Coming Back

So, I haven't been on here in a while. Life has been busy. Between the beginning of May and the end of October I will have gone from engaged college student to Married, House-renter, with 4 months in a steady job. This blog has become lost in the fray.

This past Friday was Mock Turtle Soup's first show since my leaving. It was also my first show as an audience member. 2 things.

1) What a great show. Really funny.

2) I felt so old.

To be fair, I'm younger than 3 of the 8 remaining members on the team. But they're all still drinking from the improv fountain of youth. I'm glad that I went, but part of me wishes I had waited a few months or so.

It would have made me feel better about the complete lack of familiar faces in the audience. Or the urge to be up on the stage with the guys. Or the kudos and notes and things from watching after 2 years of directing.

Ultimately, I'm glad I went. The best consolation was the show quality leaves no doubt in my mind that they'll do just fine without me. Party on, guys.

In it for the laughs

I think it'd be neat to go around and talk about the reasons people do improv. It doesn't necessarily have to be your reasons, in fact it can be your opinion on common reasons or why you think most people are in it.

For example, I don't like it when people say they are in any form of comedy (Sketch, Improv, Stand-up) because they "Like making people laugh." That can be a side reason, sure. We're all a bunch of insecure jokesters who want that sweet sweet laughter to make us feel important and in control. "Ha, I got that laugh out of you." But my point is that anyone who has the sole drive of making people laugh is going to, at one point or another, ruin a perfectly good laughless scene because they don't hear that laughter. God forbid you make people feel an emotion or create something that's funny in a manner other than laughing out loud. Or a line that doesn't quite sing and put the audience in stitches, guess I should go for the easy laugh by hitting myself in the nuts and saying something in a funny accent.

Personally, I like comedy because it touches every facet of the human experience. Even unfunny people use jokes to say things that they're too awkward to be direct about. Comedy is an artform to tell people truths they don't want to think about when they're in a bad mood. So you put them in a good mood but also get them thinking about that thing they don't want to think about. They see your opinion on the matter, they had a good laugh, but (hopefully) they don't walk out thinking "Oh man, did you hear that guy talk after he got hit in the nuts?"

I don't think every scene has to have a message to it, but I think our characters can have informed opinions and be real people with voices that want to be heard, rather than vehicles for some dumb joke. And for all you laugh-whores out there, remember: You'll never achieve a better reaction than a video of a laughing baby.

Why did you get into comedy?

Discussion: The importance (or unimportance) of Warming up

So, this is me setting the precedence of a discussion, and if it ends up not working out so be it, but what are your thoughts on warm-ups?

There are those who believe they are not only necessary, but that certain warm-ups will key you in to the right mindset, others believe they're just there for energy, and still others don't think they're necessary at all.

Put your opinion in the comments, and feel free to write your own discussion prompt.