Weekend Update
Friday I went out to Keith's. Trying to drive anywhere in Chicago on a Friday is like trying to pull teeth by entering through one's scrotum: it's painful, and you're pretty sure there's a better way to do it. The normally 45 minute drive took Adam and I at least an hour and a half... even though we left pretty early in the afternoon (around 3). Yes, there are THAT many people who leave work early on Friday. But we eventually got Keith's and guess what? No Keith. He had been involved in a charity (a REALLY good cause too) golf tournament in the afternoon and was late in arriving at his house.
While Adam and I were waiting outside of Keith's, I decided to give Miss Sarah Jean a call back. She had called me while I was expertly maneuvering through Chicago traffic so I, obviously, didn't answer. The conversation was interesting from beginning to end... as Eli answered Sarah's phone when I called. Is this, I asked myself, just a sign of things to come? Trying to get a hold of Sarah means I might get either of them? I think the reality of the wedding hit me harder than the simple act of Eli answering the phone should have led to. Regardless, Sarah asked me to stand in her wedding. Or, should I say Sarah and Eli asked me... as they were both there. I, of course, said yes! And that this would finally allow me to go to the wedding with Randi as my date... which is our destiny.
Once Keith arrived, we went down into the infamous "Basement." We did a few different scenes... but nothing as ambitious as a full herald. I feel like this trip was more about seeing my friends one last time before my trip than actually doing improv. And it was really good to spend some time with Adam and Keith again.
Saturday afternoon I was blessed to have a couple phone conversations. The first, a fabulous three-hour-marathon of feelings and intellectual stimuli... the other, an interesting display of early afternoon public drunkenness. *Clears throat* Uh... yeah. The marathon phone call was incredible... and flowed so easily. I only had to stop for water a couple times... and I admit I cramped up once, but the trainers rubbed it out (gross?) and I was back to the marathon.
I was also able to talk to Miss Amber online. In the fall, she is headed to Illinois Central College to teach FULL-TIME! Isn't that exciting? She'll have a full-class load and teach some writing classes and a lit class. As we were talking about it, I think I'm most excited for her to teach a lit class. People who really know their stuff (like Amber) should be teaching literature courses... and I think at least one lit class should be REQUIRED in college. I mean, we had to take that stupid writing comp test. Isn't reading as important as writing? Shouldn't we all have some common ground in our college experience... one or two books that we've all read and can talk about? Isn't that what the first-year common reading thing is supposed to be about? What the hell is my point? My point is that I'm excited for Amber. And I'm happy she gets to teach something besides writing to kids whose idea of a meaningful essay is telling us how much bonding occurred during their senior year high school football season (or how important football is to their identity).
Then Saturday night was an evening of Skybox shows. The first one I saw contained a guy, Jason, from my Conservatory class. He was good... I thought he was pretty funny... but I wish I could say the same about the show in general. Have you ever heard me talk about selling out a character for a joke? Well that's what this writer's "style" (if you can call it that) is. You can't get into any of the characters because you don't know if they're going to sell out their identity to make a lame (and a lot of the "hey it's a joke" jokes were quite lame) joke. Another problem was that this show is in the theatre limbo of being somewhere between ridiculous and realistic. That's a TERRIBLE place for a full show to be... some short scenes might be able to get away with it, but as a general rule, you're going to want to pick between realism and absurdity. Watching this show, you could see how much better it would have been had the writer stuck with realism... or how much more off-the-wall if he had stuck with absurdity... but it's somewhere in between and, frankly, the audience couldn't get into that. The audience, actually, was quite quiet. *pulls at collar* Eek!
The second show had Rebecca (also from my conservatory class) and a guy you've all probably seen from SC pamphlet's or flyers, Pip. If you've seen a black guy on any Second City flyer, it's Pip. And I found out why... he's REALLY good. He was on the touring company for a while... and now he's in a show with someone I get to work with every week! I was excited for Rebecca after I saw her show. They also do a set at a different theatre which is longer and includes an improv set. Interesting thing about her show: it was double-billed... so they had just gotten into it (or maybe I had just gotten into it) when they had to stop. It was a great show, though.
And the final show of the night (yeah... I went to three), was with Robert and Mike... two guys I was in a couple shows with. Their show (AisA, for future reference) was amazingly good. It was tight, it was fun... it had dance numbers, improved scenes and a song, a choreographed "Matrix"-like fight (using people to hold other people suspended in air), recurring characters... it felt like they packed a LOT into the hour-long show. They did pack a lot into that hour. I guess that's why it... who am I talking to? Okay... I'm stopping. But it was easily the best show of the night... and I'm glad I got to see them, even though they didn't want me in this show. *sniffle* I'll be fine.
After all the shows (and all the sitting), I felt a little restless. So I did something I've never done before... I walked around the bar scene on a Saturday night. I just walked all the way to downtown and then headed back North. It actually inspired a poem (more like a spoken word piece... but whatever), that I went back to my place and furiously started scribbling. Word to all the writers out there... ALWAYS have a pen on you. I do most of the time (I even have a pen pocket in one of my jackets)... but I didn't have a pen Saturday night which ticked me off because I had an idea in my head and I couldn't put it anywhere. So, heading back to my apartment Saturday night was a little like running to the bathroom when you know you're going to be sick: it was going to come out whether I wanted it to or not; but I hoped to have a good receptacle to put everything in so I wouldn't have to clean up the mess later.
Speaking of stuff I've never done before AND feeling like I'm going to vomit, I sat in on a different Conservatory class Sunday afternoon. I know you're sitting there wondering how visiting an Improv class can make one want to throw up... but visiting another class is like starting over. I didn't know anyone (except Katy... hi Katy!), and I didn't know how they act on stage, and I didn't know if I was going to be made to look like a fool or if I wouldn't be accepted... I mean, every single thing that would keep someone from doing improv in the first place comes back when you're faced with visiting a different class.
So I get to the class and in the good news/bad news category... they have a "substitute" teacher. Instead one of the women from the mainstage, it's one of the guys on the mainstage. This is bad news since I went to the class to have the instructor see me before the Level 2 audition that I'm going to miss (thank you England). But, this may have been a blessing in disguise because we played a name warm-up game so that Brian (the guy from mainstage) could get to know everyone's name. This helped me to learn, surprise, everyone's name. Then we focused on three person scenes... and I did a couple scenes before we broke for our... break. Right. Anyway, during break, one of the women in their class (Tammy?) came up to me and said that she thought I was good and was happy I came to sit into their class. I'm sure I either blushed or played it off TOO much to keep from blushing. I then went over and started talking to Katy and some of the other class members. I, apparently, talked to them with such easy that Katy asked me how I knew the people I was talking to. I'm a salesman, what can I say? It runs in the family. That reference made no sense. Moving forward, after break we did a couple montages. It was fun... it was a lot of fun, actually. I had to smile at one guy in their class... there's one guy in their class who is just so... wow, how do I put it nicely... it's like he's got the whole scene written before it starts and instead of just getting to it, he's going to, like, ask you a question such as "Do you know what this means?" He's lucky I wasn't in that scene with him because I'm too jaded to play that game. I would have said something like "It means you're an idiot"... to which he would have replied "No" (as that's what he did when the woman he was doing that scene with responded with whatever she said) but then not tell me what it meant... like I was still supposed to phuking guess (which is what he made the woman do. I wanted to punch him). But, other than that one guy, a very talented and fun class.
The class seemed to like me so much, in fact, that afterwards they invited me to Corcorans with them for a drink and some bar food. I didn't partake in the food, but I felt like celebrating my minor accomplishment (sitting in on a class) a bit. In an "unlike me" kind of way, I stayed with them for about an hour after class... talking to people I don't know, and joking with almost complete strangers. Katy actually had to leave before we went to the bar... so I didn't even have her at the bar to hit on. TALK TO! I meant talk to. Talk to. But I have the feeling that a couple of the young ladies in that class kind of liked me. Or, at the very least, I was mysterious enough that I intrigued them. I mean, they were talking to me about myself (my favorite subject!), and they made me feel very wanted ("Are you going to join our class now??!", "We're more fun than your other class, huh??"), and it was a pretty nice ego boost. And I think at least one of them was attracted to me... although I would appreciate if Katy didn't find out how her classmates feel and gratuitously let me know that I'm wrong. I would like to just go on thinking the lie that someone finds me attractive, if that's alright with everyone involved. Thanks!
Sunday night? NEW FAMILY GUY!... Family Guy is probably the only show on television that makes me consistently laugh out loud. I seriously laugh out loud at least a dozen times per episode... which is unreal when one thinks about writing a tv show: being able to make someone laugh out loud so frequently? It's incredible. That show... is incredible. I'm so glad it's back on. American Dad, on the other hand, is above average at best and mediocre at worst.