Troupe Goal Updates

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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