A Great Show, and Not A Great Show

Went with my husband and a friend to see Dasariski, a three-man long-form show at IOWest. He called at 8:30 at night to see if I wanted to go to a 10 pm show, and I was not excited, but said yes. So glad that I did. It was certainly some of the best improv I've seen in a long time, if not ever. So grounded, and real. The three guys listened so well to each other, and nothing was wasted. It was a beautifully efficient way to play. People with relationships, doing things, talking, and making connections. It made me realize that as much as I love playing the Hothouse style, I do miss that mundane, every day humor. So often in the shows at Hothouse, it becomes an epic journey, or fantasy, or worse, political commentary.

God save me from political commentary in improv. I'm not saying it can never be done, but in my experience, it falls on its face every time. First, it becomes boringly predictable, and even if the jokes are clever and funny, it also presupposes that they players and audience have the same perspective. Even shows which are constructed to deal specifically with politics get tedious, like the show one of my fellow players was in recently. She is always a joy to watch, but the group in general was so bogged down and self-limiting with their chosen subject matter. Anyway. Which leads me to my show this week.

Well, a dud happens eventually, even in scripted theatre, so I shouldn't be as wrapped up in this as I am. But I'm really frustrated, partly because I felt like I was playing pretty well, and making some personal progress. I felt like I (and the rest of my group) got mired in some improv quicksand: a lack of 2-person scenes (pointed out by my husband), realistic characters and situations, and scenes in which either nothing happens, or in which people talk about something happening, but never do it. I was also frustrated with the lack of listening. My husband pointed out a few good plays I made that no one picked up on, as well as offerings by other players. And it devolved into politics in the end, and what can you do but go along and make everyone else look good? Nothing, that's what.

Ah, well. You win some, you lose some. I have some big ideas to discuss in rehearsal on Wednesday, and some places I really don't want this show to go.