Aric McKeown

The 2nd Annual Twin Cities Improv Festival is over. It was a wonderful time and I’m overjoyed that I was allowed to be a part of it. I took Friday off of work to properly celebrate improv from Thursday night to Sunday, which ended up feeling like a week long vacation. There were performances and hugs and late nights and drinking. It was a very good time.

I performed with the Neutrino Video Project: Twin Cities and the Mustache Rangers, and felt the performances went well. At least, I didn’t feel crappy about them afterwards. The audience seemed to clap with enjoyment during the improv sets. So, take that as you will.

My favorite set of the festival involved the squishing together of Chicago’s Joe Bill and Jill Bernard from our own Twin Cities. Their temporary group, named SCRAM, was technically interesting from an improv form standpoint. But it was the deep characters and the improvisers commitment that drew the audience into the performance. It was improv perfectly executed by skilled performers.

Another bonus of the improv festival was a determination to conquer my deep seeded fear of crowded social situations. There was a 30 minute intermission between each show, and the improvisers and audience alike crowded onto the sidewalk outside the Brave New Workshop. I floated from group to group, having conversations with improvisers from all around the country. Okay, okay. I didn’t talk to Joe Bill. I was needlessly self-intimidated. So, I didn’t conquer everything. But it was a fine start.

After the last show on Saturday, the crowd of festival goers headed down (East, rather) to the CC Club for cheap drinks and shop talk. It took me back to the days when I practiced improv 2 to 3 nights a week, and then went out to the bar to discuss improv afterward. Those were great times. This night, and the whole festival, had me feeling rather nostalgic.

To wrap the weekend up perfectly, I performed in the Improv a Go-Go time slot of the festival. I was prepared to have one final late night, but opted to find my way home after the performance. I was completely exhausted, and felt a bit melancholy now that everything was over.

I felt the intensity and excitement that is improvisation all weekend long. It made me miss the old days, but made me excited for the new. It’s time to produce another improv show. It’s time to start or find a second improv group. It’s time to start going to Improv a Go-Go again on Sundays.

They have had their backs slapped quite a bit already, but many thanks to Five Man Job, the Brave New Workshop, and everyone else involved with the festival. I feel like the duck in the Little Red Hen. Not that these people ate the “cake” themselves. The lovingly shared it with the world. But it feels like the time for me to give some more back to the improv community. And it is exciting.

Rambling complete.