Monday, September 29, 2008 by John Robison.

Performing improv is one of those hobbies that takes you out of your private world and thrusts you into the public realm. This is the same public realm that in its extreme has led hordes of photographers to harangue people, sometimes to death.

Luckily, those of us in Kansas City improv are far, far away from that end of the spectrum. It does, however, lead to some recognition, for better or worse, especially when you’re doing big improv in a small town. Most of the time the only public effect of my hobby is when people say, “Don’t I know you from somewhere?” Occasionally I get a “Hey, you’re that funny guy that does the plays!” when I’m out grocery shopping or something. I always get a bunch of people that call me right after the newspaper quotes me or runs a picture, and it’s always really great. That’s the good thing about low-level celebrity. (Forget D-List… this is more like R-list.)

As improv in town grows, its professionalism increases, and its popularity goes up, this kind of thing is going to continue.  And it’s going to get less nice. And that’s great. As stakes go up, so does the heat.

I can’t wait for the heat to get turned up on improv a little bit. That’s when we’ll know we’re starting to get attention. Sure, we’re starting to get some publicity now, but very little actual analysis or insightful comment.  In all the time I’ve been doing improv, my performing groups have been reviewed only three times that I can recall.

My very first was a one-line review of Improv Abilities’ performance at the 7th KC Improv Festival. It said something along the lines of “They were ballsier than usual, but not as funny.”

The second and third both came in the form of reviews on city3, and were speaking of the performance of Babelfish at the first Thunderdome. I recall both reviews being generally complimentary of the group’s performance… especially the Pitch reviewer, who still has a special place in my heart thanks to that review. The reviews were definitely more complimentary than I was of my own performance.

We need more reviews. More reviews lead to more buzz, and buzz will eventually lead to more audience - even if the reviews aren’t immediately great.

Reviews will fall somewhere along the scale of positive to negative, and can be used as a handy tool for introspection. Ask yourself some questions when you read them, no matter if the comments are positive or negative. Who is the source? Do they have an agenda? Do they know what they’re talking about?  Are they correct in whatever they say, in your opinion? If you think their opinion isn’t necessarily valid, still keep in mind that oftentimes, perception is reality. Maybe you really weren’t as good as you thought… or maybe you didn’t suck as badly as you thought.

Even really short, spoken feedback can sometimes be helpful. If you’re walking past someone, and make eye contact, and they say something like, “Great show,” I thank them and move along. This kind of comment is the theater version of “How are you?” Polite, and not necessarily requiring additional clarification. They’ll let you know if they want to say more. Same thing if they don’t say anything at all, or nod. For me, the body language counts as neutral feedback.

If you’re hanging out, and someone seeks you out to tell you “Great show,” I generally chalk that in the “Genuinely Satisfied” column.

The best kind of feedback, which I try to give whenever possible, is when someone tells you you had a great show, and then gives you a specific example of what they enjoyed. I love people like this. They tell you the one thing that spoke to them. If you listen carefully, sometimes they also tell you more… in the subjects they don’t talk about.

The kind of feedback that’s even more valuable to me is the kind that nobody talks about. It’s the kind of feedback that’s not appropriate to talk about out loud 99% of the time. It’s the kind that’s not even appropriate to write about 90% of the time.

Negative feedback. Ooh. That’s tricky. You have to have huge balls of steel to even attempt to do it. You have to be either a master wordsmith or an unfeeling bastard. You have to be an expert in the field to avoid massive backlash, which will probably happen anyway.  You can give completely untrue compliments until the cows come home… but if you give one piece of negative feedback, you’re an ass. If you have any doubt about this, join the kcstage.com e-mail list. Every couple months, a huge firestorm gets ignited by someone posting a negative review.

I personally enjoy a certain amount of negative feedback (aka constructive criticisms) just as much as positive feedback IF: 1. it is completely supported with examples; 2. it offers a possible alternative; 3. it’s well-balanced, and is not only an anti-show rant; 4. it comes from a knowledgeable source; 5. it’s true.

A well worded review helps my audience know what kind of show they can expect. If my shows are getting consistently rave reviews, it will help attract audiences.  If they’re consistenly negative, I’d better fix something, and I’d better do it pretty damned quick.

Nothing is as unhelpful and unkind as “That sucked,” or “That wasn’t funny,” or “I could do better.” I’ve heard audience members say all of these things about productions I’ve attended, after the show, but before the cast came out. The emotion is true, and is just as helpful as “Good show,” but definitely requires some explanation, in my book.

I have a couple trusted friends/family members that I trust to give me unbiased feedback, both positive and negative, and most of the time I use that feedback to verify that my own instincts are correct.  Many times, however, they point out something that I completely missed. I then evaluate and decide if it’s appropriate to act on that comment. I consider negative feedback an essential tool to improvement. If you don’t have an expert on the outside that you trust to give you advice as a director, you need to get one.

As important as I consider feedback to be, any comments, like the improv itself, should be considered, then moved on from. As soon as you decide to act or not act on any comment, you have changed yourself in some subtle way, and the comment no longer necessarily applies. Hopefully you’re better for it. Maybe you’ll find out when your next review comes in.

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Tuesday, September 16, 2008 by John Robison.

Back in May/June, I started planning for the “Grand Proliferation” of Roving Imp troupes. I even posted about it back in June. Now it’s mid-September, and the realization of that planning and dreaming has materialized. Some of those ideas didn’t work out so well. Those ideas are some of the reason I’ve been a bit remiss on creating new blog entries. Excuses, excuses. At that point, I wanted to have eight different RI ensembles by April 2009. Here’s an update on the expansion I first mentioned on June 19.

Troupe 1: Trivial Prov-suit

At that time we’d already started Trivial Prov-suit, and it was just starting. We knew it was fun, and we knew it was probably going to be popular. What we didn’t foresee is just how fun and how popular it was going to be. The format lends itself to some of the most fun times I have ever had on stage in my entire life. As a sort of cerebral improviser most of the time, this is a great gift - the gift of play. It works from the other side, too. Audiences tell me they laugh so hard they cry. This show isn’t going anywhere until James decides to move away.

Troupe 2: The Roving Imps

We’ve scaled back on RI shows - down to two shows a month from four. The shows are fun, but haven’t drawn the audiences that the more targeted shows have drawn. Reducing the number of shows also makes each show more special and scarce… audiences have to wait longer to see their favorite short form games.

Troupe 3: High School Improv Showdown

High school shows will come back in November, after the high schoolers are trained enough to put on a good show. The high school shows have brought some of the largest audiences we’ve had, and I can’t wait to start working with the students again.  As last year, it’s difficult to gain a foothold in schools, and therefore difficult to reach students that might want to participate in this free program. The students I’ve managed to reach have had a great time, and I can’t wait to see what this program looks like in five years.

Troupe 4: Movie Prov

In June, we were set to do the very first Movie Prov the week of my blog post. That first show was really great, and the audience and cast really enjoyed themselves, but it also exposed several issues with the format. We tweaked things in the two following shows, and things improved… but in the end, an improvised, audience-participation movie MST3K-type event wasn’t much of an audience draw… so we’ve discontinued this one. It’s possible it might return one day - after we figure out how to draw people in.

Troupe 5: Omega Directive

In June, I was in the process of casting this group. We’ve now performed twice, and have had four really fun long forms based on television episode plots. It’s got good production values, and six of the most talented folks in the city. I was a little nervous when OD’s second show conflicted with the KC Improv Festival, taking half the cast and risking a show without an audience, but the three people that were left really rocked the house, which was surprisingly large. I see this group really becoming one of our star groups, and I see it functioning like the Reckoning from Chicago… we perform with however many of the group are available at any one time, whether it’s three or six. Any of these folks can handle it.

Troupe 6: Dictionary Soup

I had just started talking about reviving this group, and now we’ve done our revival show, been in the Kansas City Star, and surprised everyone (even ourselves) with a really interesting four character scene in our first show. I can’t wait to see what else we do with this group. It’s got a ton of potential, and is already entertaining.

Troupe 7: Red Rubber Ball

This group is made up of random folks from any of the other groups, and performs the same two longforms each time: The Living Room and Plus Ronde, a format I adapted from the traditional La Ronde. Both formats are pretty old school, and audiences have really responded well. RRB is at the moment a fill-in show, plugged into the schedule whenever there are holes. It’s the one of the new shows without a regularly scheduled show, so there’s a little randomness that’s appealing. It also creates a little sense of urgency for audience members that really enjoy the show… because you never know when the next RRB show might be (unless you look at the online calendar)…

Troupe 8: The Harold

This group is made up of the students from my adult improv classes on Saturdays. Most of the people in the classes are folks from my other troupes that want to improve faster and get a little more performing time, but there are new folks popping in and out all the time. This class does a traditional Harold, as well as occasional short form games. I would really like to get some more folks involved with this, as it’s a great deal for everyone, but I haven’t focused much marketing on it, so it remains a group of five to eight.

Troupe 9: working name: Happily Ever After

An absolutely brand new two-person troupe set for its first show Oct. 11. At the moment, it looks like this long-form format will involve showing what happens after the conclusion of popular books or movies.  However, until the first show, anything can change.

There are others rolling around in my head as well, but eight living groups is probably enough for one person to manage… at least for now. (It makes my Improv-Abilities nights that much more important… it’s a group I can just participate in, and not run!) It’s also a great coup that when Oct. 12 rolls around, I will have met my stated goal of eight groups… six months earlier than my original goal. Even better: quality is really good across the board (with occasional exceptions, of course), and we’re giving audiences a really good time at inexpensive prices.

What’s the next goal? Offering catered meals before the 7:00 Saturday and 8:00 Friday shows. Know a good caterer? Maybe you can help me beat the timeline on this goal, too.

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Wednesday, September 3, 2008 by John Robison.

Topic du jour: What do I expect to get out of the upcoming Kansas City Improv Festival?

Complex question, which must be split into three parts for me:

1. What will I personally get out of it?

2. What will my improv troupe get out of it?

3. What will my theater get out of it?

1. Personally, I’ll get an extra chance to perform, which I am always glad for. I’ll also get to see some of my favorite local troupes all performing in the same weekend. I don’t get a chance to see shows too often, and I’m going to love to be able to see so many shows at one time. Also, because the festival is in town, I’m going to be able to have a workshop with the lovely and talented Jill Bernard with Improv-Abilities on Sunday. I’m really looking forward to that.

2. The troupe will get exposure to an audience they wouldn’t normally have access to. We usually perform in a different area, and I’m fairly confident that 98% of the audience will be seeing the Roving Imps for the first time. It’s possible that the troupe might get a mention in the press, which would be nice, as we’ve never gotten any kind of critical statements (positive or negative) in any press of any kind. There’s been show announcement information, but never an actual review-type statement. It’s also nice that some members of my troupe are going to be able to take part in the classes offered by the nationally known improvisers. I can’t wait to see what they bring back.

3. I am not expecting the Roving Imp Theater to get anything much out of the festival. In fact, I expect that on the whole, my theater will be hurt by the festival. *Warning… pessimism ahead*

Though a bunch of people will be seeing the Imps for the first time, with so many other groups happening at the same time, I don’t expect any of those audience members to be converted into Imp regulars. It would make me super happy to be wrong, but I just have to be realistic. I’ve upped my chances a bit by having an ad in the program, but I’d consider it to be a great coup if even one or two new folks stumble in because of the festival.

While the festival is happening, I will still be having separate shows… I still have the space, bills to pay, and a “show every Saturday” reputation to maintain. Such a huge improv festival will certainly impact my audience (as well as performers), and since the festival is all happening at Union Station, I have no choice but to remain open and present great quality shows. How do you compete with Jason Sudeikis, after all? We’ve got folks just as good, but nowhere near as famous. Time will tell, but with two Saturdays in a row pulling away improv audiences, I’m not expecting September’s numbers to be good.

Of course, it’s possible that the festival shows will be so good that it will create an immediate demand for great improvisation, and as the only improv theater in the area, the festival audience will flood toward the Imp, causing more performance opportunities to open up, and making this the highest-grossing September for years to come. Probably not, but there’s a tiny part of me that actually believes this will happen.

So to all the troupes out there… blow some folks away. It’ll do us all some good.

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