Tag Archives: iO

Python process show 1 Python process show 2 Python process show 3

Last night was the staged reading for my Python Process class at the iO Chicago, and it’s hard to imagine how it could have gone better. This group of students has been one of the highlights of my year so far, and anyone who saw the show last night will understand why.

It’s always sad when a group like this ends, but it may not be over yet. I’m looking at developing a second level of this class that will be just as exciting as the first level has proven to be. And, I’ll be teaching the first level more regularly than the previous annual rate. Stay tuned, and I’ll let you know.

And by the way–sometimes bacon just has bones…

Today was the final regular session of my Python Process class at the iO Chicago. We’re having too much fun to quit, though, so we’ve got one more rehearsal, and then we’re doing a staged reading of some of our best stuff at the Chris Farley Cabaret at the iO on Friday, October 6th at 7 pm. Don’t worry, I’ll remind you again.

I’m going to be genuinely sad to see this class end, it’s a great group of people and very talented, funny writers (the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive).

Python Process class

We’re missing a few, like Stevie and Ashley and Ross, but this will show you what a presentable group they are. If you want to find out how funny they are–well, you’ll have to come to the iO October 6th.

School’s Out…

…for today only, my Python Process class at the iO Chicago is cancelled. I thought about posting a picture of the house and the roads buried in snow, but anyone who lives around here only has to look out the window, and anyone living in a place that isn’t being buried doesn’t want to think about it. Continued next week…

My Python Process class at the iO did another typically fine job with their sketch-writing, so I rewarded them by showing the very first episode of Monty Python’s Flying Circus. I did do a bit of annotation, telling them the story of Peter Sellers’ milkman after “The Mouse Problem” sketch. Their homework this week was inspired by a suggestion from John Cleese’s So, Anyway… And next week I’ve got something very special planned involving an early sketch virtually unknown in the U.S. (Or Britain, for that matter.)

JC Book cover

@montypython #montypython #johncleese @johncleese #soanyway

Python Process Class Redux…

…Chicago-area comedy fans may be interested to hear that I will be coming to the iO Chicago for what may be an annual event: my Python Process writing class. The official announcement should be coming soon, but the last one filled up awfully quickly, and I want everyone who has been following this to get a fair shot at it. It’s going to be fun for fans of Python, comedy, and you’ll hopefully even learn something about how the Pythons managed to create all of their great material through rewriting and collaboration. I really enjoy teaching this class, as it’s a great way to combine my two loves–Monty Python and improvisational comedy. Michael McCarthy has done an amazing job putting together the writing program at the iO Chicago, and I’m delighted to be a part of it!

Theodore J. Flicker, R.I.P.

…Not many people who are improvising today know of the importance of Theodore J. Flicker, which is a shame. In fact, among his other many accomplishments, he was the director of the St. Louis Compass Players, directing Del Close, Mike Nichols, Elaine May, Nancy Ponder, and the rest of the cast.

How important was he? Well, it was he and Elaine May who devised what are now known as the legendary Westminster Place Kitchen Rules, developed separately from Viola Spolin’s improv rules but just as important and influential.

After each performance of the St. Louis Compass, Ted and Elaine would sit down to analyze what worked, what didn’t, and how it could be improved. Then the group would rehearse and put the rules into action each night in front of an audience. The rules that Del taught, from “Yes and…” on down, all came about from the work of Ted and Elaine.

The list of his credits is very long (he co-created Barney Miller, for one). If you have a minute, imdb him and be impressed.

And now Theodore J. Flicker (as Del always referred to him) is gone. If you improvise, you owe him more than you probably know.

iO again! …

iO alums

Although I wasn’t at the grand opening of the brand new iO theatre (at 1501 N. Kingsbury in Chicago), it was not through lack of desire, and more because we have a new house of our own that we’re gradually getting ready to move into. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t check it out. I got an eyeful last weekend at the grand opening of the Mission Theatre, and it’s an amazing place, with more improvisation going on in one building than there was in the entire country when I first started doing this. Don’t believe me? Take a look here…

The iO Trap…

Dave Pasquesi and I have been friends since the first night he walked into one of Del Close’s improv classes at Crosscurrents in Chicago, and I (filling in for the absent Charna Halpern) shook him down for payment for his first series of classes.

I can (and probably will) write several lengthy blogs involving David and I, but the most pertinent information is this: Dave is still improvising, and, unlike so many others, has never really stopped improvising after all these years. A few years back, he started working with TJ Jagodowski at the iO Chicago, and in the subsequent years, TJ and Dave have become improvisation icons.

But that wasn’t enough for them. When Charna announced that she would be opening a brand new theatre building, with four theatres and a numerous classrooms, Dave and TJ told her “Excuse us, but we’d like one of those.” And that’s how the Mission Theatre came to be. It’s part of the new iO Chicago at 1501 N. Kingsbury in Chicago, but it’s separate, because it belongs to Dave and TJ. They will continue their TJ and Dave shows there most Wednesday nights, but will use the other time slots for a new sketch comedy show with a talented bunch of actors.

new iO

Saturday night was the opening night for the Trap (which is what it’s called, for reasons that will be revealed when you see the show). It is very funny. I sat with my old friend Leo Benvenutti, and after the first few sketches, I noted “They’re not really going very dark, are they?” I needn’t have worried. There is plenty of darkness, enough to please Del himself, along with some terrific acting and directing, and the audience loved it as much as I did.

Afterward, I had the chance to catch up for the first time in a long while with my old pals Frances and John Judd, Meg and Pete Burns, Jeff Michaelski, Diane Alexander, and many others, including, of course, Michael McCarthy, Charna Halpern, and Noah Gregoropolis.

The Trap is just the first show to officially open at the new iO (forget the label on the photo–the future is here!), and they have set the bar high; if the others come anywhere close, it’s going to be a spectacular success. See you there.

Goodbio iO

Time out from Python for more comedy.

io Old sign

This is the last week of the iO Theatre at its North Clark Street location, before it opens in August at its new-and-improved four-stages-no-waiting location by North Avenue and Clybourn.

It’s hard for me to be too pained by its passing (particularly because the new one is going to be so cool).

I already lost my first iO, though we called it the Improv Olympic back then, and I hardly even noticed at the time.

Crosscurrents Cabaret was just north of Belmont on Wilton, and that’s where it all started. When the Baron’s Barracudas wound up their run, I didn’t see as much of it for a while. But the iO has always wandered a bit, even when I was taking classes at Crosscurrents. It’s now been on North Clark for decades, where it has housed classrooms, stages featuring some of the best improvisation anywhere, and well as the earthly remains of Del Close. In recent years I’ve reconnected and begun teaching again, and I can see why so many are so sad to be losing it.

A few years back, I remember Dave Pasquesi pointing out a huge construction site on Wilton near Belmont. It was all gone, every scrap, and I was surprised at how little affected I was.

So I can only tell you this–I’ve lost the iO before, and it’s not about the location, it’s about the work. The iO always comes back bigger and better than before, and I have every confidence that this will be the case this time. Good work, Charna. See you at the new digs, Del.

Being Michael McCarthy

I spent a large chunk of this weekend, as I sometimes do, substitute teaching for Michael McCarthy’s writing classes at the iO Chicago. Michael has put together a tremendous writing program that, unlike many other writing programs, actually results in students producing something by the end of each eight-week program. If the students put the work into it, they will have either a packet to submit to talk shows or SNL, a spec TV script, or even a complete pilot script. At the very least, they will have something to submit to potential agents for possible representation. It’s a nifty program and I’m delighted to have a part in it.

Image

Michael also shows videos during the course of each class to better give students an idea of what–or what not–to aim for. This weekend, instead of showing them a TV pilot or sketches, I decided to do something completely different, and showed a Youtube clip of one of John Cleese’s early Creativity speeches. When I used to work for John, I helped him customize his corporate speeches. The clip I found predates my working with him, but there was still plenty of useful information to help these already creative students become even more creative. Sometime I’ll write more about John and the creativity speeches. I learned a lot and I think everyone will.