Los Angeles: So Many Mash-ups!
mash-up after mash-up after mash-up
In LA, there’s no shortage of great improvisers. You’ve got the Ultimate Improv Show, Dinosaur Improv, Holy Shit, Asssscat, the Armando show, Sunset Social, and also a lot of one-off nights that are some version of “FAMOUS PERSON AND FRIENDS.” That’s where a famous comedian invites several really great improvisers to do a show with them. These shows are popular, fun and often truly great.
But they are also all… kinda the same.
Look, I love these shows! I’m IN some of these shows! These shows are the ones that brought improv back from the pandemic lockdowns. They are great for people who either never seen long-form improv or are skeptical that it can work. They’re great for doing on the road. And let’s give credit where credit is due: they are true long-form improv — they don’t rely on short-form games or a genre parody or whatever.
They are good!
But.
An all-star show is limited in that they are not patient. They CAN’T be. No one has practiced together. No one really has a strong feel for how the others play. And so: no one waits. Everyone is capable of dunking on every play and so they do. The scenes are fast, silly, loud and crazy. Every single character is crazy.
They’re really fun.
But they are also… the same.
As these groups walk off stage they all say the same thing to each other: “Wow, that was crazy.” They’re laughing and smiling about it — it’s not bad — but they all say “that was crazy.”
Group Personality
A group doesn’t get a personality until they know each other. Only then do they start to realize the types of scenes that that particular group does.
It’s more than just liking "slow” or “fast” scenes. It’s more like, a group will realize that they like, I don’t know, police interrogation scenes. Or maybe they like “dance-offs.” Or they like miming brutal murders. Or they like characters who go “aw, gee, fella, that sounds rough!” Or they have a knack for making a reference to a just-below-A-list celebrity at a weird time.
They get to know each other as people. They know that certain players always have an idea when they start, and others never do. Some players take huge long pauses before dropping a bomb, others can rattle off huge monologues with no problem. Some are physical comedy genuises and others are masters of using different voices.
We need more groups to stay together, to practice together, to develop their own group mind and their own group voice. And we need shows that let them play!
I’m not even saying it has to be disciplined. I don’t need every improv show to be TJ + Dave. I just want improv shows that are their own weird flavor. A flavor that has marinated over time.
I like that UCB Harold Night has people who necessarily have done a LOT of improv together. You can see it in groups like Ghost and Lohan, and really all of them.
I can tell you the personality of these groups: Convoy, Hot Sauce, Outlook of the Poet, 4 Square, Respecto Montalbon, The Swarm, Mother, Derrick Comedy, Cardinal Redbird, JV, Big Grande, Shag, Gunk, Sentimental Lady, Toretto, Old Milk, Death By Roo Roo, Double Trouble, and a lot more! I can tell you their personality because they each have one.
Two Prov Might Save Us
Last week I sat in on a two prov show where all the pairs were from groups that had done a ton of shows. You could see the patience and the uniqueness of each pair. YES I WAS IN THIS SHOW. But I was thinking more of the final set with Payam Banifaz and Carl Tart. They were on the Harold Team Queen George together, and have played for years.
They did a set in which two estranged brothers were meeting in a cabin to catch up after years apart. One was from the big city and one ran a “dirt farm.” They missed both their parents: the father was dead and their mother was alive but they never talked to her. One was a cop and the other was guilty of “fraud,” by which he meant stealing credit cards out of people’s wallets. Carl talked about how he was allergic to peanuts and ended up in the hospital until their father “John Qed” the hospital to get him out. They would take turns tending to the fire.
I suppose this was a “crazy” set, too. But maybe because it was twoprov, it was patient. It was particular. It was surprising. It was very THEM.
That might be the compromise. If you’re gonna have an “all star” jam, consider keeping it to two-prov and keep the pairs as folks who have done a ton of stuff together.
There are no exceptions to anything I’ve said in this essay.
On to the plugs!
Plugs, Ongoing
High Functioning - Ian Roberts and I do an hour of improv EVERY SATURDAY 7pm at the UCB Annex. See this video for Ian and I showing you where the UCB Annex is.
The World’s Greatest Improv School: The improv school I run with Jim Woods and Sarah Claspell. We’ve got classes online, in LA and even a few in NYC!
How to Be The Greatest Improviser On Earth - My improv book, available at Amazon. Kindle or print. You can also buy it directly from my website. It’s a hodge-podge of advice I wrote in 2016 about doing improv. If you’re broke and want a free PDF version just email me and I’ll send it over.
Screw It, We’re Just Gonna Talk About Comics - Comic book podcast, hosted by my brother Kevin and I. We are covering a little-known 1985 comic Watchmen (yes, THAT Watchmen). Subscribe for bonus episodes!
Screw It, We’re Just Gonna Talk About The Beatles - monthly deep dive on a little known indie band from Liverpool called The Beatles. Subscribe for access to back episodes!
Preach!
"Or maybe they like 'dance-offs'.” If this was an actual group, then hell is a real place.