Over the past few years a lot of my life has revolved around not only acting, but performing long-form improv comedy. When I first moved to the city five years ago, a friend of mine introduced me to The Upright Citizens Brigade, which was a world unlike any I had known before. Sure, I had done a bit of short-form improv a la "Who's Line is it Anyway?" with Comedy Sportz when I was but a wee high schooler, and had even continued dabbling in it throughout college - but I had never seen improv like this before, and it swept me up into its warm, laughter-inducing embrace in an instant. And so began my love affair with improv.
I wanted to do what these people were doing, so I started taking classes at UCB and eventually found myself at the Magnet Theater which has become something of a stomping ground for me. I love improv. I love watching it and I love doing it - particularly musical improv. So now even as I venture toward the realm of performing in scripted musicals, I can't ever see myself straying too far from the widely-accepting bosom of the improv comedy community.
As such, tonight I decided to take in a musical improv show with one of the best groups out there, called I Eat Pandas. IEP is comprised of two stellar improvisers, Eliza Skinner and Glennis McMurray, as well as accompanist Frank Spitznagel, who is undoubtedly one of the most gifted pianists with whom you could ever have the pleasure of working.
The way the I Eat Pandas show works is they start out every show asking for a one-word suggestion from the audience - (last night it was "Werewolf") - and then they deftly set to work weaving together a 30-minute, 15-minute and 5-minute musical based on that one suggestion.
What's especially great about their show is that they make everything look so easy and scenes flow seamlessly into songs and like water turning into wine. I think the thing I love most about watching the two of them together is that they really know how to take care of their audience. As they are both incredibly adept improvisers, they've got real moxie and that's one of the greatest assets any improviser can possess. It gives the ability to make everything look so easy allowing you to just sit back and enjoy the show, oftentimes forgetting that what you are watching is completely being made up on the spot before your very eyes.
I will say that as I sat in the audience waiting for the show to start, I observed what seemed to be a lot of improv newcomers, which is awesome and very enviable since improv is sometimes a harder sell to the average theatergoer. That's another thing that's so great about IEP and musical improv in general. It's just so much fun for everyone - whether you're a frequent patron of the improv scene or a complete newbie.
I hadn't seen the "Pandas" in several months and thought it would be a good thing to do since I myself will be performing musical improv this Friday in a show called The Made-Up Musical back at the ranch, er stomping ground - the Magnet Theater at 10pm. (post shameless plug...check!) I've been away from TMUM for a few weeks now due to out-of-town engagments (sound impressive?) and I thought that watching a show with Eliza and Glennis would be a good refresher before I get back in the proverbial saddle. Hopefully some of the "Panda" magic rubbed off on me and I won't fall flat on my face on Friday.
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