-A lot of the "UCB indie scene" you list at the top are/began as WE teams: Stem Kidz, Shag, Money Talks Bullshit Walks, PB&J, and I thiiiink Seahag and Shelby.
-It feels misleading to mention MILF2 being at WGIS/The Pack as an example of the theaters and indie scene newly overlapping, as 1) MILF1 already incorporated that theater when it was the Ledge and 2) the choice to "collaborate" was inspired wholly by geographic proximity.
-You are not including the detail that WE and WGIS were at the Clubhouse before getting their own physical space, and the Pack was at the Complex (?). (Likewise, SES may be getting its own space.) Also, the fact that Moving Arts (where WE actually started pre-pandemic) stopped being an indie venue. The menu of available indie venues shifted after the pandemic as places had closed or moved, and the old institutional knowledge about how to book your own show was largely irrelevant. (Likewise, no accessible/universal knowledge hub has filled the vacuum of the old "LA indie shows" google doc, which was essentially a yellow pages for indie shows, and detailed how to submit to perform on each.) When the small theaters opened their own spaces, the landscape of available spaces to perform became newly vertically-integrated; your team HAD to be through a theater, because that was the only way to physically get stage time.
Had a cool little indie team that I self started and put a lot of work into but then more theaters started running more teams and the turnover time increased which made it difficult to really solidify an identity for ourselves. Would love to get on an improv team again, but my heart is worn out from managing one so I’m not self starting again. I will have to join one or get onto one, whenever that is.
What’s more attractive: forming one with friends or a person with institutional power saying yes to you? In the entertainment world, it will almost always be the latter, very rarely the former. Yet it’s always the former that has the best shows.
"Maybe we’re talking Stem Kidz, Shag, Old Milk, Gusher, Gunk, Money Talks Bullshit Walks, Seahag, Shelby, Dough Dough, Astronomy Club, I’m Susan, PB&J, plus the longtime indie stalwarts like Funk Shuffle and Dick Cannon. Many more are out there, I’m sure."
I just couldn't stop imagining how much joy you took in writing these words in the context of an otherwise sincere informational audit.
Thanks for the breakdown! I think there’s a typo here and you left out the name of a team: “There was friendly competition to get the big improv teams. was savvy about getting big teams early in their run.”
It’s also worth mentioning that, in addition to indie shows at that time, there was a decent amount of indie classes and workshops. Suzi, Drew, and Eugene were running their daytime bootcamp at the clubhouse, with Joel Spence later starting the nighttime one. Billy Merritt was doing weekend drop in workshops at the Impro Space (20 bucks cash, pre venmo I believe!). Colton Dunn had a daily improv gym in his Camp Hollywood living room. And Miles Stroth had his own workshops at the Complex that were the direct precursor to the Pack. And those are just the ones I know about. So the fact that the indie scene evolved into smaller theaters with classes feels like a very natural progression to me, the indie scene as a semi-structured learning environment was already being built around 2011-2014.
I'm at the PIT and an improv newbie. It feels like there are so many indie shows happening all the time and that there's almost an oversaturation of teams without a central hub to see a bunch perform regularly at once. I often feel like we are competing with other teams for our friend's attention and willingness to go to shows. Would be great if things were a little more centralized for sure
Great synopsis. I've been in LA almost a year and it's taken this long just to be able to piece together club histories, New York/LA/Chicago histories, pre/post COVID chapters, all to try and figure out how to be a part of "the" community. Having finished UCB a few weeks ago with an 11am show, I didn't have any illusions that UCB was it. But I did feel community at the last WGIS draft night, so I appreciate that your insight has cultivated what's missing. Thanks
I feel like the indie scene in LA is thriving compared to where it was at just pre-Covid. During 2018-2020 it felt like many an improv team (my own included) often had to scramble to locate a space to consistently perform. I used to have a monthly show at an ice cream parlor birthday room (which was actually a ton of fun). It does feel like there is again a coalescence of shows across a few stages except this time you don’t need to have a blessing from a big improv school.
I primarily live in Las Vegas (forced to move here from LA), and the theater I help run is truly the only indie focused theater. We’re pushing for more opportunities and more teams, but as a transient city, two years is about the max we can get on a team’s lifespan. I’m working with many of my friends who are still active in the LA scene to build a bridge between the two cities. LV is so insular, with limited viewpoints of instructors. I constantly send students to LA for further studies. I also want LA teams and people to come visit us and perform/teach so many of our new improvisers can see what else is out there.
I hope LA’s indie scene continues to thrive because its potential reach is far greater than the zip codes.
"Room 101 eventually tried doing destination shows — like a night where the “show” happened in a car. 3 audience members in the back as the driver/passenger did a set." This sounds dope af! They drove the car, I assume? And then came back to where they started and had to justify. Or each car just went off and the night ended somewhere different for everyone. So many possibilities!
What other crazy concept were there? Do tell us more, please!
LAIIF (LA Indie Improv Festival) had the Clubhouse, Lyric, and Moving Arts as stages with a shuttle bus driving between them, and the shuttle bus was its own "stage" with scheduled teams performing on it.
-A lot of the "UCB indie scene" you list at the top are/began as WE teams: Stem Kidz, Shag, Money Talks Bullshit Walks, PB&J, and I thiiiink Seahag and Shelby.
-It feels misleading to mention MILF2 being at WGIS/The Pack as an example of the theaters and indie scene newly overlapping, as 1) MILF1 already incorporated that theater when it was the Ledge and 2) the choice to "collaborate" was inspired wholly by geographic proximity.
-You are not including the detail that WE and WGIS were at the Clubhouse before getting their own physical space, and the Pack was at the Complex (?). (Likewise, SES may be getting its own space.) Also, the fact that Moving Arts (where WE actually started pre-pandemic) stopped being an indie venue. The menu of available indie venues shifted after the pandemic as places had closed or moved, and the old institutional knowledge about how to book your own show was largely irrelevant. (Likewise, no accessible/universal knowledge hub has filled the vacuum of the old "LA indie shows" google doc, which was essentially a yellow pages for indie shows, and detailed how to submit to perform on each.) When the small theaters opened their own spaces, the landscape of available spaces to perform became newly vertically-integrated; your team HAD to be through a theater, because that was the only way to physically get stage time.
Had a cool little indie team that I self started and put a lot of work into but then more theaters started running more teams and the turnover time increased which made it difficult to really solidify an identity for ourselves. Would love to get on an improv team again, but my heart is worn out from managing one so I’m not self starting again. I will have to join one or get onto one, whenever that is.
What’s more attractive: forming one with friends or a person with institutional power saying yes to you? In the entertainment world, it will almost always be the latter, very rarely the former. Yet it’s always the former that has the best shows.
"Maybe we’re talking Stem Kidz, Shag, Old Milk, Gusher, Gunk, Money Talks Bullshit Walks, Seahag, Shelby, Dough Dough, Astronomy Club, I’m Susan, PB&J, plus the longtime indie stalwarts like Funk Shuffle and Dick Cannon. Many more are out there, I’m sure."
I just couldn't stop imagining how much joy you took in writing these words in the context of an otherwise sincere informational audit.
Thanks for the breakdown! I think there’s a typo here and you left out the name of a team: “There was friendly competition to get the big improv teams. was savvy about getting big teams early in their run.”
thanks!
It’s also worth mentioning that, in addition to indie shows at that time, there was a decent amount of indie classes and workshops. Suzi, Drew, and Eugene were running their daytime bootcamp at the clubhouse, with Joel Spence later starting the nighttime one. Billy Merritt was doing weekend drop in workshops at the Impro Space (20 bucks cash, pre venmo I believe!). Colton Dunn had a daily improv gym in his Camp Hollywood living room. And Miles Stroth had his own workshops at the Complex that were the direct precursor to the Pack. And those are just the ones I know about. So the fact that the indie scene evolved into smaller theaters with classes feels like a very natural progression to me, the indie scene as a semi-structured learning environment was already being built around 2011-2014.
I'm at the PIT and an improv newbie. It feels like there are so many indie shows happening all the time and that there's almost an oversaturation of teams without a central hub to see a bunch perform regularly at once. I often feel like we are competing with other teams for our friend's attention and willingness to go to shows. Would be great if things were a little more centralized for sure
Great synopsis. I've been in LA almost a year and it's taken this long just to be able to piece together club histories, New York/LA/Chicago histories, pre/post COVID chapters, all to try and figure out how to be a part of "the" community. Having finished UCB a few weeks ago with an 11am show, I didn't have any illusions that UCB was it. But I did feel community at the last WGIS draft night, so I appreciate that your insight has cultivated what's missing. Thanks
"Each theater is evolving its own shows and themes. Showdown at Shared Experience, the 3x3 at WGIS, the Fantasy Draft at WE, Bithole at the Pack."
Would these work as a sampler, to get a sense of each theater and the people who perform there?
I feel like the indie scene in LA is thriving compared to where it was at just pre-Covid. During 2018-2020 it felt like many an improv team (my own included) often had to scramble to locate a space to consistently perform. I used to have a monthly show at an ice cream parlor birthday room (which was actually a ton of fun). It does feel like there is again a coalescence of shows across a few stages except this time you don’t need to have a blessing from a big improv school.
I primarily live in Las Vegas (forced to move here from LA), and the theater I help run is truly the only indie focused theater. We’re pushing for more opportunities and more teams, but as a transient city, two years is about the max we can get on a team’s lifespan. I’m working with many of my friends who are still active in the LA scene to build a bridge between the two cities. LV is so insular, with limited viewpoints of instructors. I constantly send students to LA for further studies. I also want LA teams and people to come visit us and perform/teach so many of our new improvisers can see what else is out there.
I hope LA’s indie scene continues to thrive because its potential reach is far greater than the zip codes.
"Room 101 eventually tried doing destination shows — like a night where the “show” happened in a car. 3 audience members in the back as the driver/passenger did a set." This sounds dope af! They drove the car, I assume? And then came back to where they started and had to justify. Or each car just went off and the night ended somewhere different for everyone. So many possibilities!
What other crazy concept were there? Do tell us more, please!
LAIIF (LA Indie Improv Festival) had the Clubhouse, Lyric, and Moving Arts as stages with a shuttle bus driving between them, and the shuttle bus was its own "stage" with scheduled teams performing on it.
I love getting updates on the LA improv scene.