Saying yes...

99.9% Pure

Blue Girl is wanting traffic. She's wanting linky love and is demanding that we all post about our purest comedic experience so that we can send it on over to newcritics. It seems they’re having a comedy blog-a-thon this Nov. 6-11th.

Well, I'm game, she said, so they shot her! Ba-dum-bump!

Anyone who is familiar with newcritics knows that the are indeed critics. They critique everything, but the kitchen sink… or maybe they’ve done that as well and I've just missed it. I get the feeling that their request for the purest comedic experience may mean a show someone has seen or an album that was listened to. Mine does not fit into that category, but I’m going ahead anyhow. Sometimes an experience is what it is and need not be categorized or dissected. I will try to relate my most blissfully pure comedic experience with that in mind. Over-analysis has been known to kill the magic.

As most of you who read this blog know, I went through Chicago’s Second City Conservatory Program. It was a 2 year deal that ended with performing a weekly show on the e.t.c stage. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to perform for a living, but I had always wanted to do the program and I have never, for a moment, regretted it.

One of the main rules of improv is to say, “Yes, and…” to whatever might be given to you. You do not want to control the direction of improv, other than moving it forward. Saying no stops the progression, stops development.You don’t so much as want to drive as you want to ride the wave. If you fight the wave and say no to the direction it is going, you fall off. By saying yes, you acknowledge what has been given to you. By adding *and*, you give something back for someone else to build on. And so it goes.

It is incredibly hard at times to surrender to no control while attempting to move this comedy beast forward.  Improv is a bizarre combo of thinking incredibly fast and yet not letting your thinking brain take over. I have had many moments of bliss while learning and attempting this art, but one by far, stands out as nirvana.

It happened during a regular upper-level class… we were doing two people scenes, given only a location and a clue as to why were there. I was doing my scene with Stephen. (Working with Stephen was like working with a genius puppy.) Our set-up was a blind date and we were on a bus. It was also suggested that I did not want to be on this date. I had to find a way to say yes while initially rejecting the situation.

What happened next was the most mysterious and wonderful 5 minutes of my comedic history. The big improv hand came down, we said yes, and oh baby, did we ride. There was actually very little dialog that passed between us, our scene mostly consisting of noises, gestures, and expressions. I remember very little of the actual scene, I just remember feeling as if something else were at the controls. It progressed without thought, it moved without our directing it and even better, it was FUNNY!! We could hear our classmates howling. We could see our veteran instructor heaving. The class then moved into the silent phase of laughter where you are laughing so hard, you’re not making much sound... and then the tears started. By the time the scene ended, there was not one person who was not beet red and crying with glee, including Stephen and myself.

Our scene was the last for the evening and we all walked out feeling incredibly spent, yet elated. It would be naive to think we had anything to do with how that scene went. We just showed up and tuned into the right station. I have laughed oh so many times since and hope to laugh many times more, but I know I will most likely never laugh or feel like that again. It was a moment of comedic grace that transcended words and it was wonderful.

Life is a rock...

Update below with YouTube enhancements.

Yesterday in the comments, Idyllopus was discussing *radio music* vs. music that was worth keeping, worth owning. She was discussing her musical roots. It made me think of my own musical roots. Although I have a varied list of likes when it comes to music, I have a soft spot in my heart for the Top 40 coming out of AM Chicago station back when AM still played music. I listened to it on this, my Panasonic, Toot-a-Loop.

A Toot-a-Loop, as you can see, was a mod, portable radio that you could wear on your wrist or hang on your bike when it was in a loop fashion, but that you could also open up into this snake formation for more tuning access.

Yesterday's post and comments made me think of my Toot-a-Loop. I still have it. I was curious if it still worked. It does. I dug around for a 9volt and voila! However, instead of hearing the lovely tunes 1972, I heard the ranting that is AM radio today. I kept it on long enough for my daughters to hear. They said they had always seen this thing on my shelf, but were never quite sure what it was.

My youngest also learned how to test a 9V battery. I almost think she was more intrigued with that.

My first meme

Well, it seems that Claire has smacked me on the head with the meme wand and I'm it. I am supposed to divulge 9 interesting things about myself. If I am struggling to find 9 interesting things, I've been told I can just tell 9 things. The sad thing is I might have 9 interesting things to share, but I think I already have! I've blown my interest wad in a mere month! There's nothing left in the bank. That's all she wrote. I will rehash though in honor of Claire whose list was definitely more interesting. There are times when I think she is living my life in the city I love...  Okay, here we go:

1) I had my 7th b-day in Ecuador. This alone would be somewhat interesting, but it was what my father said that holds the most interest for me. He (wiseacre that he is) told me that since I was celebrating my b-day in the opposite hemisphere I was born in, it would not count. I feel like I have a freebie year to use at my discretion. I haven't used it yet, but it may come in handy in the future.

2) I can play a fairly good rendition of "A Man and A Woman" on a beer bottle. I'll just leave that at that.

3) I had to get a little bit of help from my husband. He sees me more than I see myself so I asked him what he found interesting about me. He said I would make a great relief worker since I have the uncanny ability to focus no matter how bad the chaos and mess around me. Hmmm. I'm not sure he was being nice...

4) My nickname since age 3 has been "Bun"... not Bunny, not Buns, just Bun. My oldest brother gave it to me and swears he doesn't remember why. I tried to drop it many times along the way, but it kept following me and now a third of the people I know and love, generally refer to me as Bun. Even my good buddy Tom refers to me as Bun as well as a slew of other fabulous people.

5) 90% of the time, I sound like a man. I come from a family of low voices so it sounds normal to me, but most anyone I talk to on the phone thinks I am Grizzled or my father or a brother. This is another thing I have gotten used to although I must say it was a little disconcerting when I was an adolescent girl and was the ONLY person in the alto section. No preteen girl wants to sound like Lou Rawls or Rula Lenska.

6)I get lost in observations. This one was supplied by Grizzled as well. He often tells me I see things he doesn't, see entire scenarios he doesn't. He tends to be Mr. Pragmatic so hopefully we balance each other out. When I am busy being the Thistle Whisperer, he is busy dealing with tasks on planet Earth.

7) In a parallel universe, I am Lance Mannion's annoying, younger (much younger) sister.:)

8) About 47% of the time, I find negative space more interesting than positive space.

9) I have been told by many people that I treat words like Silly Putty, bending them and reshaping them to suit my whims. I'd put down some examples, but if I started, I wouldn't stop and I'm at #9 so it's time to stop.

I am now supposed to pass this on... that's a difficult one since I already know plenty of interesting things about the bloggers I read. One person who seems to post more fiction than non-fiction though is grasshopper at Diary of a Heretic. What I've read about her life so far seems pretty interesting. Let's see what else is there.