Level One - Class 2 - Damian Dunn of Babies Mit Bearden

What we learned this week in class:

- It often rains on election day.

- WHEN TO EDIT: on a laugh, something poignant, scene has been summarized, the What's Up of the scene is apparent, wants/desires/needs are clear.

- WALK-ONS. They are like "a one-night stand" - walk in give 'em what they need and walk off. They should be quick, subtle, and match the mood of the scene. Use them to clarify the scene, to offer side support to save a scene, to help a scene partner out physically (e.g., helping them fly), to complete a pattern. Use them only when they are absolutely necessary.

- TYPES OF WALK-ONS: tag-out, paint, sound effect, as a person (typically a subordinate character, not a power figure). If a tag-out is used it is the person who was tag out to re-enter the scene when they feel the information was given that needed to be given. Don't edit durning a tag-out this could result in level 5 Mind Melt.

- The following should be established by the end of beat 1: character names, relationship and history between the characters(history is an accessory to relationship, like a hat), both characters should have wants/desires/needs, and W6.

- "A need is stronger than a want."

- Scene partners goals can be conflicting or they can have a common goal between them. Both make for interesting scenes. Remember the Jim/Kasey examples: Insensitive Doctor and cancer diagnosee AND two interchangeably stong and weak parents confronting little Margie.

- Cancer informer doctors make $10-$15 an hour.

- In beat 1 get enough information, but not too much. Leave room for development in beats 2 and 3.

- Statements are better than questions. Good to start a scene with a statement.

- Some beat 2 aspects: Ask yourself, "What's MORE than BEFORE?" Comeback to and heighten what happened in the first beat. Something needs to change (environment, characters). Involve other improvisors and new characters. Characters from beat 1 can leave. Don't just pick up where beat 1 left off. Should be attached to beat 1 somehow. Possibilities are infinite.

- Jim likes to stand on chairs (crazy-starring-cousin) and eat steak in scenes.

- If you are deaf, you need to heighten your other senses or you'll get lost (Silent Yes game).

Damian

Six 10 Spare rolls on down the lane

At 8pm Thursday, Sept. 19, catch the debut of Six 10 Spare at PushPush. The title of JaCKPie Productions’ latest spontaneous theatre format plays off a situation in bowling that looks deceptively easy to pick up. Six 10 Spare is a 90-minute show comprised of three original pieces of long-form improvisation including Road Rage, The Armando and Reel to Real, our own improvised movie for the stage.

We just can’t get enough of your love, baby

“Hey, Chicago, we got something for you…Here comes the…BOOM! Here comes the…Ready or not!...Here comes the boy from the South!”
At 8pm Wednesday, September 18 Chicago Red Line runs through PushPush with a special send-off for John Dixon of The Position. The lineup for the evening includes JaCKPie, The Position and Zero Suppression with special guests Bran Peacock and Mark Podojil. For the final piece of the evening, we’re bringing back “Reel to Real,” Atlanta’s original improvised movie for the stage. As part of John’s send-off before he heads up to Northwestern University as a theatre major, he will be performing with The Position, Zero Suppression and JaCKPie.

Chris Pierce Journal Entry on Chicago Red Line

Last night, Chicago Red Line was back at PushPush with The Position, Wierd Spelled Wrong and JaCKPie. Pre-sales were a little slower than last time, but by the time the doors closed to start the show, we had another full house. We've had really terrific audiences in quantity, and more importantly in quality.

We did a little bit of a different setup for the show getting only one suggestion at the top of the show and then each cast doing their thing until edited off the stage by the next team. The Position kicked us off to a great start with lots of big offers (my favorite of which was the bi-noc-u-lars that "made everything more extreme"). They had Zell Miller, a bucket, a stone skipping prodigy who could skip a stone right across the Atlantic and hit a speaker in Parliament, and a shower that burns the dirt off. Mark edited them at a high point and began Wierd. His piece drew the bucket from The Position's stuff and centered around the landlord who realized he couldn't live without it. He also had a really funny rock band who, in the middle of a jam rehearsal, could still hear the slightest sound ("I can hear the landlord breathing at the front door"). Then, JaCKPie stepped in beginning with a scene in Parliament. We also had a very unusual "ladder league" baseball game, a firefighter who sold pizzas on the job, newspaper headlines spreading rumors of health hazards connected to tobacco, and a member of Parliament who loved his wig a little too much (the skipped stone from The Position later killed him).

For the finale, all of us performed Reel to Real, our version of an improvised movie for the stage. The whole thing involved McDaddy, played by Samuel L. Jackson played by John, fighting a war with Ray Kroc and the Hamburgular. Appearing in supporting roles were H.R.Pufnstuf, Long John Silvers, and Captain D's parrot. It was quite entertaining from a performance standpoint anyway. The audience seemed to get a kick out of it. Everyone played their butts off for the whole night. At the sweaty conclusion, we all took our bows and headed off for sustenance at Manny's as is our custom.

I can't wait for the next show!
chris

Another packed house at the PushPush Theater

August 18th, 2002 - PushPush Theater
Thanks to our friends at PushPush, our core audience and an increasing word-of-mouth reputation, Chicago Red Line played to another full house. The casts for the evening included JaCKPie, Wierd Spelled Wrong and The Position. Audience members had a great time with the intertwining tales and especially enjoyed “Reel to Real”, the improvised movie that wrapped up the show. Our crack team of film scientists is currently poring over the history of cinema and will soon release an expanded edition of “Reel to Real”. Stay tuned for more details. You can read more about the show in the online journal section of the bulletin board. Thanks go to all of you who are coming to see our shows and have helped spread the word in Atlanta about Chicago Red Line and the teams that make the show happen.

JaCKPie returns to PushPush Theater with Chicago Red Line

August 10, 2002 - PushPush Theater
Chicago Red Line returns to the PushPush Theater on August 17, 2002, for an evening of spontaneous theatre beginning at 8pm. The show is produced by JaCKPie Productions, a joint venture of Chris Pierce and Jim Karwisch dedicated to showcasing the art of spontaneous theatre.
Three different ensembles will be performing. The Position features Mike Brune, John Dixon and Chris Nalesnik. Wierd Spelled Wrong is played solo by Mark Podojil, and JaCKPie features Chris Pierce and Jim Karwisch. All of these actor/improvisers have been performing in Atlanta or elsewhere for several years. For the final piece of the evening, the ensembles will join forces to create Reel to Real, Atlanta’s only improvised movie for the stage (complete with camera angles!). At the beginning of each piece, the teams will get one or more suggestions from the audience that will serve as a springboard of ideas, characters, locations and scenes for the performers to use during their show. Each performance is completely improvised from start to finish.

Reel to Real - Atlanta's only Improvised movie for the stage

August 9, 2002 - Atlanta, GA
JaCKPie Productions to produce an improvised movie for the stage. Reel to Real is based on Del Close's aptly named "The Movie" from Chicago, IL. Watch as they not only improvise the movie but also act as the movie's director, cinematographer, sound technicians and editors. Directed by Jim Karwisch and utilizing the knowledge of Film Graduate Mike Brune this is a piece you cannot miss! Details as to when this piece will be performed are coming soon.

The Funny Farm - JaCKPie and The Position

2002/08/05 - 14:56:41
Well, the day started with me scorching my throat with stomach acids, and moved onward to showing up late to work, getting sent home sick after an hour (most of which I spent investigating the linoleum in the office bathroom), crashing at home, waking up, drinking Powerade, driving to Roswell for a show, doing a show, crashing hard again, and getting up early the next morning for a flight to visit family. That's the big picture.

On the show...
The club was basically a large room inside one of those "entertainment complexes" that houses a bar, some video games, and a bunch of big TV's [televisions...it wasn't THAT kind of entertainment]. The whole place was situated in the corner of an older-ish shopping center.
The room itself was cavernous, but there were paintings all over the walls, tables everywhere, brass railings, a sunken area in the middle with booths and more tables. Ben described it as a speak-easy style. That's true. If it were better cared for and located in a better overall setting, it would feel like a cool, swanky little club out of the 20's or 30's. There was one thing that really screwed it all up...

The Stage
The stage rose like a clapboard retaining wall from the floor of the sunken "pit area" up around six or seven feet. It hadn't been painted in no telling how long and the trim along the front of the stage was broken and jagged. The depth of the stage was divided by a thick burgundy curtain. The space in front of the curtain was relatively shallow, but playing the space behind the curtain would've created impossible sight-lines. Since most of our audience sat in the "pit", the show felt like we were playing somewhere in the clouds, literally way over their heads. It would seem to make far more sense to me to put the stage much lower...two feet max. off the floor of the "pit"...based on the configuration of the room, but they probably moved in as it was and don't have enough capital for renovations.

We had somewhere around 20 people in the audience, and they were pretty much all brought by people in the cast. There were maybe three or four from the entertainment complex's efforts. With a larger crowd, there would've been more shuffling of waitresses and clanking of plates, glassware, etc. to deal with than we experienced. There were some other noise issues, but we all really should project more anyway. The staff was friendly and nice. On the whole, it was a good learning experience, but, in my opinion, not the best showcase for our style. I do hope they and anyone else who plays there build a following for improv, and I wish them all luck.
-Chris Pierce