At the end of June, I ventured off to New York to witness the spectacle that is the Del Close Marathon (DCM). Going into it’s 14th year, this bad boy is the Lollapalooza of improv. It was a bit overwhelming and with stages spread all over the city, made it more difficult to hop from stage to stage as I had hoped. While this event may be the biggest improv fest that exists (at least to my knowledge), it’s not all headliners. Which, with 390 shows over one weekend, it would be hard to find first-class, grade A players on every team, but I guess I just expected to be blown away by everyone. I came away from the DCM with three conclusions: DCM was reassuring, it was inspiring and great improv is born in Chicago. Let me explain.
So, I said the DCM was reassuring. It was. For the very reason I mentioned- I expected to be blown away by every show and I wasn’t. There were a number of teams who performed and broke EVERY SINGLE RULE of improv and then some. Seriously. Denying on stage. Blocking on stage. Poor object work. Lack of attention to detail. Overuse of sex jokes. Going for the joke. Confusing their characters. Ignoring their scene partner. The list goes on and on. I’m sitting in these theatres, in New York City, watching these teams thinking to myself, “If they can perform here, at this magnitude of an event, on these stages. Then I sure as hell can.” That is not meant as a cocky remark, but more of an observation. It reminded me that sometimes we don’t give ourselves enough credit. Sure, someone will always be better than you at something, or maybe everything, but chances are, if you’re committed to something, you’re probably pretty damn good yourself. It’s easy to get swept away in the bustle- always taking another class, getting rehearsal time in, finding venues to perform at, reading this write-up, writing that sketch-it’s exhausting. But when you find a moment to take a break, relax from the madness and step back and look at what you’ve done, you might surprise yourself. You’re probably more prepared than you think. Plus, let’s be honest, the first step is failing a shitload, so why not just work on getting that part over with.
Inspiring. Thank you Lord for great improv. Really, those of you who have witnessed great improv know what I’m talking about. The aftermath of great improv could be equated to how one feels after watching an Oscar-nominated major motion picture, finishing your first Kurt Vonnegut, believing in Santa Claus or for those cult-fans out there, the high they still have going after their eighth Dave Matthews concert. The point being, after witnessing great improv, not only are you elated with a smile plastered on your face from ear to ear, you are inspired. Great improv makes me want to read more books , see more shows and meet more people all in the hopes of getting better. It’s amazing. With that being said, I camped out at the UCB for most of Sunday afternoon and saw some incredible shows.
- Galapagos, Phoenix, AZ (Bill Binder, Jose Gonzalez, John Jahrmarkt, Mark Jordan and Shane Shannon)
- Convoy, Los Angeles, CA (Alex Berg, Alex Fernie and Todd Fasen)
- Baby Wants Candy, NYC
- We Can Fix You, Los Angeles, CA (Owen Burke, Ian Roberts, Matt Besser, Matt Walsh and Amy Poehler)
There is so much I could say about each of these shows, but I won’t. I will say that Baby Wants Candy is absolutely one of the best improv shows I’ve ever seen. If you get a chance to see it, please do. You’ll be amazed.
Great improv is born in Chicago. I know I just listed out a few great acts, none of which are from Chicago, but I still stand by my statement. As I watched teams fail miserably on stage, you could tell they just didn’t have the training. That may be of no fault of their own, they may simply not have access to it. I didn’t realize how lucky I was to be interested in improv and living in Chicago. I mean there are literally a dozen improv stages within five miles of my house. Three of the four best improv training centers in the country are around the corner from my home. 75% of this country doesn’t have access to great training centers or even great improv performances. Those of us in Chicago, LA and NYC are really lucky.
So there ya go. That’s my recap of the DCM. Both reassuring and inspiring. I got to check a few things off my improv bucket list and I grew a new appreciation for Chicago improv. To Del Close and Charna Halpern from iO, Mick Napier from Annoyance and Bernard Sahlins of Second City, thank you for deciding to start their comedic ventures in Chicago. The Windy City sure does appreciate it as do I.
