Gated Community Improvisation

A whole year!

2007-10-18T00:38:00.000-04:00

WOW - I looked at the last blog we posted - and it was a year ago. Yikes!

My, how things have changed in a year (for the better).

We have two new shows coming up on October 26th and 27th at The Atlanitc Theater - but you probably noticed that already on the home page. Here is more info on it:

NEXT SHOWS: "Scary Noises" - Friday and Saturday, October 26th & 27th - both shows at 8pm (This is a BYOB Event)

The box office is now open - and tickets should go fast! 561.575.4422

THANK YOU! : We want to thank everyone who made it to one of our 4 September shows. Two shows were completely sold-out, and the other two had very full audiences. Nearly 600 of you came through to see our 80's show - and we thank you! We are only able to offer two shows this month - so please get your tickets now!

THE NEXT SHOW: What can you expect from "Scary Noises"? Well, this is pretty much our Halloween show. The entire show will be new, except for one of our best sketches of all time, aptly named "Scary Noises." In this show you will see what happens when classic movie monsters collide in real life - paternity suits - scary phone calls - as well as an original musical sketch tying the whole show together. So, you kind of need to be there!

JEOPARDY: Have you seen our improvised version of Jeopardy - where you tell us who our contestants are, and you supply the categories and answers to the game. We do the rest. This has quickly become a fan favorite - so if you haven't seen it - you kind of need to be there!

WE'RE GOING CORPORATE: We are getting booked and booked and booked for corporate and private events. But hey, you've got a pretty face - so we'll make room for you ;) We create a special show for your specific event - so talk to us if you have a holiday party or private function. We provide the funny!

DO YOU LIKE TO WATCH?: Keep it clean! We recently uploaded some new video sketches to our Youtube page - so click here to check them out:
http://youtube.com/profile?user=travisthomas

The videos "New Technology" and "80's breakdancing" are from our last show!

YOUR AD HERE: Would you like to sponsor our show? You can - we will take your money ;) Actually, for very little dough - you can have your company ad placed in our pre-show slideshow, program, and you can even be the featured sponsor for one of our improv scenes during the show. Give us a call for more info!

That is all for now! Honestly, if you haven't seen us yet - what are you doing?

We take comedy seriously!

Travis Thomas
GC Comedy
http://gcimprov.com/

Halloween Show - This Saturday at the Maltz!

2006-10-23T14:36:00.000-04:00

Halloween Comedy "Scary Noises" with G.C. Comedy - This Saturday, October 28th, 8pm at Jupiter's Maltz Theater!!!

GET A BABYSITTER: This Saturday's show is going to be a lot of fun - so get your sitter. This is our first show in the Jupiter Maltz Theater (the old Burt Reynolds theater). To order your tickets, call 561-575-2223.

BE A PART OF THE SHOW: Are you a local business who wants your company's name in front of a captive audience? If so, you can sponsor one of our improvised scenes in any of our shows. Your sponsorship gets your ad in the pre-show slideshow, and then we will announce your company as the specific sponsor for that scene - and done so in a way where your company gets plenty of attention. If you are interested, just drop me an e-mail: ththomas@adelphia.net

NEW VIDEO: It took us awhile, but we finally got some new video posted on the Web. To check it out, visit our myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/gatedcommunityimprov

Also check out some of our videos on Youtube.com: http://youtube.com/profile?user=travisthomas

HOLIDAY SHOW: We still have a few open dates for the upcoming holidays. Please contact me if you are interested in scheduling G.C. Improv for a private or corporate holiday show. We will customize a show specifically for you - it will be the best dough ever spent on a corporate show!!!!

See you soon!

Travis Thomas
Co-Founder
www.gcimprov.com

Thursday, October 19th - Be there!

2006-10-17T00:43:00.000-04:00

What's Now: "They're back!" Which, I guess means - we're back! This Thursday night, October 19th at 7:30 P.M...GC Comedy is back in action in West Palm Beach. Once again, we are performing at the Cuillo Centre of Performing Arts in downtown WPB off of Clematis Street! Our September show was a great success - and we would love to pack the theater even more! If you haven't been to the Cuillo Theater before, it is a beautiful space to see a show. Plus, for all of you who like to supplement your comedy with a few beverages, the Cuillo hosts a full-scale bar. Bottoms up! Order your tickets in advance through the Cuillo box office: 561-835-9226

Did I mention that in addition to the totally original improvisation...THIS SKETCH IN THE SHOW IS ALL-NEW!!!!

What's next: If you made Halloween plans for Saturday, October 28th - BREAK THEM! We will be doing our own Halloween Show "Scary Noises" in the gorgeous Maltz Theater in Jupiter. Yes, the Maltz...Burt's old stomping ground. We hope this is the beginning of a great partnership with the Maltz - so we really want to do a great show! The show on the 28th will begin at 8:00 P.M....and tickets can be ordered through their box office at: 561-575-2223. And yes - they have a bar too!

What's next month?: We will be performing at the Cuillo Theater again on Thursday, November 16th and Friday the 20th. All New - all the time!

What is a "Bouloy?": Great question! Bouloy happens to be the last name of our newest cast member, Danielle Bouloy. Danielle will be perfroming in her second show with the cast this Thursday. And, so you don't sound silly - it is pronounced "Boo-wah!" It's French, but don't hold it against her ;)

Ho Ho Holidays: Need a holiday show with some spice? And I'm not talking about what Carl from accounting keeps putting in the egg nog. I am talking about a GC Comedy holiday party this year. If you want more info - talk to Travis, Frank, or Jesse...they'll ho-ho-hook you up!

Mark your calendars!

2006-09-07T14:04:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone - we finally have some really good news to announce!!!

Although we don't know when we will be back in the Atlantic Theater, we have a series of big shows scheduled for the upcoming months. Here they are:

The Cuillo Theater in West Palm Beach
Thursday, September 28th
Thursday, October 19th
Thursday, November 16th

All shows at 8pm! For more info -
201 Clematis Street
West Palm Beach, FL 33401
Phone: 561.835.9226

Also, we will be having a BIG HALLOWEEN SHOW & BASH at the Maltz Theater in Jupiter on Saturday, October 28th! The show will also be at 8pm!

For more info:
http://jupitertheatre.org/home.html

We hope to see you soon!

Gated Community Improv!
www.gcimprov.com

Pushing it back some more :(

2006-08-24T22:18:00.000-04:00

Gated Community Newsletter
August 2006

THE BAD NEWS:
Hello again everyone...and I have sad news once again :( Due to the renovations in the theater taking longer than expected, and then all of the city permits, etc...we have to push-back the August show. It now appears that we will not be performing in the Atlantic Theater until October.

THE GOOD NEWS:
We are expanding!!! We are going to start a three-month run performing in the Cuillo Theater in West Palm Beach starting in September. We are working out the contract right now...and will send along the exact dates when we have them. So, even though we won't be in the Atlantic Theater...you will be able to see us in September.

Once the theater re-opens...in addition to our monthly "Big Show"...featuring improvisation, sketch, video sketch, and song...we will be adding "Gated Community Unplugged." Two Thursday's a month...we will open our doors for a 60-75 minute performance of pure improvisation. For you improv junkies out there...or those of you wanting to see improv in its purest form...you are going to want to check this out. We will take one of your ideas...and then turn it into a 20-30 minute series of scenes with intertwining characters and storylines. This form is also known as "long-form improvisation" and we are excited to bring it to the area!

We are also working on some new show opportunities...and I will keep you posted!!!

ADULT CLASSES HAVE STARTED - but it's not too late to get in!
Our adult improv class is every Monday night from 6 - 7:30 pm. This class is for all levels...beginner to advanced! It is a whole lot of fun...so please come on in for a FREE trial class :)

One last announcement...

ATLANTIC ARTS FREE WORKSHOP!

The Atlantic Arts Academy is offering a FREE One-Day Workshop on Anger Management.

Saturday, September 9th, 10am - 5pm

Atlantic Arts Acting Instructor and Gated Community Co-Founder Travis Thomas will be debuting this pilot program that will soon be used by the Arise Foundation in various venues all over the country. ARISE was founded by Jupiter residents Ed and Susan Benson, and has been writing life-skills lessons, teaching and training staff to share these skills with evidence-based, documented success since 1986.

If you are someone who could do a better job controlling your anger, or know someone you would like to help, or you would just like to learn how to make better overall life-choices - this workshop would be perfect for you!

There are only 12 spots open - so please respond NOW!

The workshop is available for anyone 21 years and older.
FREE Lunch will be provided!

To reserve your spot or get more information, contact Travis at: 561-676-4583 or e-mail: ththomas@adelphia.net

Travis Thomas
Co-Founder
www.gcimprov.com

Pushing back the show!

2006-08-09T21:34:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone, just wanted to let you know that we need to push our August show back to September 9th. We are making some unforeseen renovations to the theater, so things are going to be shut-down in there for the next couple of weeks. In the end, all of the improvements should only improve your Atlantic Theater experience!

In the meantime, we will be heading to Miami on August 19th for the South Florida Improv Jam hosted by Just the Funny. This is a charity event...so maybe you can make it down there for a good cause.

Thanks for being patient with us...and we can't wait to get back into our space!!

Travis

Totally Retro!

2006-07-17T16:30:00.000-04:00

It is mid-July and there seems to be a lull to the summer. We aren't doing a show in July because it is the summer...and the only real time when we can all take extended vacations. Frank just got back from being on his honeymoon for 2 weeks...I was in Michigan for a week...and now Jesse is in Maine for 2 weeks.

We have been doing some performances for summer camp groups such as the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Palm Beach as well as the Boys/Girls Club of Palm Beach. We also have a couple of corporate training workshops coming up in August which should be a lot of fun.

Our next show is Friday, August 11th. Mark your calendars! The title of the show is the "Retro Show!" We'll be having fun with the 70's, 80's, and 90's...as well as trying out some new improv structures. So, we are expecting another great show!

So, get your tickets now...groups of 6 or more get a discount...so I guess it's time to make some more friends.

Take care, and stay cool!

Travis

The Results are In....

2006-06-25T21:35:00.000-04:00

The Greatest Hits show went over very well. We had a crowd of 111 which we were quite pleased with. Thanks to all who came! Particularly our new friends Laugh Out Loud Improv from Orlando, thanks for making the trip down to see us. I also wanted to thank some of our regulars who have been coming to see the majority of our shows: Jael, Charles Miller, Scott and Liz Doyle, Kim Fisher, and of course our families and very close friends who have been extremely supportive of Gated Community over the past two years. Thank you all for supporting us and improvisation. We will be off for the month of July, but we return in August with a brand new show, and we look forward to this upcoming season being our best yet! Thanks again everybody for your support! - Jesse

Celebrate our "best of" with us!

2006-06-22T23:15:00.000-04:00

Saturday night we will be back in action doing a "best of" sketch and improvisation show. We haven't been together for quite 2 years yet, but in that time we have written and performed over 30 sketches...many of which have become crowd and personal favorites. So, on Saturday night, we will perform some of these sketches again...and then probably put a few of them to bed for good. As much as I like Jesse grinding up against me...there comes a time when you need to move on.

Speaking of moving on...and up...we will also be celebrating the return of newly married co-founder Frank Licari. Frank and Naomi will be returning from Italy...and we will all be excited to see them both. Come to the show and celebrate with us.

I want to take this time to congratulate Frank on his marriage. I also want to congratulate Jesse on the Miami Heat, which is very difficult for me being from Michigan and a life-long Pistons fan. But, every dog has his day...and I am excited for Jesse's excitement (not you Frank).

That is all. Come to our show...have a good time...bring a friend. I will leave you with a quote I received on a thank you card this week...

"Go out on a limb, that is where the fruit is!"

--Travis

Gated Community Improvisation

2006-06-11T13:27:00.000-04:00

Gated Community Improvisation
So, I'm in Rome right now and I decided to get on line and read some of my fellow bloggers comments. First off, can I just say that Rome is absolutely fabulous. I may have found a city more awe inspiring than New York. Yep, I said it. I can't believe how amazing it is here. A city older than civilization itself! :-) It's truly incredible. I am having the time of life and yes, I will be married in only 5 days! YIKES! It's very exciting. On sadder news. I just want to say how disappointed that I am that Kelly has left the group. I know that our fans? will be too. We will dearly miss her.

On other sad news, I am not able to watch the HEAT playoff games here because the hotel room does not carry the game. I should have postponed the trip until JULY!!

Anyways, looking forward to the show on the 24th. I definitely will be jetlagged and hope to give it my all. I'll try and pull through. Talk to everyone soon.

Sad and Happy News

2006-06-06T16:03:00.000-04:00

I was just getting on to blog about some sad news when I noticed Jesse beat me to the punch (kind of like the Heat over the Pistons...ugh). Anyway, as you know by now, Kelly Greene will no longer be performing with the group...so that is very sad. We love you Kelly!

On happier news...co-founding member Frank Licari leaves for Italy tomorrow (Wed. 6/7) for a 2 1/2 week vacation where he will be getting married. Frank, if you couldn't tell...is 100% Italian and still has a lot of family in Italy. Plus, he loves pizza and Ferrari's.

So, we just wanted to wish Frank and Naomi a fabulous trip! Frank gets back in town on June 23rd...just one day before our June 24th show...so take it easy on him if he is a little rusty ;)

Chow!

Travis

Losing a Member of the Family

2006-06-01T22:08:00.000-04:00

It is a sad day in the Community as we are losing a member of our family. We are very sad to say goodbye to Kelly Greene, a very talented and dedicated member of Gated Community for the past six months. Kelly is dedicating more time to her family and is making some big changes in her life. We all wish her the best, and are hoping to use her in some capacity in our future shows, whether in the audience or in a random sketch or video. This makes us a strictly male improv troupe, and we might be at the the point of wearing wigs in our shows to play women! If you know of anyone who (male or female) is interested in learning more about improvisation or has some experience in improvisation, we are enrolling in classes for the summer term, and for the 2006-2007 year. As I was talking to Kelly this evening, I explained to her that it is not easy to find people in our area, or anywhere for that matter, who have improv experience. It is like sword swallowing, or puppetry, its out there, but where do you learn how to do it? Wow, did I just compare Improv to sword swallowing? Sorry about that..... Anyway, Kelly we all love you and will miss you. Thanks for being a part of the family and thanks for the laughs! - Jesse

Turning off the switch

2006-05-30T22:31:00.000-04:00

As mentioned in a previous blog, as an improviser you often strive to react to your circumstances and environment and not edit yourself. The goal is that pure reactionary state where you are simply listening and reacting......... However sometimes the line between perfomance/rehearsal and afterwards can be blurred and the switch is not turned off. Tonight I said something to a good friend that was simply a reaction and not meant. I wish I would have given some more thought to it, it just came out. Just got to get better at realizing my real life circumstances. Well the purpuse of this blog is to get that off of my chest. I don't feel any better, but at least now I might consciously turn the switch off when needed. - Jesse

Improv with us this summer!

2006-05-30T14:47:00.000-04:00

So...summer is here...you're looking for something to do...some come on in and improv with us this summer. We are offering a 5-week adult improv class on Tuesday nights starting June 13th. You'll get to learn the basics...and most of the Gated Community cast participates in the class...so you get to work with some experienced improvisors (or not).

Okay...to be honest...I was only writing this blog to kill time...I have been on the phone with Delta Airlines for about 45 minutes...on hold most of the time...so I thought I would blog. I am off now.

But seriously...come check out of adult class this summer...as well as our next show on June 24th in the Atlantic Theater!

Special thanks to PBS's "South Florida Today" for interviewing us last week. That segment should air soon...we'll keep you posted!

Travis

You deserve a good day!

2006-05-22T22:04:00.000-04:00

it is another Monday night, and I now look forward to writing at the beginning of the week. I use these blogs to be as truthful as possible about what it is Gated Community does. Even though now only one person reads this, who knows, maybe in the future we will have more blog readers, and they will go back into the GC blog archives and read up on past thoughts. We had a huge turnout on Saturday night (150 people, we had to add chairs!) a huge thanks goes to all of you who came out and supported us! I always feel so blessed to do what I love for a living, and I am also blessed to have our troupe be so successful in such a short amount of time. I owe that success to two wonderful partners, great team players, and a super supportive audience. We are also super lucky to have our own 200 seat theater to rehearse whenever we want! I write this for two reasons, one it helps sometimes to write things down to get true perspective, and also to let those of you who read this know that with all of what we have, and with the place our shows are, I still feel we have so much room to grow as a group and we are constantly trying to improve in all areas of Gated Community. Hearing the feedback, the audience enjoyed the show, but as a perfectionist, I want so much more. Here's why. In January I had the pleasure of watching The Groundlings two nights in a row. This was great because I got to see two completely different sets and both shows amazed me like no other I have ever seen. We are all impressed be something in our lives. Hopefully there is that one thing (passion) that wakes you up in the morning and keeps you up at night. If you are a creative person, you can trace that moment in your life when you saw something that changed you forever, maybe a painting, a concert, a birth, a movie, whatever it was. A thing that made you say, I want to do that! I know to some, Improv might not be an artform, but when done well it can make affect you like a beautiful painting, or a guitar solo that gives you goosebumps. That is my goal, to push the envelope of the artform where it induces tingles, if not side splitting laughs. I beleive that laughter can change the world, and a day with laughter is always a good day. My goal is for us to reach that point in every show. You the audience deserve that, you deserve a good day!......There, I feel better - Jesse

The Mayor and John Kennedy

2006-05-15T21:39:00.000-04:00

The GC had quite a productive weekend! Friday morning brought us to Lake Worth to the Atlantis Country Club and a private show for the JFK Medical Center Charter School, which easily wins the company with the longest name award. The show was for the staff of the school, which is a 1st through 5th grade public school that Frank and I visited a few weeks back, and it was quite an impressive visit, as the conduct of the students and professionalism of the teachers renewed my faith in the public school system. The show was a 45 minute best of show that went quite well. We had one of our better "outside" (a show not in our home theater) shows that we have had, as our improvs and sketches both went over quite well. It is always so much fun to bring the joy of improv to an audience who has never expereinced it before! The one "glitch" in the system was a brief scene that we did riffing on the idea of JFK, where we reenacted the movie JFK with "back and to the left", where Travis was moving my head as though I was President Kennedy. We thought nothing of it at the time, as the harold moved on to poke fun at all things Kennedy-Marilyn Monroe, alcoholism etc, but we received an email from an audience member that was offended by the choice. Travis responded to her email quite well, stating that Improv often times has you making immediate choices that as an improvisor you don't think about, and sometimes causes scenes that offend. Oh well, you can't win them all. We actually haven't knowingly offended anyone since Travis and I did a Jesus scene some 6 or 7 months ago and we got a phone call on the following Monday. If we have offended anyone in the past and you are reading this blog, let us know. I am curious. It is never intentional, unless we are hosting an improv and we offend the audience (Frank and Travis)......
Saturday night brought us to Palm Bay, Fla a good 95 miles north of Jupiter. We had a show open to the public sponsored by the City of Palm Bay. The show brought out 75 people, and was our first performance in a gymnasium. The audience was a mix of young and old, and only one person raised their hand when asked if they had ever seen an improv show before. As far as the show goes the crowd responded quite well, (in case you are wondering, we are all intense critics of our shows, and they all have not been good ones - Abacoa Live, Tequesta Country Club to name a few) and we had one of our better harolds of recent memory creating a Palm Bay town council meeting after learning that most of audience left were city counselors, including one gentleman in the front row who reminded us of someone. Travis pointed out a moment later that it was Joe Montana being the celebrity he most resembled, and someone in the crowd pointed out that he was the mayor! Of all the people to put on the spot.... A really fun show and a great road trip! Palm Bay and then the world! Spreading the love...until next time - Jesse

You're Rude!

2006-05-08T21:32:00.000-04:00

Not really. But it is the name of our next show on May 20th. Go back to the gcimprov.com page if you need to order tickets...which of course you do ;)

Yes, you're rude! It will be a fun show with new improvisations (of course) as well as all-new and original sketch...and some song parody (two if you're lucky). So, be there!

Jesse elluded in his last blog about how we came up with a sketch the other night while warming up for the Seminole Ridge show. That is the great thing about creative collaboration. The three of us were just warming-up and having fun...and a new sketch just happened! It's so much easier than sitting down with a blank screen and trying to create the funny. I guess a parallel would be trying to draw up an offensive set in basketball from scratch. When, if you just observed a game or practice, it would be so much easier to see a play develop in front of you.

Jesse also mentioned the bachelors weekend trip. Lots of fun! My version of the fishing trip goes in the books as one of Travis' "Worst 5 experiences of My Life." I am not being dramatic here...I am serious. I have never been in so much pain...but I can explain that at another time.

Well...I need to run. Jesse's beloved Heat are getting stomped by the Nets right now...yikes! The Nets are dangerous right now...which doesn't look good for Miami. But, plenty of time left in this game.

Travis

Bachelor Party....no fire trucks

2006-05-07T22:52:00.000-04:00

The four male members of GC spent an awesome weekend in Islamorada (the keys for those not in the tropical know) last weekend to celebrate the upcoming marriage of Frank in June. the weekend was our last before he leaves for Italy as we have shows every weekend until he leaves. We left early Friday morning and spent the afternoon snorkeling off of Key Largo and had the pleasure of viewing a shark, a morey eel, lots of lobster, barracuda, and more tropical fish than you can imagine! Saturday morning could go down as one of the worst half days of my life............we booked a fishing guide for 6 hours, spent $800 dollars and our boat (our good friend Jeff Harding and I, and some shoeless jackass guide) caught no fish! OK we are in the fishing capital of the world! and catch no fish in 6 hours, what the f*#@! we traveled 30 miles, let me repeat that 30 miles, in a 18 foot flats boat in 30 mile an hour wind and choppy seas out in the middle of nowhere. there was more than once i thought that we would capsize and never be seen again.

Other that that debocle (did i spell that right?) it was an absolutely excellent weekend, we danced, bowled twice, hand fed tarpon, played more poker than should be humanly possible, farted, watched basketball, caught the most beautiful sunset in the world, and became certified navy seals. That last part i made up as an inside joke, but the rest is true. We had the pleasure of being joined by Patric Cambra, the world's greatest mime, and the afore mentioned Jeff Harding, a very talented singer/songwriter. 4 improvisers, a musician and a mime = a weekend of great fun. We came back with two sketches for our next show and a new game involving a juggling ball, two glasses and potential pain in the private area. I would divulge more, but we plan on getting a patent and you will soon find it in a store near you. We did get some priceless video footage that will probably end up in a future show. The name is ether going to be Ball Ball or Smack a Sack, keep your eyes peeled. All in all it was an awesome time, and i am a lucky guy to have such great friends. I hope that Frank will remember the weekend forever and that he had half as much fun as I did! - Jesse

Seminole Ridge.....then the world!

2006-05-07T22:36:00.000-04:00

we had a great show the other night at Seminole Ridge HS in BFE, actually i love road trips, even if they are only 20 minutes away. we performed in a brand new auditorium in front of a very enthusiastic crowd of drama students. the improv was very good, and our sketch went over surprisingly well. it was nice to work with students who appreciate the art form, and a few of the students came up and did a freeze and a moving bodies, and quite well. Our improv was nowhere near as good as SAK (inside joke) but i felt as though we took some risks and created some funny scenes. the most memorable being Travis and I doing a scene where i was a refrigerator and he was debating whether or not to get "purple stuff, soda, SunnyD" and i said to him, "I hate when you come inside me" his later response was "i only put my meat down here, and my cheese up here" nether comment was intended to come out the way it sounded, lets just say that the kids got quite a kick out of those comments. we had a very good talk back session with the audience afterwards and i hope we inspired the students to follow through with there dramatic aspirations, as proof of three guys who can do it and make a living doing what they love! the quote of the night from one student was, "dont kill me for asking this, but do the three of you like girls?" we replied yes of course, but it must have been that refrigerator scene that made her ask that. we also came up with a very funny bump sketch in warmups, look for axl in our next show.
Jesse

Pain in the neck!

2006-04-26T16:01:00.000-04:00

We want to thank everyone who came to our show on Saturday night. It was a great house...a lot of new faces...but some definite diehard fans. We were about 10 seats short of a sell-out (not that we're counting).

This is Travis...and I just want to share that I was grateful to be able to perform in the show. On the previous Sunday night, while in St. Louis, I injured my neck pretty seriously...so being able to perform was a blessing for me. During the show...we as a cast decided that if ever someone was hurting me in a scene...all i had to say was "limousine" (not sure why we chose that word). It only happened once...at that hands of James...but I can't get mad at the guy too much...it was his 29th B-day on the night of the show.

I also want to thank Craig and Kelly Wandoff for showing up to the show and bringing friends...as well as Kyle and Molly Smith. I had called the Wandoff's out in the most recent newsletter about not coming to a show...so what do you know...a little peer pressure helped ;)

Our next show is Saturday, May 20th...and it is called "Welcome to Whitey Town." I am sure it will be offensive...so get your tickets now :)

Travis

P.O.V. - Support Your Partner

2006-04-19T16:19:00.000-04:00

Here's my two cents really quick on Improv. I've had a new thought recently. It's important to always go into a scene with a choice. Never go in without one because that's laziness!!! Here's my new thought.... Point of View is arrived at as a result of the choices that you make. This forms "the game" that we always talk about; or the relationship and the story. You don't have to always go into a scene with a P.O.V. but be patient and let the scene build and a Point of View should become evident if you guys are doing the work together. That's all for now. Just thought I'd share with cyberspace; the other two guys and JAEL! Thanks for blogging with us.
Frank
P.S. - Why does it always say that "TRAVIS" is the blogger??? Isn't that a little egotistical Trav? :-)

And I've Joined The Fray

2006-04-19T16:10:00.000-04:00

Yes, this is the first blog that I've ever written. I suppose I should join my cohorts on this thing. Well, I just finished editing two videos for the Under Construction Show this Saturday. You know, those teenage comedians who noone ever seems to see on a monthly basis. They open up for us on Saturdays at 6:30pm. They're pretty good. Now, thanks to the magic of long hours spent at my computer, there are two new videos for their show this weekend (and yes, the audio is still an abomination... but as T said, we're working on it!) So, we're gearing up for the show this weekend with little rehearsal as we've all had things going on these past few weeks. It's funny, I am lucky enough to do what I love for a living with the school, the theater and the improv troupe... but somehow it always seems like I don't have enough time to do what I love. Does that make sense? It doesn't to me. Everything I am doing I love to do but... there are things that I love more. For instance, I wish that I could constantly create, rehearse and perform (like I used to). However, I have to actually run a business which sometimes seems like work even though it is surrounded by things that I love to do. Hhhmmm. It's quite a dilemma. I know... boo hoo hoo... at least I'm not working a day job that I don't like, right? I love the work, I love my employees, I love the guys (GC). It's all good. By the way, I'm getting married to a wonderful woman. That's coming up soon. So, all you GC Improv groupies only have a few more months left of the Italian Maple being single. Get in line fellas!!! Seriously though, that's all I have right now. Come see the show this weekend. The videos are very funny! We've got some new stuff for ya.
Frank

Feeling Creative

2006-04-10T18:52:00.000-04:00

it is with great pride that i find the creative bug in Improvisation. Often times i feel like i am not creative enough in other areas of my life. i wish that sometimes you could make the creative twists and turns in life that you have the freeedom to do onstage, "interrupt the routine". In life if you get lemons you can make lemonade, but in improv you can make linguine! i found myself saying no in my head in a meeting today, and i asked myself if i were to say yes to everything in life, no matter the offer and justify it how cool would life be. Officer- do you know how fast you were going? Driver - yes i am trying to go back in time to rescue my brother who the dragon slayed. Too bad not enough people would go along with you. .......... i want to type until it stops raining...........i plan writing a sketch tonight on why my scenes never work. it is to be called "Jesse's Scenes that Don't Work" I woke up with the idea that what if Keyser Soze had to punish his kids? (he eventually killed them) but what were those were those first punishments like........telemarketer call...............When did he finally say thats it, i am killing all you bastards. In my head at 5:22 in the morning it was funny, at the creative meeting not so funny, so i am going to make linguine out of it! It has stopped raining.................
Jesse

We slave for you people!!!

2006-04-10T17:23:00.000-04:00

My wife came into my office last night complaining about the amount of time I was spending editing a video project. It's the next video (actually 3) for the next show...and let's just say that video editing is a time consuming hobby. I do not claim to be a pro...but I enjoy it...and I think we have done some pretty good videos. Audio is always a concern...and we are working on it ;)

Anyway, it made me think how hard we work for each show. Really...I am not asking for sympathy...but we really work hard to put a funny and unique product on stage. We could do a fully-improvised show...which would require only rehearsals to stay fresh and workshop new scenes. But, we continue to write sketches, song parodies, video sketches, etc. so that we can offer a show unlike any other in Florida. Really...that is our goal.

If we were in a major metropolitan area...we could run the same sketches for a couple of months...and that would be fine because there is a large enough audience to support it. But, in our humble little community...we push to give people a new show everytime...even when our spouses get impatient.

Don't get me wrong...there is nothing more I like doing...but good comedy is hard work ;)

BTW...the videos are done...and they're funny...so we better see you at the show on April 22nd!

--Travis

IMPROV PRINCIPLE OF THE MONTH: LISTENING

2006-04-06T00:03:00.000-04:00

IMPROV PRINCIPLE OF THE MONTH: Listening! Have I used this one yet? Anyway, listening is such an important quality in improvisation. We do corporate training workshops on this skill alone. In improv (like most things in life)...you kind of miss a lot when you don't listen. If you are in a scene with another actor...you really need to be able to key in on what they are communicating and sharing (offers), or the scene will go nowhere. This is the biggest challenge with new improvisors...because when you are uncomfortable on stage...your brain kicks into overdrive...therefore you might hear your partner...but you are not listening or understanding the information they are giving you. Come to our next show...make a mental note of how well we are listening...then let us know after the show!

--Travis

Hit or miss!

2006-04-05T23:30:00.000-04:00

When it comes to improvisation...there are a lot of hits and misses. Granted...you hope that your misses are much fewer than your hits...and that is where the skill of the art of improvisation comes in. Hey...anyone can get lucky and be funny once...but it is more difficult to be consistently good. Not that we are...but we strive ;)

Last night we had our adult improvisation class...(of which I highly recommend to anyone and everyone. Click here for more info!) and then rehearsal. Our 5-week summer class is a great introduction to improv, and you get a feel of what the principles are all about. I didn't take my first class until my mid-20's in Boston, but it changed my life. It changed my approach to my career, my relationships, and many other aspects of my life. I was fortunate enough to continue training and finally become part of a professional theater, but the principles are applicable whether you are an aspiring actor, or someone looking to become a better listener (one of the many skills).

But, last night, it definitely felt like a "miss" rehearsal. It's tough...because I had been teaching for 3 straight hours...and my energy was pretty weak...and I just didn't seem to make good choices. But, like any good golfer...in improvisation...you have to have a short memory. You realize why the last scene didn't work, and then don't repeat it. For some reason...we had scenes incorporating the Black Panthers, KKK, and chiropractic rock-n-rollers. It wasn't enjoyable for anyone. Thank God it was just rehearsal :)

Usually some of your best work comes out during rehearsal...this wasn't one of them.

Travis

2006-04-03T18:49:00.000-04:00

hello blog world! As someone who never understood just what these things are or were, I am now typing one. Hopefully these will be read, I guess the worst case scenario is that it is a record of thoughts, a diary of happenings. Since this is an improv blog I should probably talk about improv.................. Well as Travis spoke of in a previous blog, we got upstaged by a bunch of soap stars at an event that we were at this weekend at the Palm Beach Convention Center, to promote the troupe and 3 minutes into a pretty good scene we got booted off the stage by the uptight coordinator of the event, wherein they played the theme music to "All My Children" and then the two "stars" failed to show up for the next ten minutes, we could have at least finished the scene! The crowd was into it, as we found it appropriate to fill those few minutes with a soap opera scene involving a man being shipped of to war, and being lured to stay by his girlfriend who continuously beautified herself to make him stay, it was much funnier than my description of it. Our suggestion was haircut. Oh well. Our mission is to educate the masses in the joy/s of improv, and hopefully those 150 people enjoyed that 3 minute harold. Until next time - Jesse

Blog Prov!

2006-04-01T14:09:00.000-05:00

Apparently all the cool kids are blogging...so we've given into peer pressure once again and started our own Gated Community blog. I can't really tell you what we will blog about...but isn't that the nature of the blog...just to sort of ramble...and tell you useless information that spews from our consciousness. Maybe not?

So, for this monumental first blog. I'll start by saying that we are in the midst of preparing for our next show which is Saturday, April 22nd. The title of the show is "Extraneous Makeover." At this point, we are brainstorming about sketches and song parodies...and just trying to get an overall feel of what we might have in the show. We will be poking fun at the makover shows...reality shows...and just being in Palm Beach...this county takes makeovers to the extreme (not always good).

This past weekend we performed at the Lifestyles Conference in Palm Beach. Since blogs are supposed to be real honest...let me just tell you that we got yanked off of the stage because we were butting into the timeslot for two stars from ABC's "All My Children." I think the "actors" present were Cameron and Rachel (??)...and based on the turnout in attendance...screams...and shreeks...they were pretty big stars. It was a real unbelievable event. They spent an hour answering questions about "whose baby belongs to who," ..."Who will hook up with who?"...and of course..."How do you prepare for your character?" Trust me...real enlightening stuff! Hey, the audience was thrilled (which was even scarier)...so no use crying over spilled milk.

Later that evening...Frank, James, and I (Travis) helped out one of our junior acting company students by performing at a benefit for her high school. We did about a 30 minute set and had a great time.

That's all for now...I think that's enough for our first blog :)

Travis