Ferrari’s Fringe Show Will Be An Improv Set. Why? Because We Are Very Good Improvisers.
Happy Monday!
1. My furniture arrived today! I wish I could say that I wasn’t such a materialist, but I am. I like stuff. Stuff makes me happy. Shallow? Sure. I am shallow.
2. Hey! Going for walks with the puppy sure is frustrating. One minute she’s trotting along with me, as if she’s competing for greatest puppy ever. The next second she is in a fight with a tree. A fight. With a tree.
3. TCIF was great. Simply great. So well run and all of the groups not only killed in their sets, but were also super cool people. The BNW set flowed really well and shared the stage in a wonderful way. Fingergun revelled in, as Joe said, “controlled chaos”. Ferrari’s set was a big deal for Joe and I. Honestly it was one of the best sets we’ve done. Shit was tight! The whole 30 minutes was just so much goddamned fun. It also proved that what we’ve been working on will work really well at the Fringe.
Speaking of, I hope people come to see Ferrari’s Fringe show. A lot of theater people hear the word, “improv” and they stay away, opting instead for the safety of a written show about chocolate vaginas. What? I don’t know. I’m just saying there is a part of me that is happy we’re doing an improv set as our Fringe show so that we can prove that when it’s done well by people who know what they’re doing, improv can be amazing.
Mike
I will only attend if you perform under the name “Chocolate Vaginas.”
I await your response.
You guys were fantastic. Seriously, I think the local groups showed up almost all of the out-of-towners this weekend.
You need to buy a Gentle Leader. It will make walking your dog easier than you ever imagined. They sell them at any pet store. We have a hyper active obnoxious dog that loves to pull and run and chase anything that moves but when she’s put on a Gentle Leader she walks like a little show dog.
I am psyched for an improv fringe show from you guys. Although your scripted stuff has, in the past, completely rocked the foundations of my understanding of comedy.
I am an advocate of the gentle leader. Just used it this morning with the crazy dog that belongs to my nannying family. It’s pretty sweet. Much like your puppy.
Tom-I will talk to Joe. I doubt he will go for it, since as a child he was raised to believe that vaginas were…I don’t know.
Valerie-Thanks! I have to say that as far as fests go, this line up was the most consistently funny one that I’ve seen. Also, nice to meet you in person.
Jake-I am totally down with the gentle leader. Going to buy one tomorrow.
Hannah-Thanks for the kindness! That means a lot coming from you. Seriously.
If someone was doing a top-notch production of Long Day’s Journey Into Night at the TCIF, how many improv fans would show up?
(that being said, I fully expect your Fringe show to rock socks)
If it was an improvised version, the house would have been 70% full. If it wasn’t an improvised version then they shouldn’t have applied to an improv festival in the first place.
I’m just saying the stigma around Fringe and improv is a strange one as most people whom I’ve told about our show have said, “oh…” when they heard the word improv. It’s hard seeing people mentally check your show off of their “to see list” right in front of your eyes.
I was going to tell you to use a Gentle Leader as well, and everyone else stole my thunder. Damn.
A) You guys are going to pack houses, because that’s kind of what you do. You’re a brand around here and you’ve earned it.
B) If people ARE striking you guys off the “to see” list, do you think it’s because they’re thinking, “I’ll just wait until Mike and Joe or Mike and/or Joe are up at IAGG next and catch them for a buck”?
That would be a shame, but is there a new Fringe-only format you guys will be playing with?
James-We will definitely be fighting the $1 phenomena, there’s no way around it. And to be truthful, our new format is pretty free form. It can be whatever we want it to be, which might not be all that exciting. I guess my counter argument would be two fold. 1. 90% of Go Go crowds only go to Go Go, so worrying about whether or not they’ll head to the Fringe is sort of pointless. 2. The Fringe is the only place where audiences are going to get to see us do an hour long long form. To me, that extra time means endless opportunities to discover something that wouldn’t be possible at Go Go. Whether or not audiences agree? Who knows?
1. Yes. This is true. In a slightly unrelated note, the IAGG crowd makes me feel sophisticated, worldly, and old. 2. Of course! An hour! That’s mammoth.
I agree with James – you have name recognition.
I hope you’re right.