Improv All Stars- May 26, 2001
Again, Im writing this report in December, and the show was in May. All I have to work off of is my memory, pictures, and Gayles notes, from which I took quite a bit of information (Thanks Gayle!!)
Sound Effects: The scene was Colin and Greg as mailmen at the post office.
For this show, I was sitting in the front row towards the right side. Although I had to crane my neck a bit, it was definitely worth it. Before the show started, my mother and I joked about getting picked to go up onstage since we were so close. I said to her that if they picked me, shed better take pictures. I didnt expect it to actually happen! Anyway, heres what I remember about the show:
Greg opened with his usual stand up routine (in which I wont divulge again), and then the games began! He introduced everyone, and then Ryan stepped forward and said that they had found a little boy on the street who wanted to do improv with them just this once, and they couldnt resist. Then he announced that it was Drew Carey. Surprise! The rest of the group was the same (Julie, Sean, Chip, Brad, Colin, Kathy, and Ryan- in that order).
They started out with Questions Only: They asked for a suggestion of a place where people might meet, and a young girl a few seats down from me shouted School! Greg didnt hear her correctly and set it in a pool. There was some confusion on stage, and eventually he asked the girl to repeat it, and she clearly said school. Greg started making fun of her, saying that at his age people dont meet in school anymore. So to compromise, Greg decided to set it in a school where people were learning to swim. At one point, Drew looked in the mirror and exclaimed, Where did my balls go? Later, Brad came in holding something in his hands and said something like Can you believe I just found Drew Careys balls in the swimming pool? For the rest of the night, the biggest running gag was Drew losing his balls.
Freeze Tag: All I know is Ive got a couple of funny pictures from this game. During one of them, Ryan appears to be sitting on Drew reading a newspaper, while Drew and Colin (in the background) are both laughing. I also have a picture of Greg imitating a monkey that I think was from this game, but I could be wrong.
Duet: I wish I had more information on this one, cause I remember a lot less than Id like to. Ryan stepped forward to introduce the game: Now were going to play a game called Duet. Well need someone from the audience...how about you? and he pointed to me. So I climbed up on stage and he asked my name. I think I said Elyse, but who knows. He asked me a few more questions, then he asked the audience for a song style. Someone said Reggae, and Ryan said, No, were using that later. I remember thinking that was kind of strange. Sure enough, they used it in Greatest Hits later on in the show. In the end, he decided on any boy band. I dont remember much of the song itself. I do remember that Brad sang something about me covering him in grease...just because it rhymed with Elyse. I think he also sang something about Drew losing his balls. Luckily, my mother took pictures during this game, otherwise I never would have believed it!
Some favourite moments:
Colin: "You know it's a big day today. It's TV Guide day."
Greg: "Why don't we use the catapult?"
I also remember them having some sort of argument and sizing up different weapons. Greg took out a gun, and an audience member made a noise that sounded kind of like roaring. So Colin reached behind him and said, Ive got a lion! I also remember at one point, Colin pretended to pick something up and asked Greg, Would you like some pie? Greg just looked at him, and Colin shrugged and put the imaginary pie down. It made no sense and was never brought up again, but thats just the sort of thing that had me laughing to the point of tears.
Jeopardy: I dont remember much from this game. Brad was the host. Ryan was Carol Channing (YES!). Julie was some old woman working at Caesars Palace, who was brought up again later in Conducted Story. At one point, Drew took a cup from someone in the front row, turned around and...did what he needed to do in there. Brad said something like, You know when you see someone come in a cup, its time for the bonus round! Ryan said (in his Carol Chinning voice), You know, you could get a lot of money on e-bay for that! I also remember Brad asking for a type of fish. I said Salmon and he used it. :)
New Choice: I think Ryan called, but I can't remember who played it. Ryan is very mean
when he calls that game. He likes to torment whoever is playing. And then if they get in a good
line, he'll sit there and giggle. Ryan is so fun to watch giggle. :o)
Moving People: Colin set it up. He pulled out two people from the audience and asked for a fictional holiday. One woman said Christmas. Hm. No comment. Then someone (apparently it was Gayle!) suggested Leap Frog Day, which I remember thinking was pretty clever. Sean and Kathy played a game that took place on Leap Frog Day, but unfortunately didnt mention the holiday much. They got pretty sidetracked, and then at the end, Kathy handed Sean a present and said, Happy Leap Frog Day, honey! and that was the end of the scene.
Greatest Hits: This time, Colin and Ryan did Greatest Hits together (rather than Ryan & Kathy), while Brad and Chip sang. I was so happy! I remember Ryan saying some things that didnt make any sense. He said to Colin, I guess I shouldnt have dropped acid before I got here. <<laughter>> I thought it would have worn off by now...I did it in 1972! Throughout the game, they kept making references to that. I got some funny pictures of them during this game. The topic was Songs of the Pirate. The song styles were: Disco, Reggae (like I said), Gangsta Rap, and Opera, which was fabulous. Wonderful game.
Sentences: Neither Gayle or I are quite sure who played this game. Were thinking Drew and Greg. It was an okay game. There was a line about ketchup that made no sense and neither Drew or Greg could figure out exactly what it meant. It was a slow game. Not the best one of the night.
Mousetraps: This time, Drew and Sean played. The scene was between a teacher and a student. At one point, I remember them waltzing across the stage with blindfolds on and mousetraps all over the floor, which was pretty funny. I always feel guilty for laughing at this game.
Again, there was an encore of Conducted Story. Ryan was the Conductor. I absolutely love watching him do this. He always looks so intense and focused. It was about Jeremiah, who
won $10,000,000 in Australian money from a Vegas casino. Colin named his girlfriend Jeremiahess. Kathy had a hard time getting her mouth around that name. Very funny.
Back to Improv All Stars reports - Back to Reports - Back home