Monday, November 05, 2007
Recap: The Body
If our audience is to be believed—and I do find them occasionally trustworthy—opening night of The Wasteland Comedy Hour was a solid success.
The first shock was a completely full house. We filled ImprovBoston up to the bleachers, and latecomers found themselves cramming into nooks and holes. From my vantage in center stage, it was an even mix of faces familiar and unfamiliar. They were a very warm, excited audience. Even our pre-recorded curtain speech got some giggles.
My biggest fear—Eliot’s opening monologue—went mercifully well. I took a risk by reading an excerpt from “The Imperfect Enjoyment” as the inspiration for my bit. I am, I admit, a bit power-hungry when I’m on stage (especially when I’m on stage alone). If I feel like I have control over the audience and their expectations, I am having a ball. If I feel like there’s a disconnect between the audience and myself, or what I’m saying, my head-voices start chirping and my performance suffers. I rolled the dice on Friday by kicking off the evening with one of the crudest, angriest, and sexist poems I’m aware of, nearly guaranteed to alienate our very first audience. All the more satisfying, then, to win them over in the next few moments.
I can’t speak to the experiences of the cast, but from the good post-show vibes, I think everybody enjoyed some success on stage, or watched one of their videos rock a full audience. As with every show, there were ups and downs. One particular “down” for me was completely forgetting to write a joke to cover Ryan’s costume change, and having improvise some bullshit about invisible-ink tattoos in the moment. Thank goodness for a forgiving and receptive audience. I was pretty angry at myself for forgetting to prepare that moment, but the cast convinced me it read better than it felt. Typical!
Hopefully the success of “Our Bodies, Our Shells” bodes well for the next six shows. I’m very much looking forward to this Friday’s show, “Oh Mirror, You Always Know What to Say!“ which I believe is the most sincere, raw show of our run.
I leave you with a gimp puppy.
Edit: and, a clip from The Body: