NCCAF Improv Week – Night Four: 2/19/11 (at DSI 7:30)

So it’s been a whole week since I saw this show. But the real world got in the way of writing, having to work and sleep and such. But right now, I’m sitting on a Megabus from NYC to Philly, I have free wifi, so I have no excuse not to write this recap.

IMPROV SLAM at DSI Comedy Theater is a regularly scheduled short form DSI show, but for this festival they did a Chicago vs. DSI show. The show is stuctured much like a ComedySportz show, but without the sports gimmicks. There are two teams, a host and tech who assign some arbitrary points, and it’s family friendly.

I had a blast at this show for a couple of reasons. First off, all the performers individually were really good, everyone seemed like they were on there game. Second, it was great to see really good family friendly comedy. Chris and I both play shortform with Death By Improv, and we are definitely not family friendly. This show, again like Comedysportz, didn’t rely on saying something overtly sexual, crass, or offensive to get a laugh.

But what I liked most about this show was how well tech was incorporated. It sounds stupid to some, but a good job teching can really carry the energy of a show and create a sense of Event. When a show feels like an event, not just some show, it makes it more enjoyable. Most of the time the host would be underscored by some music as he’d talk, genre games would have music for every genre, and rap games like Beastie Rap and Rap Medley had real beats, rather than someone half-ass beatboxing on the side. (good beatboxing is awesome, but most groups, like ours, don’t have beatboxers on the team). Hell, they even brought lights down on half the stage for something like a “film noir” scene. It’s so simple, but most groups either don’t bother, or don’t have talented tech guys.

As far as the actual playing went, as I said, these guys were really fun, both the visiting Chicago team, and the locals. One skill that I think gets spotlighted in a short form show is the ability to justify. Short form games often include gimmicks that are meant to trip us up, but we have to make it work. Like “Blind Line” (aka “Line in a Pocket” or “Lines from the Audience”) where players read lines that they randomly grab, and make it fit. My favorite one was from the audience “Do you want Paper or Plastic?” followed by “That’s what I named my fists!” My absolutely favorite part of the show was in “Panel of Experts” where one of the characters was Rainbow Bright. One of the Chicago players (I sadly don’t remember his name) played Rainbow Bright as a grown up, with a raspy voice, cigarette in hand, and just enough innuendo to let the adults in on the joke, and the kids remain clueless. The character returned later in the show during “Freeze,” as did the dinosaur from “Panel” too. Awesome callbacks.

This show, in conjunction with the N Crowd set I saw the night before, made me want to re-examine how I play shortform, from the games we play to the way we structure the show. The energy was fantastic, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone traveling thru the Chapel Hill area in the futre.

-Hochman