Stretching at the Improv Soiree

Just got back from post-show dinner, and am still wired from playing at ComedySportz tonight. While it was not our greatest show – not even MY best show – it was a milestone for me in a couple of ways. Tonight, I was on the Blue team.

We opened with Doo-Rap, in which I was required to rhyme the word “Fenced” three times. I used “incensed” and “recompensed” and had “expensed” in my mind, but took a dive because I couldn’t figure out how to use it without grossly departing from the rhythm. The game was fast, but the audience was into it.

Blue’s first game was Blind Line, and it started out oddly, and kept going with everything a little off-kilter. I got the sense that B was trying to get it back on track, as was E. We were playing three-on-three with a DJ who floated between the teams. J seemed like he wasn’t listening. The guys endowed me with being their supervisor, so I did a brief interjection, then left the field – it was crowded – but then they kept talking about me, so when the opportunity arose, I SWIPEd the scene, something I’ve never been brave enough to do, thus fast forwarding to a later time and different location.

Red played Changing Emotions and Styles. My friend D2 was also stretching herself tonight, getting really involved, and not hanging on the sides at ALL.

Blue played Foreign Movie, in which two people speak in gibberish and emote, and the other two translate. Gibberish is usually my weakest skill. Tonight, it was NOT. We made technical mistakes that we now know not to make again (sometimes it takes actually playing a game to feel it, and understand it), but I actually got a compliment on my gibberish from BigE. I consider this a personal achievement. We used the DJ (designated jokester) instead of an audience volunteer, as the audience was a typical Friday-sized one. It’s more like an improv soiree on Fridays.

Red played Forward/Reverse. With four players it was a little confusing.

Blue played Five Things, which I still need to add energy to. My gibberish wasn’t Foreign Movie good for this, but it was markedly improved, and I didn’t feel skill-less about the mime this time. (Actually I had lovely stuff for “hula skirt” to replace “swimsuit,” “snake” to replace “jump rope,” and did okay with “cave” to replace “soccer goal” but could have done better with it.) Sadly, none of us managed to convey “egg” to E, although we discovered later that this was because J had indicated the object was NOT AN EGG.

Half-time found me sweaty and tired, but jazzed.

Red played Dinner at Joe’s. I was the affirmative answer sound effect provider. I’ve never uttered more consecutive ding-ding-ding’s in my entire life. I felt like a Ferry or a Tugboat or whatever.

We all played Story. I was eliminated in round three.

We ended with 185, in which I jumped out at the time the whistle was blown – twice – and not asked to make anything up. At least I tried.

Notes were constructive and specific.
The audience loved the show.
I am going to bed now.