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A Whale of a Show: Performance Number Eight

We had a slightly smaller house on Friday than we've been accustomed to, but we made up for it in story! The form really came together well tonight, and most of our notes at the end of the night were punctuated with laughter and joy. Our act one ran a little long - we're getting better at starting nearer the middle of a scene, but sometimes we lag a little at the end when it comes to our exits. High status characters can also be problematic - I found myself dominating a little in Chase's storyline, but he did a nice job of keeping focus, and his continual interruptions actually became part of our relationship, which was fun.

Chase was our first audience-inspired character: Al, a bomb-maker... An explosive beginning indeed! Kate was his beaten down co-worker, while Jay created a great spy character who went by the name of "Ghost" and I was a power-hungry sports-car-driving mega-industrialist just known as "Boss." Jim gave a nice James Bondish song challenge which Chase hit out of the park. We then met Jay's character--a restless young man trying to free himself from his dominating friend, bossy girlfriend, and bad-advice-giving mother. Kate took on the role of a SeaWorld employee who had the misfortune of living with one of her uppity underlings. Kate gave us another beautiful ballad in this position, while Chase and Jay's wacky sidekick characters provided some great comedy. Finally, I was Joe, another dream squelched character, who was trying desperately to escape his parents by catching the sun in his patio light catchers.

Chase's Al was selected for act two, indicating that we had a smart audience as there really were so many great and unique potentials for his journey! I particularly enjoyed the villain duet as Jenny (Kate's ill-tempered roommate) with Jay's "Ghost". It was a tango-inspired number that triggered Jim to whisper to us from the keyboard "Never again" as we left the stage! Chase led the act well, and while we were a little light on environment as a company, the stories really were quite well executed and playful. This is something we've struggled with at times. Kate had a great "awww" moment as her overlooked co-worker, and her sister duet with Chase was beautifully harmonic. The show also had a great culmination with Jay's Ghost trapping Chase and his boss (father?!) in a water tank by sewing them inside with an eyelash (you had to see it!) Chase had a great finesse calling his aquatic friends at SeaWorld to come to the rescue, and the show ended with strength (and a partial standing O!)

Story was hot, and this was a nice growth. Jay really is a fine story crafter and helped elevate this game in general. Along with Chase's refocused drive and Kate's always soulful crooning, we had a nice balanced night. I think I did some nice things too!!

I have members of my campus improv troupe (RIP) in the house on Saturday, so I hope we can keep this momentum going...

Your long-form-loving Director, David C.