Fly down, way down

by eric

This a quick little story of an improv experience I had while in college.

My friend and I, Mike Garvin, had a two man team which we dubbed "Date Night". In fact, we still do shows whenever I am back in Carbondale, the place of my college days and his current home. We played on a very intimate and cozy space named the Longbranch Backroom that holds about 40 when it is packed to the gills.

On this night, I can honestly say I can't even remember what year this was, we were doing a set in which Mike was wearing a suit and I was wearing a tux. You see, our theme was "classy improv for an un-classy world" and so we tried to dress nice on our "Date Night". (As you can see from the photo a fan took at that very show)

I remember we had to change into the suits at the theater behind a little blind. It was all very sexy. The certain pair of tuxedo pants I was wearing has an extraordinary long fly zipper, which I still posses to this day but haven't worn since. I don't know if that was the style back in the day, to have a super long fly zipper or if it was tailored to a man packing some heat. Either way, that chasm of a fly never made its way closed before the show, unbeknownst to me.

I don't know at what point I realized that the Grand Canyon in my pants was presenting itself to the audience, I just know that when I did I stepped behind Mike and made things right. The zip heard round the world they say.

I later found out that my girlfriend, and now wife, Tamira had been trying to flag me down from the back of the theater as she was taping the show. Don't start looking for the video of Youtube, it isn't there. But it is in my mind to this day and every time I take the stage, I do a little zipper check. If you ever watch me on the back line during a game of "freeze" or the "the dream" at iO Theater, you will likely catch me checking myself.