Something for Everybody

My improv group has its first show of the semester tomorrow night. Many of you know that improv, this group in particular, is a great passion of mine. I got the idea for this group about a year ago when the old group, Toast!, simply wasn't working for various reasons. After many compromises and changes, the final product is...


The concept of IWA is that it is one improv troupe with two individual teams. Each show will feature both teams, and also the possibility of a "gimmick" improv performance of some kind. A show will be held almost every other Friday night, and after every two shows the team members will be shuffled into new teams. Here's the info for this week's show:

Day: Tomorrow - Friday, Oct. 7th
Locale: Herter 227, UMass Amherst
Time: 8:00pm
Price: Freezies

This is NOT the same kind of improv that Mission: IMPROVable does, commonly referred to as "short-form", and made popular by Whose Line is it Anyway? It does feature some of the same people however, and it is piss-your-pants comedy. IWA, unlike Mission, is NOT a family show. We are uncensored, and just all-around fucking badass. We do long-form improv, doing scenes for 20-40 minutes based on one single audience suggestion.

Teams you'll see perform this week include:

Rock Lobster performing "The Armando"
Kirsten Dunst & The Furies performing "The Spiffy"
and the debut of..
The New York Knucklefucks with Tony & Frankie

BTW, that's "furies" as in plural of "fury," not the beastiality fetish known as "furries."

This is the kind of stuff you'll see at The IO Theater (formerly ImprovOlympic) in Chicago, and the UCB Theatre in New York City and Los Angeles, among other improv theatres. Chances are, if you live in a big city, or college town, chances are there's some long-form improv going down in your area. But most people who look at this blog probably know that already.

If you're in New York this weekend instead of Amherst, I highly recommend checking out the debut show of Reuben Williams: As Seen on TV. This is a top notch group of improvisors that I first saw perform at a small theatre on St. Marks Place under the moniker of Robin Williams (they wanted to be billed as a nationally recognized improvising comedian). They have since graduated from indie group to Harold team at the UCBT, and now have their own Saturday night show as a result of being awesome, and the shuffled UCB weekend lineup.

This week, their show is not only their first of the weekly Saturday night run, but it is also a part of the New York Underground Comedy Festival.


Other UCB shows featured in the NYUCF:

• The Big Show
• The Stepfathers
• Death By Roo Roo
• Aziz Ansari Isn't Fucking Around Anymore
• The Wicked Wicked Hammerkatz
• Mother: The Soundtrack