Last Saturday

This past Saturday my level 3 improv class had its graduation performance. We had about 10 audience members in attendance, which was rather abysmal, espeically when compared to the level 3 performace before ours, which had a veritable crowd of 40 to watch their Harolds. Ten people in our class (we actually started 8 weeks ago with the max enrollment of 16, but it dwindled fast), and all we could manage was 10-member audience. And I, alone, was resonsible for nearly a third of the atendees!

I was glad it came to an end, as level 3 wasn't nearly as fun nor did it have as good a student body as my level 1 or level 2 classes. I'm baffled by this phenomenon, but does the talent and humor level of the other students in the class go down as you advance through the higher levels? This is what we would call an indirect relationship. One variable goes up, the other goes down. I'm crossing my fingers that level 4 will go better, but it didn't seem promising when by far the 2 worst improsers of the class emailed everyone to let them know they starting level 4 classes the following week. I'm glad I decided to take a breather- I don't know if I could have taken another class with those two. They got on my nerves and frustrated me that much. I have plenty of detailed-filled stories to back up my claims, but I won't get into them here and now.

My class actually rented a space and got together to practice the night before the show, but I didn't go. Not that I'm some social butterfly, but I could think of better things to do from 8-11pm on a Friday night in July. I opted instead to go to the 3rd and final NY performance of God's Pottery and their concert to Save Lavert. I'd already seen the workshop and the previous 2 shows, but I really likes the show and I was happy to support Krister and Wilson before they jaunt off to the Fringe Fest in Scotland for a month (where they are performing every night non-stop!).

After the God's Pottery show at UCB, the GP Boys and I headed over to the Triple Crown on 28th and 7th where Shayna Ferm was having a co-ed bachelor/bachelorette karaoke party. I didn't know a lot of people there (recognized a few from comedy shows, though), but I did my old failsafe song, Lou Rawls' "Never Gonna Find Another Love Like Mine," and acquitted myself rather well, I'm proud to write. People were cheering me on, Shayna kept saying she had no idea I could sign like that, and I had a few people come up to me afterwards saying, "That was really impressive!" Nick and Emily were just getting out of The Da Vinci Code, and shame on him for being late, because the second girl who got up to do a song stole his trademark number, Tina Turner's "Private Dancer."

It was a quality Friday night, but back to the improv show for another moment. We started warming up a little after 3:30, and our teacher, who's pretty passive and a little too under-involved for my taste, didn't direct us in any way. He just kinda sat there and told us, "Warm up," so we had to direct ourselves, which felt a little odd, but we're adults and level 3 grads, so I suppose we could handle it. We played this one game that involves a lot of running around the stage, getting the blood pumping and your heart rate up. I've never had a problem with it before, but one of the guys in the group, a rather awkward, uncoordinated fellow, managed to run by me with his arm outstretched in a clothesline fashion and his hand balled up in a fist. He ended up clocking me right in the chest. It made a loud pop and everyone running around on the stage just stopped. The punch went right into my solar plexis and completely knocked and and all wind out of me for a few moments, moreso because it was so unexpected and surprising.

I was really angry at the guy- it really did hurt, and it was still a little sore that night- but I shrugged it off the best I could and we collectively decided that there was no need to play that game any longer. Four o'clcok came and both of the girls in the class still hadn't arrived. We started strategizing what to do with our teacher with only 8 people present for the show, only then to have the 2 girls waltz in a few minutes after 4 with nary an apology or an explanation. Awesome. Way to keep class morale up!

Overall, the show wasn't the disaster I predicted. I was only in the first Harold (we drew straws to see which 2 got to go twice), and it seemed to move all right, though one scene was just DOA the whole way through. With only 10 people in the seats, it was pretty quiet, and even quieter after Nick and Emily made a getaway before the 2nd Harold began. We went out for a drink afterwards, but aside from the one guy I already knew and befriended from level 2, we never really bonded or came together as a class. I'm glad the class has concluded and now I'm free to move onto the next level when it's offered.

Afterwards, I F-trained it on down to the lower east side and got my Shark Show DJing and teching on. It was a good show, not quite matching the shocking high of the previous week, but solid nevertheless. Even though the crowds have only been in the high 20s and low 30s since summer began, the shows have gotten a lot better and more organized and pre-planned since the spring. We have the entire month of August off, which is a blessing, because it's nearly impossible to get people in the seats- either nobody wants to see comedy in the late summer or everyone's out of town over the weekend. It's a smart move.