front porch of the jea!

This was meant as a gift for members of the Savannah JEA, but they opened up the comedy show for any and all... so I accepted the invite!

I tried to get a few others to come, including my Monday-night crew, but they had other plans... so I took myself there!

After all, 'tis the season and I love gifts!

I was amazed by how much talk of Christmas there was by the children at the Jewish Educational Alliance!!!

Right place, right time!!!

Front Porch Improv had five members of their troupe present.

I never caught the name of the keyboard man, but the others are Jesse, Abby, Beth, and Ava, and they put on a fabulous hour of fun!!!

I was delighted that they used two of my lines in the comedy skits, too!

The first of those instances was in the second sketch, with Abby and Jesse over at Grayson Stadium playing baseball on the diamond, kinda sorta like I have done there as well as when  I was in Iowa. 

Jesse had just hit the ball, then he pulled the slip out of his pocket and said, "Are we there yet?" - hahaha!

He told her it was his catchphrase... was that a baseball pun?!?!

I'm saying it was!

(smile!)

The next skit that used a suggestion from me was near the end of the hour.

Jesse was up again, this time for "Press Conference", where he had to guess why he was being lauded.

The other troupe members asked him questions and he found out he was a swimmer who had crossed the Atlantic Ocean, pulling an elephant, with Barney as his travel companion... very funny!

And that bit about the elephant... that was mine!!!

Wondering why that would have been on my mind?

A couple of skits earlier was all about asking the audience for jokes.

Why did the chicken cross the playground? To get to the other slide!

What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire? Frostbite!

Why was the bee's hair spiky? He used a honeycomb!

Hahahaha!

I was going to tell one of Mama's elephant jokes, but missed the chance.

Nice that I got the elephant in there another way.

i thank You, God!

Now, I've been home again, watching the Grand Prix ice skating highlights, aired instead of football by one of the local stations.

Guess what I just saw?

My man, Yuma Kagiyama, winning another silver medal at this event!!!

He's 20 years old now, and still just delightful to watch!

Right place, right time!

(smile) 

lonely pants, brothers, and improv!

"Lonely pants? That sounds like a personal problem, dearie!"

Hahahaha! Actually, that children's story popped into my head while I was watching "Predator: Badlands". Like, repeatedly!!! You know the one I'm talking about? It's a Dr. Seuss tale. The phrase "poor lonely pants with nobody inside them" is repeated several times. I felt like it was an inside joke just for me! Anyway, in the movie there's this Synth - an Android - named Thia whose top half has been severed from her bottom half. The first part of the movie, she has teamed up with Dek the Yautja, presumably to help him in his quest to find and kill a Kalisk creature. Really, though, she needs him to help her get back to her lower half so she can be made whole. Hilarity ensues when her pants-clad half goes about literally kicking ass on their enemies!!! I kept busting out laughing!!!

"Oh, my. I sure hope you didn't disturb fans of that franchise. I'm sure they were all taking it very seriously."

Nope, they found that part, and others, quite humorous, too! Like me, they had gone into it expecting a standard scifi monster flick. Instead, it was more like a foreign-language film with bits of android humor, a la "Passengers", and a dollop of humor. Very nice!!! I'll be seeing that with my A*List again!

"Good for you to start off with a winner! Then it was time for dinner?"

Haha, you're a poet and I bet you know it! (smile!) Yes, it was time to eat, so down Montgomery Cross Road I went! I was a little late for the S&K Friday Fiesta, but it was at Jalapenos of Sandfly, so they made room for me. Of course! And Robin was there, too! I'm glad she has started hanging out with all of them. See, I've known of Robin since she was 15 and dating Ronnie, but Laura is her step-sister and Mary was her roommate and the three of them lived in the same apartment complex for a while until Mary met Smitty and Robin met Harry. They all know the Kameron brothers and Betsy from growing up in our neighborhood. What I mean is, they all have a bond that goes back for decades. That's very good. We even talked about the difficulty in finding friends as you get older, as everyone you meet already has a full life. That's why I keep trying to push Tony into the men's groups at his church. I'm glad Smitty has this group of guys he golfs with every Sunday. That's all important. And now that Harry has died, Robin needs more of a social outlet. I'm glad she has this bunch to be with on Fridays. Heck, I'm glad I have this bunch to be with!!!

"Heard! With Christa and Barbara gone, the bfe locked in the throes of long-distance love, and Carolyn living out of town with her cousin, your circle has taken a big hit the last two years. I'm so glad you have Sandy's crew welcoming you into their ranks. Hopefully Yvonne will soon be done with Helping her daughter with Todd's house, so y'all can get back to being lunch ladies. You should see about lunching with the two Sherrys, build up those budding friendships. Remember, it takes 200 hours to make a good friendship blossom, or so says the AARP site."

You're absolutely right. I'm truly blessed to have the friendship I do with Dawn, though she is still a working girl. Did I tell you that I'm going to be taking care of her dog, Stella, this weekend? Well, I am!!! I'm so thrilled that she asked me to do that! And she'll pay me what Tony and Laura do, too. That will be nice.

"That's wonderful news! Stella is such a sweetie!"

Yes, she is! Dog time for me!

"What about improv? You mentioned improv in the post title..."

So I did!!! That's because I had "Last Laugh Improv" at Armstrong tonight, at Jenkins Hall. I could have gone last night, but I'm glad I chose this evening. What a rowdy bunch was in the audience!!! Very big audience, too, so I had to sit in the back row. I missed the first skit, as I didn't arrive until about 7:45 PM from Sandfly. The fourteen players were all part of "Freeze", with two performing until someone would tag in from the group. That went on for about ten minutes!

"Wow, that's pretty long for one skit."

Well, the story kept evolving and they wanted every player to have a chance to be part of it. I liked the next one better, though. Just five moving parts to "Party Quirks"! There's the host, Lyla, with four guests who all have something that makes them special. In this scene, Lyla is speaking with the guest who is "Buddy The Elf" while her guest Luke is taking a narcolepsy nap.Very funny bit!

"I bet Sandy would have liked that!"

I know, I wish she would have come. But Fridays she spends with her mom and stepdad. Still, I'll try to talk her into it for their spring show.

"Good, good, you need to do that. What else was good in the shown tonight?"

I really loved "Press Conference"!!! The person chosen as "it" has to use clues from the fake paparazzi in the audience to guess their own identity. So, the clues were "so pale", "always wears a jacket", plays "War Hammer", "has narcolepsy"... and she finally turned to Luke in the crowd and said, "Am I you???" Hilarious!!!

"Hahahaha! I bet they haven't done one of their own before!"

Right? I also liked "Positive Versus Negative", which was a team game, using all players.  In Round 4, shown in the photo, the leading team player on the left has to come up with the bad things about the topic, "going for a hike", while the leading team player on the right has to counter with the good things about the topic. Such a good back and forth they had! I don't think any tennis match could have been more exciting!!!

"Oh, I do like the sound of that!"

You would have liked the next game, too. It's a new game that I've never seen before. Called "Human Props", it involves three people acting out a story, while the others enact the items used in that story. This was about a construction crew, so three background players were the hard hats for each crew member. Funny! Then there were "the blueprints", "the sacks of cement", "the shovels"... it really was funny! And CJ (Chris Johnson) ended up getting buried under cement for not wearing his hard hat! LOL!

"Hahaha! Safety first, y'all! Why weren't any of them wearing goggles? Can you just imagine each member of the "construction crew" trying to keep up with one person being their hard hat and another their goggles? That would take up nine members of the troupe, just for that!"

Yes, that would have been quite snafu just in moving around on the stage! At least "Slide Show" let everyone move independently. This time, Jase Gober, far left in the photo, is showing off the snaps he took at The Louvre, including one with the Mona Lisa in the center, and the thieves trying to steal her. By the end of his slide presentation, the thieves had been caught and covered in plaster, making an exhibit of statues for the museum. LOL!

"That's a good way to deter theft! Threaten to immobilize them forever! Hahaha! Was that the last skit? They didn't do their favorite?"

You mean "Sex With Me Is Like..."? Well, kinda sorta. There was a kid in the audience, so they changed it to "A Date With Me Is Like..." instead. As in "A Date With Me Is Like" the circus, or Georgia Southern, or capitalism, or a roller coaster. Still room for lots of double entendre to go around for good laughs! Very nice way to end my Friday! And almost all of these events were free, except my two crunchy beef tacos... and those were less than $7, including tip! I know how to party like a local! (smile!)

sonrisa finalmente con una amiga

Of course I was out too late - Sandy was with me!

I'd texted her yesterday about going to improv with me, and, to my surprise, she said yes!

Very nice!

Then, as time neared for the show to begin, she texted at 7 PM that she'd meet me in the lobby - and when I arrived, she was there!

Even nicer.

It's been a hot minute since we two amigas have been together.

We even went out to dine after the show ended around 9:30 PM, going for an old haunt - Carey Hilliard's on Abercorn - for the next two hours.

Talking is still a little ... stilted? hesitant? slow?... but it was good to talk.

 

The Last Laugh improv show had been great fun for both of us, though.

Held at Jenkins Hall on the Armstrong campus, we both felt right at home when we walked in there.

The troupe was a little smaller this time, but the Friday night crowd was rowdy and loud!

That was great!

They like free events, just like we do!

The very first game got things rolling with all players in for "Objection!"

That had been an Odd Lot favorite, too, so I threw "the price of eggs" out there as a topic - and Ro and Nick picked it right up and lobbed it to CJ to start.

And so it went, from that tall cool dude discoursing about eggs until Jordan called him out on the hacky sack playing.

"Sustained!", cried Nick, so then super short Jordan had to explain the rules of that game, until Luke called an objection on her use of "feet" instead of "foot".

"Sustained!", cried Nick, leading to Luke having to talk of parts of the human anatomy...

and so on, until all seven players had at least one chance to speak.

All from the price of eggs!

(smile!)

Sasha was the main player in "Slide Show" of her trip to New Orleans, with the other six striking poses, tabula rasa style, every time she said, "Click!"

Then she would have to explain just what was going on there - hahahaha!

"LCD" started off with Deja as the first person in a deaf world, having to describe with body language that she was at the Waffle House, she was a shoe salesman, and her death was caused by a pair of Air Jordans.

I'll give her credit for getting that jump shot down pat!!!

That doesn't mean Nick, Liana, or Chloe guessed correctly what was going on, but it sure was a hoot to watch!

"Survivor" was kinda sorta like half-life, but instead of time being eliminated, players were.

Luke, CJ, Jordan, and Sasha were in Tahiti, but there was some confusion about who was to have made the hotel reservations and what had been done with the money.

When Sasha was voted off by the audience, the other three had to replay the scene, including all her lines, and then the audience voted off another player.

It ended up with CJ being the last man standing and he had to do the story all over, being sure to say the other three players' lines - and that was crazy!!!

I really did like that game!

So did Sandy.

But I think our absolute favorite was "Sex With Me Is Like...", with all players in.

The audience would give a suggestion, then the players would step forward with their response for that suggested word.

My favorite had to be Liana's for "grill".

"Sex with me is like a grill. I have two racks to put your meat on!"

Hahahaha!!!

I think I just got an insight into her character in "Ride The Cyclone"!!!

Hahahaha!!!

3rd improv, with extra haas sauce in it!

I swear, this is the very image that popped into my head for that character mash-up skit!

Rabbi Haas said we were to take a famous scene from a movie - 

for me and Judy Wilburn, it was Forest Gump and someone else sitting on a bench, waiting for the bus, with me as Gump and her as the other person - 

but with each of us performing the roles as characters from other movies, with it up to others to figure out who those characters were.

 

I also swear that I didn't choose my character based on the known love of our noble leader for fantasy science fiction.

 

I was just sitting there when the first duo got up and did their sketch -

it was the scene in the diner from "When Harry Met Sally" -

and suddenly I knew exactly who I wanted my character to be: Groot.

 

Perhaps it's my lifelong love of trees that makes me feel close to him.

 

As for the reason I chose Groot on this occasion, I can proffer a few.

Perhaps it was a recent conversation with the bfe about the Mandarin language, in which one word can have five meanings dependent on how the word is pronounced.

Perhaps the multiple viewings of GOTG and GOTG:V2 recently had him top of mind.

Perhaps it was the challenge of seeing if I could do as well as Vin Diesel at incorporating different meanings into the three words of Groot's limited vocabulary.

 

All I can say for sure is this: it really threw off the rhythm of the skit.

Judy, who was trying to channel Alice in Wonderland, clearly had no clue what I was doing.

Not even my hand movements were of help to her.

Science fiction was clearly not her jam.

 

Oh, well.

That was not the only failed skit.

When we tried to go around the ring with the eight people there, telling a story one word per person, everyone played along well except Audrey.

There we were, talking about a pet turtle, and when it's her turn to add a word to the tale, what did she say?

"Politician".

For real.

My turn followed hers, so I tried to make that hot mess fit it, but everyone was thrown.

 

I realize that she does stand-up comedy somewhere, but she has no talent for improv.

She doesn't 'get it' that the point is to work along with the person on stage with her, not to draw the attention solely to her.

I know Haas tried to pull her back several times, but she doesn't take hints.

 

So, who else was over at Asbury Memorial for this session?

Four Asburians - 

me and Judy, as well as Steve and Ronda Reed - 

plus four from Mickve Israel -

the Rabbi, Audrey and Peg, plus newcomer, Marcia. 

That's why I added the pun in the title!

 (smile!)

 

Here are a few more puns, courtesy of Sherry Giddens on fb.

 

"I know that nose - it has a ring to it!"

 

"I don't have money for that cape, but it's okay because I can... charge it!"

 

"Dating a matador? That's a red flag in my book."

 

Poor Ed, he was mistakenly at the annual Punning of the Bulls.

 

Hahahaha!!!

improv and mixtapes

"What an odd combination for Tina Tuesday! What, no movie?"

Funny you should say that! 

There was a film, "Cassette: A Documentary Mixtape", on Peacock, and that's what we watched during our Holy Pie pizza party. 

Very good movie, too, set up like a true mixtape is, with riffs from different 'artists'. 

Lou Ottens, the inventor of the cassette tape in 1963, kept popping up, sometimes solo, sometimes with the other members of the team at Philips that had engineered the cassette. 

We both found it interesting that no subtitles were used when the men spoke German!

"You said "we". You got a mouse in your pocket?"

Nope, but I did have a physicist in my house!

"Wait, I thought the pizza party was to be at his place this time. Right?"

Well, there was a snafu on my part. I was to have picked up the pizza, but he never texted me about that. So I showed up at his place and he's like, "Where's the pizza?", but all cool and laid back about it, like he always is. So, back toward my side of town, him for the pie, me to shape up the house a little. 

"Damn, girl. Those blonde roots..."

Right? So I let him pick out the documentary to watch and he chose that one. Excellent choice!

"And you broke out your 'Hate tape' afterward?"

I did! I wanted to share something personal with him and that mixtape from 1981 is as "me" as it gets. I think he was surprised by most of the song choices. But, as I told him, it was music therapy to get me from 'crazy mad at the world' to 'totally chill self'.

"So y'all discussed all that?"

Nope, he needed to get home. Tuesday is one of his travel days to Statesboro to teach, so he was pretty tired by 9 PM. Plus, he had Emily the Cat to take care of with petting and treats before he could sleep.

"I'm sure he did. So, where does the improv part of the day fit in?"

I had another improv class with Rabbi Haas this afternoon! Only four us were at Asbury Memorial this time: Audrey the standup comic; Peg; a newcomer, Sandy; and me. The size of the class didn't matter, though. We all did three extended bits, showing that we could take a thread and weave an entire sweater with it!

"Hahahaha! Is that what Haas said?"

Nope, but he did encourage us to go to some improv shows and volunteer from the audience. He's quite pleased with how fearless we were today! For the first skit, each of us had to sell something in Holliday Hall to the others. I chose my red-armed sunglasses! That was fun!

"Sounds like it was! What else did y'all do?"

He had us do "Fortunately... Unfortunately", with each of us alternating turns with the tale. I had started it off with "Fortunately, I was able to see the new work done on Waters Avenue because a Mack truck was jack-knifed and blocking Truman Parkway." Then Sandy turned that into an accident scene, with Audrey talking up her financially-rewarding work as the lawyer and Peg was the 'winner' of what little money the lawyer didn't take. Then we went around a couple more times. Definitely fun, but I liked the "Lounge Singer crooning about their favorite movie" best.

"That sounds quite interesting!"

Oh, it was! Rabbi Haas gave us each a genre of movie, then we were to make up the song and perform it. I had 'romantic', so I sang about Jack and Jill. And, no, it was not the song that John Mellencamp sang! I don't recall just I sang, except I gave Jack a head full of long, lovely hair. Since I went first, it inspired the others to throw caution to the wind and let their freak flags fly freely, too!

"Very nice!"

Oh, and guess what? They're interested in the Last Laugh Improv Show at Jenkins Hall! That's coming up in March, after our next class. Sounds like a field trip to me!!!

"Most excellent! I'm glad you have some new folks in your life, g'friend."

Me, too. Most definitely.

not with a bang, but a giggle

Tonight, I ended 2014 with a roomful of strangers, with a few acquaintances scattered about.
What fun!
I was at one of my favorite places in Daytona Beach, the Cinematique, for an evening of entertainment - and dinner! - for only a couple of Jacksons. Very nice! The night began with an opening hour of free wine and beer, with noshes at hand. I sipped two glasses of Cabernet while nibbling on cheese, chips & salsa, and olives - yum!
Then Random Acts of Insanity arrived for their first set! I had caught the last half of their improv last night when I had arrived to town and was thrilled to get more of the zaniness! Andrew Ramos (the lead instigator of frivolity) and Menos were the only ones tonight had in common with last night. Both have voice talents which allow them to seamlessly riff between their own and those of Christopher Walken, Marlon Brando, Jimmy Stewart, and Robert Deniro - fun! They were joined by George, Scott, and JG tonight for quite a few games, including Fractured Fairy Tales, Forward/Reverse, Ding, Two-headed Date, Party Guests, and others. Each of the guys took turns being the emcee and several of them were called upon to be "girls", as in the day of Shakespeare.
Seriously fun!
I made sure to participate by calling out suggestions for game themes, items or words to be included, accents to be used - oh, yes, just as if I were home at an Odd Lot show! About half the audience had never been to an improv show, but by RAI's post-dinner set, everyone was chiming in. Good!
The dinner, a buffet between sets, was catered by an Ormond Beach group, DB Pickles. Big bowl of crispy salad, baked chicken breasts in gravy, roasted red potatoes, and garlicky green beans - quite tasty! Of course I had seconds! Then, for dessert, fabulous chocolate macaroons and red velvet cupcakes, along with an assortment of cookies for cRuNCH!
I was glad the fellows weren't tasked with entertaining us during the dinner. Rather, the dinner was sandwiched between the two hour-long sets of improv, allowing full enjoyment of all aspects of each.
The final game ended just a few minutes before midnight, allowing all guests the time to receive a glass of champagne and get their party favors in hands or atop heads. (I wore my sparkly pink and silver headband-cum-tiara, so I was set from the get-go!)
Then the grand countdown! 10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
There were even fireworks, courtesy of the city, visible from our perch on Beach Street!
Nicely done, y'all!

are you ready for this?!

Last night was fabulous!!! The Odd Lot improv group was celebrating the birthday of one of their own... and they had special skits JUST for him. Elvis was there, talking about his return to Earth from his erstwhile home on Venus, the planet of Love. (Hahaha! See? I did get it!) So was Christopher Walken and Don Knotts, temporarily inhabiting the same body and fighting over it, too. Oh, and let's not forget the Cowardly Lion, part of the prison detail to pick the poppies in Oz! Rawr! A crowd of folks was there in the audience, to cheer on the mayhem and to help the celebration. I am SO blessed to have been there!
My favorite skit, though it was certainly a hard choice, was "Soucy Kills!". Ordinarily, it would have simply been called "Last Lines, the game in which everyone dies", but this time, the birthday boy was designated the slayer of all. And what was he slaying? A list of horrible, horrifying creatures, that's what!
First up was the Chupacabra, cast to type, which made it even funnier. The creature met its match, venturing within reach and having its spine ripped out through its back and then thrust into its heart. Ahhhhhh! With its dying breath, it uttered the audience-generated words on the slip of paper - but spoke in Spanish! What a stroke of genius!
Next up was Cthulhu, denizen of the darkest ocean depths, burbling his threats at the Soucy. Quick as a flash, the Soucy hurls a bowl of batter at the squidlike monster and then dunks him into boiling oil! Hahaha! And Cthulhu utters his final words in - what else? - Cthulhuese, as he collapses to the floor.
The Queen of King Scorpions then sashays onto the stage, clashing its fierce claws and thrashing its terrible tail. No, seriously, I saw it! The Soucy approaches, and, whilst the insect threatens to sting, he places his finger on the center of its thorax. Oh, no, the deadly poisonous Soucy finger! The scorpion goes through incredible death throes, before succumbing, exclaiming all the while, "No! No! No! No! No! No!"
Thomas the kitten then meanders onto the death floor, finding a spotlight in which to lick his paw and look cute. Then the Soucy is on him! Oh, the poor kitten is cuddled to death! And, in true kitteh-speak, his last utterance is a single, pitiful "meow". Nicely done!
So, for those keeping score, we have four fierce creatures down, with only once having an English last line. Awesome!!!
Little miss Shirley Temple skips forward, singing about good ships and lollipops. The Soucy is not amused. He makes short shrift of her and her song, and she joins the bodies littering the floor.
Now it's time for the Dwarf, arch nemesis of the Soucy since childhood. This one is hatless and approaches fearlessly, on its stubby legs, but draws too near. Rip! Out goes its heart and the Dwarf leaps from the shock, before gravity pulls him to its bosom. Hah! Take that! One dwarf down, one Soucy still standing!
And the Dragon decides to take him on! Plodding across the stage, taking care to avoid the human hurdles at its feet, it breathes fire in the Soucy's direction. Once, twice, then the Soucy blocks its mouth, forcing the fire to go scorching back into the body of the beast, evoking a smell of barbequed flesh. (Yes, I did smell it!) Game over, the Soucy victorious against all! Woohoo!
I wish I could recall the last lines of the last three fierce creatures, but I was too tickled to commit them to memory. Still, know ye that they were quite appropriate for the occasion, made remarkable by the fact that they were randomly drawn from the hat filled with lines from the audience. GREAT fun!