23! Hello! Learn! Lotto Time…sort of.

I think LeBron’s kissing my ass now. He recently said that the NBA should retire the number 23, worn by Michael Jordan, and that nobody should use it out of respect for Jordan.

I already said I was a fan, bro! You don’t have to make me like you more!

Well, I’m a bigger fan now. You happy? Son of a…

I was teaching a class at iO last week, and while watching a scene between two students, there came a point in the scene where they got a fun reaction from the rest of the class, and I muttered to myself:

“…And there’s your laugh”.

I don’t remember using that term before so I kind of freaked myself out a bit because I realized the last time I heard that phrase was years ago. I heard it in a class at Second City from one of the kindest and most encouraging teachers I have ever had.

His name was Martin DeMaat.

Martin, or ‘Marty’ as he was often called, was the person that introduced me to this wonderful art form and community of amazing people.

I took an improv class from Marty in college, and learned of Second City in his class. He’s the one that later encouraged me to take classes there.

After a year of college, I took his advice and started my Improvisational education at Second City. A little over a year later, I was fortunate enough to get hired as a performer at the legendary theater. On my first day as an employee, I walked into the back offices to get some tapes to study, and I ran into Marty.

He came up to me, put his hands on my shoulders and said “Welcome Home”.

It was a moment I will never forget because of who it came from, what it meant at the time, and how it was delivered.

For more reasons than one, Marty was one of the most respected improvisational teachers of his time. He was also one of the most encouraging and kindest –if not thee kindest –person to ever teach and direct this art. He was known as someone that always made sure to check in with you if he saw or recognized that you needed to be checked on.

He loved this art so much and what it had the capability to a person, and it showed in his classes.

I later got to know someone that shared the same passion for this art: Del Close.

In their time, with their similar love and passion for this art form, Del was often known as the cranky and stern Father of Improv, while Marty was known as the kind, nurturing Mother of Improv.

Del passed away in March of 1999 and Marty passed away in February of 2001.

Along with my great friend, Jeff, I created a documentary for Del shortly after he passed. I am extremely proud of that film and continue to show it at Improv Festivals around the country, but I always felt a twinge of regret that I was never able to create a similar piece for Marty.

I have no idea why one of Marty’s class quotes crept into my brain that day. I do know that although it freaked me out a bit, it also felt very good. It took me away for a moment and when I came back I was smiling. If that was Marty’s way of saying Hello, I’ll take it.

If I am ever given the chance to access archive footage, notes, etc., from Marty, I would gladly put forth the effort to create a documentary for him because not only was he a huge influence to me, he very much deserves it.

I can try to put a nice cap on this little tribute to him, but I can’t come close to the words Lisa Lewis wrote

in an article she wrote shortly after Marty passed away:

“His ability to support and nurture young talent was legendary, as was hi gift at providing a warm and safe environment for anyone taking an interest in his work—performers and non-performers alike.

And while our grief is deep, we can and will celebrate what de Maat brought to Second City and to his place in the world. His kindness and brilliance will live on in every playful and

joyful moment an improviser or audience member has while experiencing the art-form

Martin de Maat helped create.”

While we’re on the topic…

There is a group at the iO Theater made up of old friends and veteran improvisors that goes by the name “3033”. They play every Sunday night and consistently put up extremely good shows.

Last weekend they had one of their best shows and I hope the young improvisors in attendance were doing more than enjoying a good show; I hope they were learning.

This team does an extraordinary job of showing that more often than not, all you need for a successful and entertaining scene is right at the top. Stop looking past what was first said and or done, and if you’re patient, you will find magic.

A few weeks ago while watching this show I commented to a fellow improviser that it was weird how many younger students and improvisors come to watch this show, but don’t realize that week to week these guys are giving them the perfect example of how to create art out of nothing –and have it be highly entertaining at the same time.

So if you’re one of us, next time you watch this show, make it a point to also treat it like a class. Pay enough attention and you will find that what you take from it will make you a better improviser.

If you’re not one of us, come to iO Sunday nights, sit back, and be prepared to be highly entertained by some of Chicago’s finest Improvisors

I haven’t done ‘Lotto Time’ in a while. I was going to do it, but I was thinking that for the past few months, on and offline, I’ve been blabbing about my two tv shows that I grew to love and that have now become maybe the top two tv shows of all time for me. I’m speaking of ‘The Wire” and “Battlestar Galactica”.

Many people had a hand in making me give in to watching these shows, but I would not have become a major fan and happy addict of both of these shows if I didn’t have easy means to watch them both from the comfort of my own home with my darling 50 inch plasma without the kindness of friends Jorin Garguilo and Adal Rifai.

Jorin owns most of the BG series and Adal owns all of the Wire series, and they were both kind enough to let me borrow the sets with no timetable.

So I thought it would be more than appropriate to have a special Lotto Time for these two cats.

I met both Jorin and Adal around the same time and we gradually became friends. They are both very good improvisors and very nice people in general.

I don’t think you can spend more than 10 minutes with either one of them without kicking yourself in the face for not having gotten to know them sooner.

Jorin sat in with ‘Felt’ a few times and it wasn’t long after that that we decided to add him to the cast. The more I got to know him, the more I realized how lucky we were to have him, and lucky the theater itself is to have him. He’s an exceptional learner of the art and his passion and eye for the work shows both in his play and his direction of others.

I got to know Adal more gradually through friends. The more time I got to hang with him, the more I realized how nice of a guy he is. Talking to him you get the sense that he’d donate a kidney to you if you asked him. He just comes across as that nice of a guy. He too is very talented and very fun to watch on stage.

I’m happy I got to know them and that they are part of the same community.

Jorin and Adal, thank you for being my friends.

OK, I’m done sounding like I want to bone these two jerks.

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If I ever get into a deep conversation about Improvisation and the overall values and rewards I get out of it, I sometimes share one of the ways I deal with the worries of doing a good show. Which I guess is just that ‘want’ or hope of getting a laugh while trying to do right by your peers and the art itself.

I think a lot of performers get that worry or nervousness before a show and have their own way of approaching that sense of fear and or excitement. More often than not, if you let the fear and nervousness take over your concentration and preparation for a show, it will lead to you not being able to have fun on stage because you’re too worried of the pressure of making people laugh.

This seems to affect ‘younger’ performers a lot more than seasoned performers, which is not surprising or bad. It’s just part of the process. Because of this, seasoned, or “veteran”, performers often get asked how they deal with this nervousness before a show.

I’m nervous the moment I walk into the theater. Sometimes that pressure and nervousness is lifted way before I get on stage or shortly after. And once it’s gone, it’s a lot easier to have Fun.

For me, it’s the first laugh of the night. And it doesn’t matter how it happened. Maybe the first team up created that response, or maybe the second team, or maybe even the host for the night. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that it happened, but even more important, what ELSE happened along with it.

To me, one of the biggest rewards of doing this work is that you often get to be a part of a night that helped at least one person in the audience forget about their worries for a little bit. It doesn’t matter how big or small their worries are, what matters is that at least for a fraction of a second, they were able to forget about those worries and Smile. Maybe that’s the only time it will happen that night, but it happened. After that, you already were part of something special and any other laughs you hope to help create can only be considered a bonus.

That’s what makes me relax and happy to be where I’m at with the people I’m doing this with; knowing that I was or am part of a night that helped at least ONE person out there forget about their problems even if it was just for a fraction of second.

You don’t have to know what their worries are, you just have to know you were part of a night that helped.

This past weekend I was witness to a night where the worries of an audience member came to light.

For the 10:30pm Saturday night shows at iO, two improv teams perform for about 30 minutes each. One team goes up, and before the second team goes on, both teams perform an audience participation piece called “The Dream”, where they ask for a volunteer from the audience to come on stage and tell them about their day. Whatever they share is then performed as an improvised piece presented as that person’s dream or nightmare.

During the interview of the ‘Dreamer’, it was revealed that he came to the show with a friend, that just so happens to be married to Euna Lee, one of the female reporters currently being held in North Korea and sentenced to a labor camp.

This revelation obviously created a somber mood that I’m sure made both the audience and the performers wonder how this piece would go with such a big nugget out there in the open.

The groups did what they were trained to do, and using the information given, performed a smart funny piece that generated laughs of the husband as well.

Afterwards the two friends hung around until the husband got a phone call that seemed important and they both had to bolt.

These two guys were out looking to escape some of the turmoil they were going through and found that small escape with the help of some of the finest performers in the city. I, for one, felt pretty proud of being part of a community that was able to help these two guys forget about the worries their loved ones were going through even if it was just for a moment. I can only imagine how proud the performers must have felt. I know I’m proud of them.

Tim Meadows is back to performing his weekly improvised show Sunday nights at the iO Theater, “Uncle’s Brother“.

This past Sunday he did something I hope students and or performers in the house took note of.

Now, Tim Meadows is obviously a well respected actor and comedian, not to mention great improviser. So when he showed up wearing a baseball cap and then came on stage wearing the baseball cap, nobody batted an eye or thought of it as something ‘inappropriate’. It’s Tim Meadows and he can do what he wants in this place because it’s his home too.

Mr. Meadows brought on stage his team for the night (regulars Joe Canale and Brad Morris along with guest Greg Hollimon) and before starting the show, he told a story about how he was in the middle of filming a movie with some of his old SNL friends. He said they invited him to play the role of an old coach, and rather than wear make-up, they all agreed to shave the top of his head and leave the sides intact to make him look like an older character. He then took off his cap which created a great laugh and gasp from the audience and his team that night.

I happen to work at the theater most of the nights he performs, so I can tell you that Tim Meadows has a sense of style. He dresses nice and cool, and like most people, of course cares about his looks. The guy doesn’t look anything like his actual age and is a pretty cool cat.

But because he knows the ‘rules’ and etiquette of the stage, he did the entire set without his baseball cap on. Nobody in the cast or the audience would have cared if would have left it on because not only did he rock it, but he was also freakin’ Tim Meadows!

So my dear young grasshopper, (and some of you fellow old cats), take note: He respected the stage and fellow performers, so should you.

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23! Hello! Learn! Lotto Time…sort of.

The Reason! Etiquette!

My shows