As I read about an actual commercial bank failing, and wonder if we have truly entered another economic depression — I also have to wonder — is the world economy just reacting to the end of Mother?
Being sentimental about improv always feel lame. But the community has the memory of a fish and if I don’t say it now no one will even know what I’m talking about in six months. Some bunches of people are going to start their first improv classes next week and they will never see Mother in their regular run, and I sort of can’t believe you’re allowed to study improv in NYC when Mother isn’t doing a show somewhere.
What I think of [...]
Brothers Hines, 1983
Brothers Hines tonight! Come see some wry and adorable comedy! See us bald and mope before your VERY EYES! We perform at 11pm with the super-awesome Hot Sauce!
The UCBT site has a pretty great new design.
Self-indulgently: here’s my first Harold (Muscle) and first sketch show. Here’s one of my favorite shows of all time (suggestion: fishwater). The last night in the old theater. The Ian/Ali improv show (11pm) show was not to be missed. The final episodes of Gemberling and My Wife The Ghost. My brother’s Harold team Filth beats Respecto.
Er, it’s not quite as impressive as looking through pages from centuries-old issues of The New York Times, I know.
Last night at Stepfathers, it was just Delaney, Gethard and myself. Tremendous fun. However, among the many good scenes was one in which I was a man teaching Chris how to price things at a yard sale. We spoke after and realized that in this scene we had broken every conventional “rule” of good scenes in improv. I was teaching a transaction scene without a relationship dynamic to a not-speaking, barely-reacting character, listing items without a pattern. Chris had one line and it was a question, pimping me into listing more. Delaney entered and tried to make a game out of the irrational prices I was making — which Chris and I ignored. That’s impressive! It really wasn’t that terrible [...]
The Brothers Hines take the stage tonight at Cagematch, as part of the 2007 Cagematch Tourney. We face Omlette Vision, which is comprised of Andrew Secunda and Michael Delaney — two of the best improvisers around! I hope I don’t sound defeatist when I say that my brother and I are doomed. But it will be a fun show! Come out and watch!
Above photo: 1978 and 2007. Photo features all three brothers, though tonight’s improv has just Kevin and myself.
In improv news, The Stepfathers invited me to join their Friday night show, which I enthusiastically accepted, which means I have left 1985 and the Tuesday night rotation. I’m being brought in mostly for my note-perfect celebrity impressions, though as I understand it I should be prepared to play other parts as well. Shannon O’ Neill has joined as well — she’s being brought in for her success as a political stand-up comic.
Amongst my improv circle, being on a weekend improv show at UCBT is a big deal: I’ve gotten more warm congratulations from friends and students than since I was first placed on a team of any kind. That was when I was placed on [...]
Brothers Hines lost at Cagematch last night to Chubby Chase. But we had the pleasure of losing by not too much, and losing to hilarious friends of ours, so it was a good fun night all around. Mitch and Kaveri were there, and we even guilted Danger Dyna Moe into attending. We showed a film of our dad holding up pictures of us in high school, which went over much bigger than Kevin and I expected! Nice job, Dad.
Thank you to everyone who came out to watch us and to Charlie Todd for booking us! Kevin and I have been studying, watching and performing shows at the UCBT for something like thirty years, but you know what? [...]
“You know, 25 minutes is a LONG time,” Kevin said to me about 10 minutes before we started our set at Cagematch last Thursday — and he’s right! I had a nervous excitement that I haven’t felt in a long time. Our opponent C,C&C Improv Factory went first and had an explosive set — the audience was going nuts. But our set felt solid very early, the audience was responsive, and our deliberately manipulative montage of baby pictures was a hit. I didn’t know how excited I’d be until we actually won, but I was really excited. I’d say it was one of my top five favorite nights of improv ever, and I’ve been doing this since [...]
The Brothers Hines are in Cagematch tonight. Come on out. It’s an improv show 32 years in the making. Buckle up for some adorable self-deprecation TONIGHT!!!
[youtube 8LbXjJ4OkBA nolink]
So the warm-up works like this: everyone stands in a circle except one in the middle. That person approaches someone in the outer circle and demands “Give me back my son!” with complete dramatic commitment — inspired by Mel Gibson’s over-dramatic delivery in the movie Ransom — trying to get the outer circle person to laugh. It’s to practice emotional commitment and also making your teammates laugh — two valuable skills.
Pete Bosniak brought that into Monkeydick one day (apparently he and his Philly crowd would do this for fun or something), and I started teaching it to groups I was coaching. Anyway, Chris Gethard (he’s wearing the blue ‘Smurfs’ t-shirt) made the above montage — made [...]
On my iTunes now:
No Bones by Dinosaur Jr. from "Bug"
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