"Big Fish"

Our acting bug-bitten niece Kira recently appeared in CenterPoint Academy's production of Big Fish, which we saw in the black box theater on March 25 (yes, I am a bit behind; both of my followers have sent emails wondering when I was going to update the blog). And I may be a bit biased, but she did great. It was also one of the better CenterPoint shows we have seen in the past few years.

There was a very funny and accidental blooper when the lights came up too early in one of the scenes and the man supposed to be on his deathbed was still scrambling to climb into it. But the kids handled it well and improvised to cover the error. (It was still pretty funny, and I don't blame those who busted up laughing on stage.) I guess you had to be there.

"The Scarlet Pimpernel"

Last night, we went to CenterPoint Legacy Theatre to see my brother Ben perform in their production of The Scarlet Pimpernel. This is JB's favorite musical, so expectations were high; fortunately, the cast delivered a great performance. My former Improvables castmate Ben Lowell knocked it out of the park in the title role.

"Let's Go to the Movies"

On Tuesday night, we were back at CenterPoint Legacy Theatre in Centerville (remember that place? I used to perform improv there) among a mostly maskless crowd. The main attraction: our 12-year-old niece Kira's show "Let's Go to the Movies," featuring the CPLT Middles. She did a great job on her solo, which was a High School Musical song I didn't recognize.

 

We saw a talented group of kids perform. My sister-in-law Jana also produced the show and is obviously doing great work.

"M.A.D. about Hogwarts"

The acting bug continues to repeatedly (but kindly) bite various members of the family, including our 11-year-old niece Kira. She appeared this past week in CenterPoint Legacy Theatre's youth production of of M.A.D. about Hogwarts. JB and I attended the show Friday night in my old stomping grounds, the black box theater, along with several other family members.

Afterwards, Kira and the other members of the WX Plowmans showed off their jazz hands:

Improvables: Farewell to CenterPoint

On Friday night, we (members of the Improvables troupe) performed our final show at CenterPoint Legacy Theatre (aka the Davis Center for the Performing Arts) after 7+ incredibly fun and memorable years (a time which also followed our first 2+ years of performing at Rodgers Memorial Theatre).

A cast of seemingly thousands, but which in actuality included Cassie, Chance, Jesse, Keenan, Landon, Liz, Matt, Parker, Richard, Ricky, Truman, Tyler, Willis, and yours truly, took the stage for this special and final CPLT show. With a cast this big, we made it work. We also had a capacity-size crowd, which was a very good sign as we move from CPLT and settle in to the Bountiful Davis Art Center beginning this Friday, January 4, 2019 (now with an earlier 9:00 p.m. start time!).

I got to play in three games and then got to MC the final three games of the night, including a last hurrah for "Spit Take," which we will sadly not get to play at our sophisticated new digs (here we are cleaning up afterward):

I was there for our first show on October 28, 2011, and I was there for our last show Friday night, as well as hundreds of others shows in between, all of them wonderful experiences. We're looking forward to settling in to our new home at the BDAC, continuing the Improvables tradition into our 11th year of performing together.

Improvables: Tenth Anniversary Show

TEN years . . . it's hard to believe. Nevertheless, we made it, and we hit the milestone with this month and the end of our tenth year performing improv together.

Accordingly, we held our annual Reunion Show Friday night at CenterPoint Legacy Theatre/the Davis Center for the Performing Arts. Usually, we have these performances in January. But due to some upcoming changes we recently announced to the public—namely, that we're moving the troupe to the Bountiful Davis Arts Center in January 2019!—we bumped up the Reunion Show a few weeks for our third-to-last show at CPLT. And fortunately, my siblings Biz and Steve, along with Ian and Ryan, all agreed to return to our stage for the momentous occasion.

It was great sharing the stage with these guys once more, along with current Improvables Keenan, Parker, and Shannon, with Ricky as MC and Willis on keys. In some ways, it was like our returning players never left, because the cohesion and teamwork were still there in spades.

Here's the gang playing "Slide Show":

After the show, we celebrated our decade of improv with a cake:

The cake was warranted. After all, how long does something like a 10-year anniversary roll around in the theater biz? Not that often, honestly. It's a labor of love.

Improvables: Tenth Annual Halloween Show

On Friday night, it was our tenth (yes, 10 big ones) annual Halloween show as a troupe for the Improvables. As always, it brought out one of the biggest and best crowds of the year on one of our favorite nights to perform for the good folk of Davis County. The audience was so big that we had to set up extra chairs on the sides of the stage, in fact.

I dressed up as Tanooki Mario and was surprised to have my Mario Bros. counterpart in Hipster Luigi, portrayed by Willis, something we did not plan (but that's improv for ya).

The other cast for the evening was rounded out with Keenan, as a Walrus; Kelly, as a pterodactyl; Landon and Truman both as Mr. Rogers (something else not planned!); Matt as a German Oktoberfest girl; Parker as Wolverine/Logan; and Richard as Paulie from the movie Juno.

Following the show, we posed for some pictures with our audience members:

One of the costume contest winners was our niece Olivia, dressed up as Darla from Finding Nemo, seen here with JB (as Sadness from Inside Out) and me:

It was a wonderful evening and a good reminder of why I am still pretty dang lucky to get to still take part in one of my favorite hobbies after all of these years.

"Crazy for You"

JB and I have season tickets at CenterPoint Legacy Theatre this year. (It's the same theater where I perform improv in the black box most Fridays, don't ya know?) Considering all of the years I've been associated with Rodgers Memorial Theatre and now CPLT, it may seem odd that this is the first time I've actually held season tickets. (My sister used to work in the box office, and it's good to have friends in high places, and all that.)

So it goes.

Anyhow, we caught the latest show, Crazy for You, last week, and we really enjoyed it. Neither of us knew much about what we were in store for with this one. But we were pleasantly surprised with a number of memorable George and Ira Gershwin tunes along with a lot of tap dancing.

I was also pleasantly surprised to find an ad for our troupe in the playbill:

The thing of it is, nobody in the troupe knows how it got there. I asked the other directors about it, and none of them had an idea that we had an ad currently running. Well, we're not complaining. All told, I'm happy to see CPLT supporting what we feel is a very worthwhile cause. Speaking of which, they put on pretty good shows on their main stage, too, and you should definitely attend when you can. The next one up is The Pirates of Penzance, and from what I've caught of their rehearsals, it'll be another great one.

"That Could Be Me"

My nine-year-old niece Kira recently got bitten by the acting bug. One thing led to another, and then last Wednesday night we saw her perform in the CenterPoint Academy production That Could Be Me in the Connie Leishman Performance Hall (aka the black box, aka the same stage on which we perform improv Friday nights).

She did a great job! Yeah, I may be a little bit biased as her uncle. But it's still true.

Improvables: Ninth Annual Halloween Show, Part 1

We're on the eve of Thanksgiving as I type this, so this might be a good moment for a little bit of catching up on some blogging and also to let you know that we observed Halloween again this year, as people are wont to do.

It's incredible to think that the Improvables have been together for nine consecutive Halloween performances now, but such is the case. And I've loved pretty much every minute of it. We go all out for our Halloween shows, and the first of two we put on the weekend before the Big Day was held Friday, October 27, at CenterPoint. I got to take the stage along with Chance, Erica, Keenan, Kelly, Liz, Richard, and Spencer, with Lorin as MC and Willis on keys.

The costumes were pretty creative and did not disappoint:

JB was good enough to agree to do a couples costume with me, and we dressed up as Princess Leia and Han Solo, respectively:

A wonderful evening was enjoyed by all who participated. I love the people I get to play dress up with and also the audiences who take part in the fun with us.

Improvables: Spelling Bee

From last weekend's Improvables performance at CenterPoint Legacy Theatre (and possibly yoink!-ed from our Instagram page, IDK!), Keenan, Jamie, and I played a game of "Spelling Bee":

Improvables: Eighth Anniversary Show

Reunited, and it feels so good!

The wonderful people of my improv troupe and I held our annual reunion/anniversary show last weekend, and it was a fantastic night. We welcomed back Brittney, Ian, Ryan, Scott, and my siblings Biz (her first appearance in five years!) and Steve, who all attended and took part.

And there was much rejoicing.

"Give My Regards to Bad Guys"

Yet another member of the family has been bitten by the acting bug!

My 16-year-old nephew Dallin participated in CenterPoint Academy's Give My Regards to Bad Guys performance last week at CenterPoint Legacy Theatre, and he was phenomenal. (So what if I'm a bit biased?)

In addition to providing backup vocals and dancing to a host of numbers from The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Xanadu, and (of course, the one that everyone's talking about) Hamilton, Dallin sang solo on "Gaston" from Disney's Beauty and the Beast and hit it out of the park.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Improvables: Eighth Annual Halloween Show

Last night at CenterPoint Legacy Theatre, it was my troupe's annual Halloween show (our EIGHTH together!), which is one of our favorite nights of the year. I got to take the stage to perform along with Bryan, Cassie, Erica, Keenan, Kelly, Landon, Parker, Richard, and Ricky, with Lorin as MC for the night and Willis on keys.

One of my favorite parts was getting to sing a song about pajamas in the style of the late artist formerly known as Prince, joined by Cassie as Taylor Swift in a duet.

In memory of my Uncle Dexter, who passed away about this time last year, and who was often seen wearing overalls, I wanted to portray a character with overalls this year. So, I chose Wreck-it Ralph, of the Disney movie of the same name.

Our troupe, as always, came up with some amazing costumes, and everyone contributed to making it a wonderful night.

Improvables: Fairytale Festival

The good folks at CenterPoint Legacy Theatre recently hosted their annual Fairytale Festival, and the Improvables were asked to help pitch in, which we were more than willing to do.

Our assignment was the storytelling tent, for which we portrayed a few different characters to . . . well, tell the kids fairy tales. Cassie ("The Princess and the Pea"), Erica ("Rumpelstiltskin," pictured), Joe ("Peter Pan"), and I ("The Hobbit") told our respective stories over the course of the evening.

Yes, The Hobbit. It counts.

Improvables: Sasquatch Cowboy

Prior to last Friday, I had been given the opportunity to perform improv with many of Utah's troupes. On Friday night, three performers from Sasquatch Cowboy, based in Ogden, came into town, and it was a pleasure both to meet them and to take the stage with them for the first time.

Erica, Parker, and Tanner rounded out the cast for the evening.

Improvables: Girl Power! 2016

A few weekends ago, the Improvables hosted our second annual ladies' night performance. Brianne, Cassie, Charlotte, Erica, Jamie, Megan, and Shannon from our own troupe were joined by four talented gals from other Wasatch Front troupes.

The evening began with "Da Doo Ron Ron":

. . . and ended with "Greatest Hits":

I may be a bit biased here, but the evening was fantastic, and just as great if not better than our "regular" (irregular) performances.

Improvables: Stomp!

Shot from last night's Improvables performance, taken from the front row:

It's easy to take a seat on the front row when you're the M.C. that night.

As Jamie sings an Adele-inspired song in "The Greatest Hits of Janitors," Megan, Ricky, and Parker back her up with a Stomp!-inspired . . . backup thing.

I never cease to be amazed by the brilliance that surrounds me at these performances.

Improvables: Seventh Anniversary Show

Over the weekend, we celebrated our seventh anniversary as a troupe (as well as the beginning of our eighth year performing together) by bringing back some former troupe members for a one-night-only reunion show.

Guy, Ian, Michael, Scott, and my brother Steve joined us for a fun-filled night of randomness and goofiness. In other words, improv at its finest.

I got to play "Pieces of Shakespeare" with Ian and Steve:

. . . getting haunted by Ian's ghost in the end.

And, of course, what Improvables reunion show would be complete without a game of "Spit Take"?

Improvables: Seventh Annual Halloween Show

On Friday night, our troupe put on our annual Halloween performance, which is one of our favorite nights of the year.

My attempt at a costume was Anger from Disney/Pixar's Inside Out, which has been my favorite movie of the year to this point. I say "attempt" because though I spray-painted my hair red for the costume (and the red spray paint got all over the place), it didn't really turn my hair red as I expected it would, and it also didn't really translate to photos like these (in which I am asking a question in a game of "Press Conference"):

At any rate, it was another memorable night, and the costumes were very impressive all around. After the show, members of the troupe posed for this picture:

As you can see, we're kind of a big deal.