A missive from the Upper Hutt Library
Improv roundup for the fortnight starting 21 November
I just looked up the etymology of the word ‘fortnight’ and it turns out it derives from the Old English for ‘fourteen nights’. I can’t tell if I’m mad that it’s so obvious (why didn’t I know that?) or that it’s so boring. Much more interesting is the list of the few similar concepts on the Wikipedia page - in Greek and Celtic you say a word that means 15 nights! Hindu makes reference to the lunar cycle! And then hardly anyone else has a word specifically meaning two weeks.
I’ve been in Brisbane for the Brisbane Improv Festival and it was so much fun. Big Fork (host company) has a really fast paced style, and a huge community of beautiful people, and pulled off a really great week celebrating improv inviting a huge variety of teachers and directors. My two shows (Awkward Threesome and The Dive) went awesomely and I am thrilled to have re-added Brisbane to my performance portfolio. Anything cool happen while I was gone?
Help me profile all the improv companies and ensembles in Pōneke!
Send me your group’s info and you’ll feature in a future post.
coming up this fortnight…
shows
Three Minutes In Hell (Drug of Choice). Thursday 24 November, 7:30pm at Fringe Bar, tix from $15. Comedians doing 3 minutes of brand new material, some improvised (it’s me I am one of these comedians??). Theme this month: I Did It For The Story.
Double Feature (Locomotive). Saturday 26 November, 6:30pm at BATS, tix from $15. Our guests this month are The Queen’s Jubbly (Malcolm Morrison and Dianne Pulham)
Late Night Knife Fight (Locomotive). Saturday 26 November, 9:00pm at BATS, tix from $18. Headlined by our runners up, Dr Doctor MD (Aaron Douglas and Megan Connolley)
Coming up: Jingle Elves, Tiny Dog, Xmas Improv Extravaganza, The Improvisor of the Year Awards
workshops
WIT Tuesday, Dance Jam, and the last few workshops for various term training. Anyone got things coming up over summer?
other links and stuff
Robbie Ellis just launched his second album of comedy songs called Metric System! If you don't know him, he's a Chicago-based improv music director who used to live in Wellington. The album is in all the usual places including Bandcamp, Spotify and Apple Music. If you buy CDs off Bandcamp, he'll be posting to NZ addresses in mid-December.
Another great link from Chris Mead: “I like to imagine that I only have 10 standing ovations in me.”
Help me collate all the upcoming improv and improv-adjacent events and useful news - tell me about yours! Deadline is Saturday, I put this together on Sunday.
let’s talk…
On the last night of the festival I was invited to play in Directors and Friends, with the directors of the fest. We did a montage - started with one word and then just spiralled out doing scene after scene. It took me a good five minutes (out of a 25 minute set!) to get the hang of the pacing - they swept hard and fast, and brought very solid premises to every scene. It was both thrilling to go ‘oh damn I gotta get moving!’ and also a little frustrating - not because it wasn’t good but because I was going ‘wait, I have’t finished the scene yet!’ I think playing out of your comfort zone is really good for both extending you as a performer, and for confirming or challenging what you love about the work that *is* within your comfort zone. Why do I like to play slower? What’s different about the way I play compared to other people? What can I learn? What can I share?
When have you been in a show or scene that wasn’t what you were expecting or used to? What did it teach you?