out there themselves. You learn however that it is more productive -- and more fun -- to be bold and add as much to the scene every chance you have.

4. Don't try to control the scene. Look after your own character, and trust that your scene partners are doing the same. The best scenes emerge from your interactions with others, rather than any singularly funny or outrageous thing you or another character says or does.

We did many fun group exercises over three days where we practiced listening -- ensuring we truly received the message from our partners. This is not easy and revealed all of our weaknesses in this area. We also did many exercises to practice being "bold". This rule (#3) stretches -- and hopefully breaks -- your natural defense against experimentation and failure. If you are going to be bold you will fail ocassionally (and a lot, at the beginning). And lastly, rule #4 played itself out over and over as we worked together and practiced improv scenarios, reminding us that the most beautiful tapestry comes from the weaving of many threads.

-My Improv instructor sang his death.
-I need to change my last name to something that starts with a B. And include the sound "ill" somewhere in there. Joe Bill and Jill Bernard did a SCRAM, and it was quite possibly the most attractive thing I've ever seen.
-"Come, hawk."
-Butch does a lovely Lauren impression.
-Girls, Girls, Girls was amazing. They were all choreographed, but not preplanned. It was like they shared a brain. It was hot.
-People love Rampleseed. How could you not?
-Pimprov was brilliant. It just was.
-Be careful when you're a woman talking about all of your eggs in a basket. Or better yet, don't.
-I could have been vice president. I am also "A. Woman."
-Improv games in the street with visitors.
-Smokes make friends.

there was so much more, you guys. too much for my tiny little brain to process. I took a million pictures, but on my crappy camera phone... well, they didn't all suck. Here are a few:

Games

For all games the audience can provide locations, ideas or any other inputs

1. Sound Effects

Number of Players: 2

One Player is to the side with a mic. He provides all the sound effects for the scene. The other player responds/initiates the sounds. This game is usually played without dialogue and relies heavily on good old-fashioned physical humour.

Variations: 2 Members of the audience provide the sounds of the scene, one assigned to each player. Dialogue is required to justify the (oftentimes ludicrous) sounds

1. Party game

Number of Players: 4

One player is the host of a party. Each of the other players receives a strange identity or quirk. One by one the other three players enter the party and attempt to convey who they are. After interacting (at the most twice) with each character the host guesses who they are.

Tips: The identities and quirks can be famous people (the Queen, Stevie Wonder), types of people (a narcoleptic stripper) or a physical trait (your limbs are attached to the host’s).

The interaction should usually be between host and one guest, unless there is a good synergy between two guests.

1. Dating game 

Number of Players: 4

Conceptually the same as the party game, a bachelorette/bachelor asks a series of questions to 3 prospective partners each of whom has a strange quirk or identity. A slightly easier format as everyone is seated and the bachelor/ette has control over the questions asked.

1. Newscast

Number of players: 4

Once again the same sort of concept: Each player takes part in a newscast as Anchor, Co-Anchor, Sports and Weather. While the Anchor is the straight character, the other players each have a strange identity or quirk. There is no guessing in this form.

1. Translators  

Number of Players: 4

Two players perform a scene in a foreign language obtained from the audience. The two other players (each assigned to one of the onstage players) translate the scene into English.

Tips: One line at a time guys! Say your piece then wait for the translation.

1. Space Jump

Number of Players: 4

Each of the players receives a different location from the audience. The first player begins a one person scene in his location until the second player calls Freeze or something similar. The onstage player freezes and a second scene set in the second location begin (justify the frozen players’ positions!). The same happens for the third player (a three man scene) and the fourth (four-man) scene. The scenes are then resolved in a last in first out method: the fourth scene concludes, the fourth player shouts freeze and leaves and the third scene is re-visited (new positions justified!) and so on until all scenes are completed.

1. Gevoelwarboel (Emotional Whirlpool)

Number of Players: 3

A single (short) three-man scene is performed four times: once normally (is there such a thing?) and then three times in different emotions. Try to grab some novel emotions; love and anger has been done ad nauseum. What about suspicion, passive-aggression, absentmindedness, etc?

Variations: Through the Ages

Same thing, except this time get three different times in history (the Dark Ages, The Great Depression, The Age of Disco

1. Incredible invention

Number of Players: 3

Get a unique invention from the audience (A Back-Hairdryer, Tinted Contacts, Monopoly:Skydiving Edition). Two players are hosts on an interview program questioning player three on his new invention. He however, is unaware what the invention is and must declare what it is by the end of the interview.

Hints: Ask the audience to applaud if the “inventor” makes comments close to what the invention is.

Variations: Occupation Frustration

The audience provides an unusual occupation (Guy who makes the static noise on radio, Traffic light operator). A scene is then performed in which the occupation must be guessed by the player who takes the role of the individual with the strange job. (everyone else knows what the job is). The scene is usually the individual returning home to his family after a hard day aspirin-engraving (or whatever).

1. Murder mystery       

Number of Players: 4

An improv “broken telephone”. The audience provides an occupation, a location and an object (all unrelated). The first player is the only one to hear these. The second player is then called in. Speaking only gibberish the first player must then convey first the occupation, then the location and finally the object to the new player in three unrelated scenes. As soon as the new player knows what the occupation is (and sometimes even if you don’t) he claps his hands and the player begins explaining the location. When the player gets the object he dramatically kills his informer with it and the next player is brought on. Once the final player has committed murder each of the players declares what he thought the occupation, location and object were.

Hint: This is not charades! When conveying the elements the players should perform an ordinary scene in gibberish.

Variations: 10 Second Murder Mystery

Each element has a time limit of 10 seconds at the end of which the player MUST clap, turn and proceed

Murder Mystery with a member of the Audience

Let the 4th player come from the audience. Lots of fun.

1. Spoed sprokie

Number of players: as many as you need

The players perform a fairytale of the audiences choosing in 1 min, 30 sec, 15 sec and 7 and a half seconds

Hint:  A dramatic leap into the arms of the hero always makes for an amusing ending 

1. Sit, staan, wat ook al

Number of players: 3

A scene is performed in which at all times, one of the players must be standing, one of the players must be sitting and one of the players must be performing an action of the audience’s choice (skipping, leap-frogging, breakdancing)

1. Alphabet

Number of players: 2 to 3

A scene is performed in which each line must begin with the next letter of the alphabet. The audience chooses the starting letter.

Hint: It’s easier if a fixed order is maintained player 1, 2 then 3 then player 1 again, etc

       Keep your lines short and simple so each letter can be clearly heard.

Variations: Reverse Alphabet

 A scene is performed in which each line must begin with the preceding letter of the alphabet

1. Rhymes

Number of players: 2 or 4

A 2 person scene is performed entirely in rhyme: A system that works well is where each player provides two lines, the first rhyming with the preceding line, the second forming the first half of the next couplet. Should a player not rhyme he rotates with one of the players off-stage.

1. 2 line vocabulary 

Number of players: 3

One player is the “Free Character”, able to act as normal. The other two players each receive two different lines. They are only allowed to day those two lines.

Hint: The two lines are easily forgotten. Get the players to repeat their lines back to you.

The hardest part is choosing the two lines. Try to ensure that each player has one “up (excited/positive)” and one “down (sad/negative)” line.  

1. Super Heroes 

Number of players: 4

The audience provides a catastrophe and the name of an unlikely super hero (Delayed Reaction Man). The first player (usually in his lair) assesses the danger and calls for help. When the next player arrives, the first player names him (Captain Communism) and so on for the third (named by the second) and fourth (named by the third) who solves the crisis. They then depart in last in first out order.

Variations: Super Villains

The first 3 players are unlikely super villains, the last is a hero who thwarts their plans.

1. Slide show 

Number of players: 4

One player is an expert in a field of the audience’s choosing. He presents a “slideshow” in which the remaining players are the slides. The expert calls for the next slide, the lights go out and the players take up a still tableau (Mmm, tableau). The expert explains.

Variations: Two of the slide show members can be taken from the audience.

1. Who’s line

Number of players: 2

Preparation: Get the audience to write down lines before the show. Select the four best. Each player receives two lines. At a random point in the scene the lines are delivered.

1. Word count

Number of players: 3

Each player is given a number (preferably between 1 and 5). All of his lines must consist of that many words.

1. Oscar moment 

Number of players: 3

At any point in the scene the audience may shout out “Oscar Moment!” the scene must become worthy of an Oscar, really lather on the melodrama.

Variations: You can have this as an option throughout the show. In any game the audience can shout out Oscar Moment. It’s best to put a limiter of about three on this.

1. Infomercial

Number of players: 3

2 of the players present an infomercial for a strange product of the audiences choosing (Portable Instant Cake Maker ) the third player is a special guest. A number of strange items are provided and each of these must be justified by the presenters

1. Helping hands

Number of players: 3

One player provides the hands of the other. A number of messy items are around. The third player interviews this combo player preferably in a cookery style show.

1. Two Headed Interview

Number of players: 3

Two players are a single expert in a field chosen by the audience, they each speak one word at a time. They are interviewed by the third player.

1. First line last line

Number of players: 4

The players are split into two pairs. Each pair has a different location (or word) received from the audience. Two scenes occur with the action changing each time the MC calls for the action to change. The last line of the first scene is repeated as the first line of the next scene.

1. Human props

Number of players: 4

Two players perform a scene in which two other players take the form of various props (a hairdryer, a jack, etc)

1. Change the Offer

Number of players: 3

An ordinary scene, but whenever the MC says Change the Offer (or rings a bell) the last line of dialogue must be immediately substituted with a new line. Eg “I would never do such a thing!” Change the Offer “I only ever do that on Tuesday.”

Hint: Multiple change the offers on a single line are quite effective.

1. Scripts//actor’s nightmare

Number of players: 3

Two players are free characters; the third has a script and speaks entirely from the script.

Variations: One player is the free character; the other two have scripts which they must follow.

1. Blindfolded

Number of players: 3-4

An ordinary scene in which one of the players is blindfolded.

Variations: Why not spin the blindfolded player around? More fun.

1. Stage Directions (you need a script)

Number of players: 3-4

One player is off-stage, and occasionally reads out Stage Directions from a script.

1. Style Rollercoaster

Number of players: 3

The scene begins normally; the MC then calls out different film and theatre styles (obtained from the audience) (thriller, reality, Japanese game show)

1. Reverse Interview

Number of players: 2

An ordinary interview is conducted entirely in reverse: the answer is followed by the question, followed by the next answer.

1. Statues

 Number of players: 4

Two players perform a scene, but are unable to move in anyway. The other two players move the actors.

Variations: Two members of the audience are recruited to move the two players.

1. Inner Thoughts

Number of Players: 4

Two players perform a scene, the other two players are offstage and provide the thoughts of the acting players.

1. Sign Language Interpreter                                                  

Number of players: 3

Two players perform an interview, a third performs the Sign Language Interpretation.

1. Actor Switch

Number of players: 4

A two-person scene is begun. The MC calls actor switch and the scene is concluded with the next two players who take on the characters of the first two players and complete the scene.

Hints: This game works best where the characters have some sort of strange characteristics (a hunchback or a vicious hiccup)

1. Last Line

Number of players: 3

An ordinary scene which must end with the line provided by the audience or the MC

1. Death in a minute

Number of players: 3

A one minute scene in which there must occur a death.

Classic Country Glamour. Honky-tonk spitfires. Mountain music melancholy delivered with a wink and a chuckle. This appropriately describes the Barnraisers aesthetic, sensibility, and sound. Drawing influences from early bluegrass, honky-tonk, and country music, this North Carolina bred trio would fit in nicely at your granny’s dinner table, or takin’ a big swig of your daddy’s homemade wine at the nearby drag strip. 

Come at 10:45PM and only pay $5 for Barnraisers. Watch the comedy show at Get stamped before 930 and you can see the music for FREE. Doors open 10 minutes before the MISTER DIPLOMAT show but you should get here early to snag a seat.

Are you in a band? - Bring Mr.D a copy of your work and check out the show for FREE to support the local music scene.

Friday, 5:32 pm:

You get really into the march from Union Square to the theater, probably because you know that this will be the only physical activity that you will have for three days. How badly will your muscles atrophy? You do not want to be that guy who could not walk out of the space shuttle.

Friday, 6:32 pm:

You really start to pity that poor fool who volunteered for MySpace. Him and his OkCupid account.

Friday, 11:13 pm:

After watching improv for about five hours, you stop laughing out loud. Feeling self conscious about this, you rationalize that you are now appreciating the improv for the art of it, and though you realize it's funny, not laughing is a-ok.

Saturday 2:23 am:

After watching Wicked Fuckin' Queeyah for 23 minutes, you say, "Oh, we're making fun of Boston!" You are immediately hushed by the librarian-looking dame beside you.

Saturday 4:06 am:

You look down at your watch, whose alarm has gone off. That beep means it's that time of night when people with a cocaine addiction crash/fall asleep.

Saturday 4:48 am:

You finally snag a front-row seat. From this vantage point, you find it much easier to smell whether or not a performer is drunk or high.

Saturday 4:53 am:

Man, that guy that smells like barbiturates is hilarious!

Saturday 9:32 am:

Someone makes a reference to Dryel bags. You laugh because you have one.

Saturday 11:51 am:

Your face aches, and you think fondly of that specialized ice-pack you used in high school when you had your wisdom teeth taken out.

Saturday 2:13 pm:

Trail mix. Trail mix. All you can think about is trail mix.

Saturday 4:57 pm:

Dryel bag again! Snap!

Saturday 6:01 pm:

You are being mildly deprecated along with the other three people who have stayed for the entire marathon so far by Matt Besser. Or is it Ian Roberts? Or is it Matt Walsh? You realize your brain has devolved its sense of personal recognition into a crude gender-based binary dichotomy. Because it is definitely not Amy Poehler asking you whether or not you've had to rub one out in the bathroom at some point during the last twenty-four hours.

Saturday 9:03 pm:

Is that the sound of angels? Is that the blinding light of God's holy visage? No, that's just Mister Diplomat!

Saturday 11:11 pm:

Your face is broken. Can faces break? Maybe it's lockjaw! Did you get the tetanus booster like your mom asked? Your face is totally broken. And you can taste blood on the back of your throat.

Sunday 1:32 am:

Dryel bag = comedy gold.

Sunday 3:34 am:

As you flit in and out of consciousness, you have twenty-three of those dream-within-a-dream dreams. One of those involved the head of your prized racing horse. Argh!

Sunday 6:03 am:

You are woken up during the theater cleaning and asked to go outside. You feel the need to profusely apologize to everyone, especially the girl who was selling beer for the last three hours.

Sunday 11:23 am:

You can totally see the bones in your hands. And the floor is lava.

Sunday 3:12 pm:

You can see the improv through your eyelids.

Sunday 5:09 pm:

You remember the sun. Oh, precious life-giving orb!

Sunday 7:32 pm:

You've survived! But then you realize that, yes, you are the astronaut who cannot leave the ship. The paramedic that responds to the call mumbles something about that scene in Se7en with all those car air-fresheners hanging from the ceiling.

- Mister Andy Lavender

Thanks to Venue 515 for providing such a wonderful space, and at a wonderful price.  Thanks also to Jared and Toby from Stick Horses in Pants for coming out and supporting a fellow improv troupe.

If You Vote for Obama, You Might (STILL) be a Redneck!

In the last few weeks, I have noticed an interesting new phenomenon. On a regular basis, white people will announce to me that they are voting for Barack Obama - without any provocation. They just walk up out of the blue and comment how excited they are "for this moment in history" or mention how something (usually gas prices) "will be different once Obama's in office."

It started out a few months back with 40ish-year-old white women. The first few times it happened I thought these women were hitting on me. Then, a few weeks later, various 20-something white guys joined the "hey man, I'm really excited about the Obama campaign" random comment committee. But the greatest moment came just a couple of weeks ago during the North Carolina Primaries while I was standing in line at Walmart. A fifty-year-old white man wreaking of cigarettes and castor oil, wearing paint spattered overalls, and doing little to cover his literally RED neck, asked me if I voted, winked, and pointed to his "I voted" sticker.

Overlooking people's general assumption that I am voting for Obama just because I'm black - because let's be honest that's probably a fair assumption - I cannot tell you how humorous I find this phenomenon.

White people of America, I would very much like to clarify two important pieces of information.

One: Barack Obama is not MLK, Jesus, or even Chuck Norris for that matter.

He did not give the I have a dream speech; he cannot walk on water; and he is not currently suing NBC, claiming that Law and Order are trademarked names for his right and left legs.

Two: If we keep treating Barack Obama this way, we may actually unintentionally provoke the actual Chuck Norris - a man who doesn't go hunting, he goes killing.

Be careful people - Chuck is watchin'.

-Mister Joe Jones

Mother put on an amazing set that year in Chicago. Tara Copeland (teaching genius), Jason Mantzoukas (interview), James Eason (imdb) and Christine Walter (cast page) absolutely destroyed the stage at ImprovOlympic. Was there another Mother there? Can't remember. We all went out drinking at a latenight biker bar afterwards, but that's a different story.

On Saturday August 9th Mother and MISTER DIPLOMAT share the stage in New York. I am REAL excited. It's going to be an amazing opportunity for Diplomat fans to see some mind-blowing groups during the Del Close Marathon. 7:00PM Improvised Shakespeare, 8:00PM I Eat Pandas, 8:30PM Mother, 9:00PM MISTER DIPLOMAT - I suggest spending sometime in the Stand-by line before the Theater Cleaning at 6:30PM so you can check out this entire block.

Before I end this post, I am going to put a personal goal down on the books. In 2003 Dual Exhaust was named by the Chicago Tribune as one of the "Top 10 Most Influential Comedy Duos of the Past Decade" - Beth Melewski and Zach Ward (that's me!) WILL submit a reunion show for the DCM or the Chicago Improv Festival next year to be THAT funny, again. Maybe we could share the stage with Mother, again... I should call Beth.

- Mister Zach Ward

His article lists a few of the key correlations. Check it out!

As a technique to to build awareness and promote real behavior change, improv really works.

Read this article from the Southwest Journal: http://www.swjournal.com/index.php?&story=11763&page=152&category=64

Come on... It's got a picture of Mike Fotis, who, according to my poll, is hotter than Butch Roy. But only a little.

"The second annual Twin Cities Improv Festival is June 26–29 at Brave New Workshop, 2605 Hennepin Ave. S. Tickets for individual shows are $10. To purchase tickets or festival passes, or to sign up for improv workshops, visit the festival website, www.twincitiesimprovfestival.com.

Tickets also are sold at the Brave New Workshop box office. www.bravenewworkshop.org. 332-6620."

Rumor has it there are still spots open in the beginning improv class. If you haven't done it before, and want some of the best instruction out there from one of the top improvisers alive, you will go sign up NOW.

Do it, or I will give you the disappointed mommy look. I don't want to hear how scary it is. Suck it up, pansy. You will thank me later.

I originally got the 6 show pass... I'm working on that fiscally responsible thing (I just now realized that there is an improv team named fiscally responsible- I can't get away from improv). Really, 6 shows is not enough. There are just too many awesome teams to be seen. I'm trying to figure out how to upgrade...

What? I'm not an addict. I'm a student. This is all to further my education. Really.

Staunton Mennonite

6/22/08

Matthew 10:5-25

5These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. 9Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, 10no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for laborers deserve their food. 11Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. 12As you enter the house, greet it. 13If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. 15Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

16“See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; 18and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. 19When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; 20for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; 22and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 23When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. 24“A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; 25it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!

In the late 1990’s, a show debuted on television called “Whose Line is it Anyway?”  The idea of the show was that four participants would be given themes for skits and they would then act out these skits.  The skits were not only unrehearsed, they were unwritten.  The participants made them up as they went.  This required quick wits and anticipation of where someone else was going with the skit.  The participants needed to know one another and how they would think.  They needed to be up to date on current events, news stories, popular culture, and things of that nature because anything was fair game.  This was an exciting show to watch because of the giftedness of these participants in their ability to improvise, or Improv these spontaneous skits, building off one another.

But I think that it is interesting how we look at Improv differently in different fields.  For instance, think of a pastor that stands up on a Sunday morning without having prepared a sermon for the day, not having read the scripture, and just begins to talk.  We might refer to this kind of Improv as “flying by the seat of your pants” or “winging it”.  Now compare that to the Improv we might hear from a Jazz musician.  If a Jazz musician stands up and starts playing without music, without even having a song in mind, we don’t say that she is winging it or flying by the seat of her pants.  No, we call her a genius.

None of us would accuse a Jazz musician that can stand up and compose music as she plays it of being unprepared.  Just the opposite.  She is very prepared.  She has studied music composition, she has learned her instrument, she has practiced, practiced, and practiced some more.  So Improv doesn’t mean that the improviser isn’t prepared.  Quite the opposite is often true.  Improv takes more preparation than a rehearsed, practiced, refined approach.

This morning I would like to look at the church’s mission as Improv.  And for a missionary to be able to Improv well, we need to know who we are Improv-ing with, we need to know that God will be with us, and we need to know that we will sometimes fail by worldly standards.  We will start by looking at with whom we are Improv-ing

In our scripture for today, Jesus sends out the original twelve disciples on a mission trip.  He gives them specific instructions on who they are to preach to; the Jews, not the Gentiles or the Samaritans.  He gives them instructions on what to do, preach the message that the kingdom of heaven is near while healing the sick, raising the dead, cleansing those who have leprosy, and driving out demons.

Now many people have criticized Jesus here for limiting this mission to the lost sheep of Israel and not to the Gentiles and the Samaritans.  And there are other times when Jesus seems to only care about the Jews.  Remember the Syrophoenician woman (Matthew 15, Mark 7) who came to Jesus to ask for healing for her demon possessed daughter?  Again, Jesus says that he came for the lost sheep of Israel.  What is the deal here?  Did Jesus have a problem with people of different races?

No, I think Jesus shows many other times that he was not racist, or sexist, or what ever other –ist people might want to accuse him of being.  He healed the Syrophoencian woman’s daughter, he ministered to the Samaritan woman at the well, he referred to the Good Samaritan as a neighbor, and he gave the great commission to preach the gospel to all nations.  So what Jesus is doing when he tells his disciples to go to the lost sheep of Israel, the Jews, he is preparing them to minister to people that the Jewish disciples would be familiar with.  This was not to be a cross-cultural mission trip.  There wasn’t enough time to prepare them for a cross-culture experience.  Jesus has just called these disciples in the previous chapter.  So they had to go to a group of people that they understood and that would understand the message that the disciples would be bringing.  He would send them on their cross-cultural mission later.

What Jesus is saying is These are the kinds of people I think you can reach.  They are the ones that know about the kingdom of God.  They know what to expect; the blind will see, the lame will leap, the dead will rise.  And when you do these things before them, they will know that the kingdom has indeed come near!  Jesus knows that the Jews will hear the words that the disciples say and the Jews will see the deeds that the disciples do and some will follow Jesus.  I think this is why Jesus limits the people that the disciples are to be sent to the Jews.

When we do Improv, it is always best to know something about the person with whom you are Improv-ing with.  For instance, Mr. X, would you please help me with a demonstration?  (I pretend to pitch a baseball to Mr. X.  He will likely act out catching the ball and throw it back.  We didn’t plan this out, but I knew how he would react and respond.)  I asked Mr. X to Improv with me because I knew that he would know what to do when I pretended to pitch a baseball to him.  We didn’t plan this out beforehand.  I know that Mr. X is a baseball fan and that he would receive my invitation to play a fictitious game of catch. 

So when Jesus sends out the disciples on their first mission trip, he sends them to the people that will be able to respond to the offer to participate in the message that they are bringing.  Like Mr. X was able to recognize my invitation to play catch, the Jews would have understood the invitation from the disciples to hear about the coming of the kingdom of heaven.  If I had chosen to Improv with someone else, I would have chosen a different activity that would have been more easily recognized by them.  I would approach them differently than I approached Mr. X because I know they are different from Mr. X.  This is guideline number one for mission as Improv; try to know the person with whom you are going to be Improv-ing with.

Back in our scripture for this morning, we read in verses 9-11, “Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for laborers deserve their food.  Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave.”  It seems to me that Jesus is instructing these missionaries to not take anything extra with them; no extra money, no extra clothing.  He is saying, “Don’t even worry about where you will stay.  Just stay with someone who is worthy of your company.”  I think it should be clear to us that Jesus is saying that God will take care of the missionaries.  God will work through regular people to provide the things that they need.  Therefore, the missionary need not worry about these things.

But we do worry about these things, don’t we?  We worry about what we are going to wear, what we will eat, where we will stay.  I just got back on Thursday from a trip to Maine where we were for eight days.  And we had everything planned out.  We packed clothes for the trip, we got cash from the bank and made sure that there was money in our checking account.  We knew where we would be staying and how we would get there and what we would drive.  It is not normal for us to not plan these things out in advance when we travel.  But here Jesus is saying to the missionaries, “Trust in God and you will be okay.”

Now when Mr. X and I were Improv-ing earlier like we were playing catch, it seemed like he changed up the pitch a little on me.  He seemed to have thrown a curve ball to me.  I could not have anticipated that he would throw the curve ball back to me, but I reacted accordingly.  I improvised and went where he was taking me with the game we were playing.  I didn’t say, “No, now stop.  I am leading this experience and you will only do as I lead you to do.”  I went where he wanted to go, and because I was prepared to do so, I was able to respond accordingly.

When we do Improv in mission, we must be able to stray from our notes in order to have a real conversation with people.  And this is important because people will ask questions, they will want you to explain why Jesus had to die, what about other religions, what about other lifestyles, do Christians hate homosexuals, why can’t we get along with other denominations, let alone other religions.  When we Improv, we must be ready to adjust when the person we are Improv-ing with wants to give some input as well.  And that does take prior preparation.

1 Peter 3:15 teaches us to “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”  And also to do this with gentleness and respect.  Again, this comes back to the Improv-ing of a musician.  To Improv well requires that you know what you are doing well.  Practice may not make perfect, but practice does make better.

But in spite of all of our efforts, when we Improv with others missionally, it is not only us that engage in this experience.  It is the Holy Spirit of God working through us in this Improv-ing.  So while we can prepare, practice, and become more and more ready to engage in Improv with those we come in contact with, it is only through God that we can have meaningful conversations.  Just like the disciples had to learn to trust in God for all of their needs, we too need to learn to trust in God for what we need as well.  Whether it is equipping us for Improv dialogue with a neighbor, or our clothing, food, and housing, we all must learn to trust in God.  And that is the second guideline for mission as Improv.  Practice as much as you can, but you need to trust God to provide you with what you need.

As we look at the rest of our scripture for today, and even beyond what was read for us, we find that Jesus wasn’t expecting everything to be rosy for the 12 disciple missionaries.  The rest of the chapter is made up of Jesus telling the disciples what to expect on their mission trip.  And most of it isn’t good.  Jesus talks about people not listening to the disciples and how they are to shake the dust off their sandals as they leave that place.  But it gets a lot worse than people not listening.  Jesus says that the disciples are like sheep and that he is sending them out to the wolves, that they will be handed over to the governing authorities, flogged, tortured, persecuted.  I would imagine that the disciples are wondering, “What did I get myself into?”  Imagine how much they must have believed in Jesus to be willing to put themselves through such pain and agony!  But they did it!  They spread the good news even though Jesus told them how much it might cost them.

One of the biggest fears any of us have is that of failure.  We don’t want to look foolish in front of others.  So we don’t take chances, we don’t step out of our comfort zones.  We might see an opportunity to do something great, but not take it because of what others might think if we fail.

When we see people doing Improv, like on Whose Line is it Anyway, we often see the participants trying to get the audience involved.  They look for people in the crowd that are willing to jump up on stage and work with them, to create a skit as they go.  And it looks like a lot of fun while the professionals are doing it, but the audience members are usually so reluctant to jump in.  They are afraid of looking foolish, and many people miss out on a lot of fun because they are not willing to give it a try.  They are afraid of failing.

Well guess what.  When you do Improv, you will likely fail by human standards.  There is a good chance that you will be left without the words to say at the appropriate time.  There is a good chance that you might look silly.  But what if you got up there and you didn’t fail?  What if you were able to keep up with the professionals?  What if you turned out to be quite the Improv-er?  You never know until you try it.  And to tell you the truth, I don’t consider anyone a failure who tries something new only to find out that they are not gifted at it.  I only consider someone a failure if they never try.  This is my third guideline for mission as Improv: you don’t fail if you don’t convert someone to Christianity, you don’t fail if you are persecuted and run out of town like the disciples.  You fail when you choose to never try.

Yes, it is difficult to put yourself out there, to let others know that you are a follower of Jesus Christ.  Sometimes it is even difficult to do this with other Christians.  But compared to what these disciples had to deal with, I think we have it pretty easy.  I have maybe been snickered at or ignored because I shared my faith.  But I have never been flogged, arrested, or felt like a lamb thrown to the wolves.  Yes, we may experience some persecution, but not like these disciples did.  So why are we so reluctant to engage in conversations, why are we so reluctant to try to Improv with those we come in contact with?

Mission as Improv means that we must know the people we plan to Improv with so that we can be ready to have an answer for our faith.  Mission as Improv means trusting in God to provide the words to say and the actions to live out when our own ability to do so comes up short.  And Mission as Improv mean being willing to accept persecution, whatever that might be. 

Over forty years ago, Bob Dylan wrote, “The times they are a changing.”  This is just as true today as it was back then.  We are living in a new day and age, and I believe we need a new way to share the love of Christ with others.  Let us enter into dialogue with others with the ability to Improv as we go.  We can come to a conversation with all of the answers to the questions, but if these aren’t the questions that people are asking, we need to be ready.

*Thanks to Nick Nissley of the Banff Center for his insight on Improv at the Lexington Seminar, June 2008 http://www.banffcentre.ca/about/

The Secret Theatre takes the stage with the cast of MISTER DIPLOMAT Friday June 20th

Theater opens at 11PM for the music.

Watch the FREE comedy show at 930. Doors are 10 minutes before the show but BE THERE EARLY to get a seat. Make sure you get stamped at the 930 so you can get back into the 11PM for FREE. Come later and pay $5 for the The Secret Theatre. 

Are you in a band? - Bring Mr.D a copy of your work and check out the show for FREE to support the local music scene.

Read online review from Absolute Punk.