Friday, August 19, 2005

I Can Hardly Wait!

Oh yeah, September is almost here and that means that the Vancouver Fringe will soon be here! Urban Improv has a KICK-ASS show ready to go! That's all I have to say. I really just wanted to post to a blog.
Drew

Saturday, August 13, 2005

Reviewer Helper

Dear Reviewers,

We at Urban Improv realize that during the Fringe Festival your time is stretched to the limit. With this in mind we have provided a review of our show below for you to use. To be fair and to not compromise your integrity we have supplied both a positive and negative review. Feel free to use the one you see fit.

Sincerely,

Urban Improv



Good Review

The discovery of fire, the invention of penicillin, man landing on the moon, all good in their own ways but now Urban Improv presents Canadian Content puts them squarely in the back seat strapped in their child safety harnesses. As a critic I try to avoid hyperbole but this show is the reason theatre was invented. Off the top, I couldn’t believe how many free cars they gave away. But this just set the stage for what was to be the greatest night of my life.

Diana Frances opened with a sketch about a doctor’s office, similar to the ones Mike Nichols and Elaine May performed in the 1960s. But in the course of the scene she ad-libbed a cure for all known diseases. Ian Boothby built on this offer and in doing so ended the sketch with a joke so good it restored the sight of a row of blind audience members.

Nathan Clark’s impression of a video game addicted lawyer made an audience member laugh so hard that she spit out her false teeth. Penelope Corrin’s song about a Monkey Prime Minister made the same audience member laugh so hard she grew a new set of adult teeth and her supposedly permanently damaged spine repaired itself. She may have come to the theatre in a wheelchair but she was dancing all night long.

The pressure was now on Toby Berner, Chris Casillian and Drew McCreadie to wrap the show up with a sketch that would top everything we’d seen. Adding to the strain was the fact that Drew was appearing by live video feed while doing charity work overseas. But their sketch, “A Jew, a Buddhist and a Catholic Walk into a Bar” was not only hilarious but logically and definitively explained who is the one true God. As word of the sketch spread, all the religions of the world breathed a sigh both of surprise and relief and have vowed to put all religious difference aside and form the one true church. Not bad for a sketch that was mostly fart jokes.

They say one person can’t change the world but let me tell you, one comedy troupe truly did. Every show is a little different they promise so don’t expect the show I’ve described here but take my advice and see “Urban Improv Presents Canadian Content”. I’m going to take a week off now to weep with joy.


Bad Review

“Urban Improv Presents Canadian Content” is a swift kick in the unfunny nuts.
Starting three hours late because cast member Nathan Clark wanted to take a nap after a night of drinking, we were told the exits were locked and there would be no bathroom breaks. We were then cruelly shown a film montage of waterfalls, sprinklers and children standing waist deep in warm swimming pools.

Ian Boothby provided audience warm up by flirting with every woman over 80 years old in the audience. Soon we realized he had nothing to do with the show and a police officer escorted him from the theatre.

When the first sketch finally started, “9/11 at the 7-11” I couldn’t decide if this tasteless exercise was more racist, sexist, homophobic or misanthropic. I couldn’t decide because it was performed entirely in French by Penelope Corrin, Diana Frances and Chris Casillian, none of whom apparently speak French.

Toby Berner and Drew McCreadie took the stage for a skit about how annoying people with cell phones are at the movies. A fine premise but when an actual cell phone went off in the audience Toby in a fit of rage pulled out a knife and leapt into the audience stabbing wildly. Drew decided to cover for this awkward moment by setting the theatre on fire and telling everyone to run for their live. Sadly he forgot that the exits were locked.

I write this from a hospital bed at the St. Paul’s hospital burn ward. My doctor says that by writing about the experience I’m making the first step in my recovery and increasing my odds that the nightmares where the show replays in my head will soon stop, at least during my waking hours. I’ll never forget Urban Improv Presents Canadian Content. If I can just warn one person about this show then all my third degree burns and permanent psychological damage will have meaning.

Friday, August 12, 2005

Who the Hell are You?

Weclome to the Urban Improv Blog. where if it's anything like every other blog on the web we'll be posting a lot at the start and then get bored and post every few weeks or so always apologizing and feeling guilty for not writing more. Then we'll forget about the site and a porn company will claim the name.

Who the Hell are we? An improv group that's been performing in Vancouver for 8 years.

This blog is set up to give the lowdown on what we're doing, upcoming shows and other shameless plugging. But also to talk about improv in general. Our Monday show style style mixes sketch with improv, building on the Improv Olympic's Harold format.

www.urbanimprov.ca will give you info on our Monday night Urban Well shows and upcoming Fringe Festival show Urban Improv presents Canadian Content showing Sept 8-18 at the Waterfront Theatre.

There are many members of Urban Improv and so to keep things clear we'll try and sign our names with each post. I don't want you thinking I'm Drew. Dear God I don't want that.

your pal,

Ian Boothby