The Shirt

by eric

This is the story of how the airbrushed t-shirt that Brett wore during our show last night came to be.

It all started with a Michael Pizza rehearsal over a year ago. Brett and I played a scene in which we were two airbrush artists who owned a small store on a boardwalk and were contemplating getting out of airbrushing altogether.

In the scene my character tried to convince Brett's character to not give up our dream. In order to show my appreciation for him my character showed him the airbrush shirt that I made him, "It's us riding dolphins that are jumping over a rainbow and it says 'wishes'."

I knew that day that I had to create that shirt and vowed to get it for Brett as a gift. As luck would have it I was in a Evanston mall months later that had an airbrush art stand.

I approached the "artist" and told him my idea. He sketched it out and then said, "So the guy and girl are riding on the dolphins?" I told him yes, but it actually would be a guy and a guy riding the dolphins. There was a brief silence met with a "Oh, hey that's cool man, whatever." I proceeded to tell him a little of the story of why I was making the shirt and that seemed to put him at ease.

So about an hour later there it was, the first ever made up prop from an improv scene brought to life.

Brett said he would wear it to a show but had yet to do follow through so I knew that my birthday would be the best excuse to introduce the shirt to the world. So world, you're welcome.

Improv Marketing

by eric

Recently in Michael Pizza we decided to each take on certain tasks that need to be done for the sake of the group. I took up marketing, Brett is now or video liaison, Ben is the man in charge of finding time and space for rehearsal and Josh keeps everyone's schedule in order.

Marketing a four man improv group in a city that has more four man improv groups than pigeons is a daunting task. We don't talk in Shakespearean dialect, we don't have a 5 piece band and nobody in our group is named Tim Meadows. So how do we make a name for ourselves in the improv world?

The first answer that might pop up is, "Be a great improv team, do good work and make people laugh." It really is as simple as that but it also is not the answer. Of course Micheal Pizza is going to strive to get better at the art of improv through workshops and rehearsals but how do we supplement that?

In my opinion, we take what we do best and we amplify it to the nth degree and what Michael Pizza does best is have infections, joyous fun on stage. That is why it has become my goal this summer to let that spill over into our marketing. We have a huge 2 year anniversary show coming up in September that will be unlike anything anyone has ever done, or at least since I have been in Chicago.

That is just one idea and definite event that will be happening. There are tons more that will come along that I can't share right now since the details are still be hammered out but rest assured they will be injected with that same Mike Pizza fun that has become our staple.

Hopefully we can find the time for it all!

Knowledge

Josh-




I saw Stubs last night, starring Brad Morris and Dina Fackalis. Brad Morris played this guy named Hiroaki Aoki, the guy that started Benihana. Aoki was giving a demonstration on cooking while swearing up a storm. Not only did Brads Japanese accent crack everyone up but he seemed to display so much knowledge about Benihana. I was pretty sure he was just fudging all the info about the restaurant, but to my surprise it was true. That's the actual name of the guy that started Benihana! How did he know that?

This brings me to my point. You can make up anything in improv. Its hilarious when people say that the plane weighs 50 tons and go into some bull about how the jet engines work. But it's downright amazing when people have actual knowledge on something. In Ben's last blog he mentioned how I like to learn. I do. The world is interesting, but another reason is if my scene partner decides to make us soldiers I want to be ready with some cool facts to detail our scene.

During one of Bill Arnett's classes he told us that sometimes when he walks around he likes to look at people, guess what they do, and then give a couple lines of dialogue as that person doing their job. He also had us do an exercise where we went around in a circle, someone would give the next person an occupation and they had to give five lines of dialogue speaking as that person without coming out and saying what occupation they were. For example; if dentist was given- "Your bicuspids look out of order, this practice wouldn't be shit without the sexy hygienists, if I whiten your teeth for free I'll have to do it for everyone, I'm only gonna take four bite wings and then you can get outta here, the DDS stands for honor.




















Here's a real cool website that has a terminology data bank for all sorts of occupations.
http://www.uwasa.fi/viestintatieteet/terminology/special/

The best improvisers are also the smartest people, so if I want to be within that realm I've got a lot of catching up to do. Eric like to bust my balls because what I consider a tough day he considers relaxing. On Sunday I watched 24 hour party people, read a couple plays, listened to a few albums and then saw Family Tree House Boat Accident. That's a tough day to me.

Learn to Learn

In improv, I can do anything. Sometimes I'll initiate a scene or add details that put myself and my scene partner in a place where neither of us really know what we're talking about. For example, I like space shuttle scenes where the astronauts are naming buttons and valves and use jargon that we make up. We're still astronauts, though! Improv, right? This is fun to do and can be very entertaining! The audience simply believes us, or knows we are obviously feigning the knowledge and references of NASA. It's like they're in on the joke with us. No matter how ridiculous we get, it's fine as long as we sell it! If there happens to be an astronaut in the crowd, he or she might be knee-slapping because they actually know the jargon. No one would expect that kind of expertise from an actor, let alone an improvising one. But...what if we did know a thing or two about space shuttles?
Or f*ckin' magnets- how do they work?! (Thanks to ICP, the inspiration for this entry.)

The more I watch veteran improvisers, the more I realize that the majority of them are exceptionally smart and aware of the world around them. Some performers drop way too many references, often at the expense of the piece. I can only watch someone show off how much he or she knows about prairie dogs for so long, even if it is science fact. However, the best of the best seem to walk the tightrope of playing to the top of their intelligence while still being emotionally invested in their scene partners and enriching the show as a whole. They do not get snagged in the net of showing off their own cognitive prowess. (e.g. saying something like, "cognitive prowess".)

Here's something I love about Josh Logan: he will avidly delve into random things, like space shuttles, out of mere curiosity. He borrows plays from me because he wants to know about different theatre styles. Similarly, I'll catch myself looking up something like cashews on Wikipedia for no apparent reason. We just like to learn. I am not suggesting that improvisers should start learning facts just to regurgitate them in a scene. I would suggest strengthening your craft by learning- learning about anything. Is there something that you've always been genuinely interested in, but have never gotten around to checking out? At the risk of sounding like Levar Burton, take a look! It's in a book! If acting holds up a mirror to us and our world, then we as performers could and should know more about it. If we want to play to the top of our intelligence, then why not be more intelligent so we can play at a higher level?

There is no destination with acting or improv. A genuine performer is not going to wake up one morning and realize, "Wow, I've arrived! There is nothing more I can do to improve my craft. I don't need to learn anymore." A true master of any art is never beyond learning, "but don't take my word for it". DUN-UH-DUNT!

Ben