July 22, 2010

Improv: The Musical a Brilliant Blend of Order and Chaos

Original Musical Combines Set-in-Stone Script with Off-the-Cuff Antics

[July 29^th, 2010] Reno, Nevada: The very name itself seems to be oxymoronic; Improv: The Musical.  But how can something be scripted and made up on the spot simultaneously?  That’s what The Utility Players, a local comedy troupe, are hoping to showcase with their production slated for the end of July as part of Artown.

The plot of the musical has been carefully planned out. With a script penned by Utility Player Shane Tolomeo and a revamped musical score provided by local musician Ariel Lea, this production will present the semi-autobiographical beginnings of a comedy troupe in Reno. While the story explores the pratfalls of relationships, the struggle of success and the pursuit of dreams, no tale about a comedy troupe would be complete without some actual comedy. This is where the improvisation will take hold. These unscripted moments, which will occur sporadically throughout the musical, will feature improv games and audience participation.

This scripted, plot-driven musical will seamlessly morph into an improv comedy show rife with surprising and unpredictable events, and then back again. This show may be pegged as a “one night only” event on July 29^th at the Siena Casino, but if it were to have a continuous run, no two performances would be the same. 

It is the melding of two kinds of entertainment that makes this musical so original, at least according to Jessica Levity, founder and leader of The Utility Players.

“What makes this a truly extraordinary production is that we are playfully testing the traditional elements of theater,” Levity says.  “The audience witnesses a story that, in many ways, truly is unfolding right in front of their eyes.  ‘Improv: The Musical’ is a beautiful blend of storytelling and the art of improvisation.” 

Improv: The Musical is scheduled for Thursday, July 29th , in the Siena Casino's Ballroom at 7:00pm. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. For more information about “Improv: The Musical” and The Utility Players go to www.utilityplayerscomedy.com.   

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Though the title to this blog entry may seem like a title to an episode of ‘The Big Bang Theory,’ it is nonetheless the best way I could come up with to express my feelings about two actors/comedians/ Saturday Night Live alumni who have had great success in the world of comedy.

Adam Sandler and Will Ferrell are the only actors I can think of that have their own genres attached to their names. What I mean is this: when Adam Sandler is in a movie that features his particular brand of humor, it is forever known as ‘an Adam Sandler movie.” The same goes for the Funny or Die co-founder Will Ferrell. “The Waterboy,” “Billy Madison,” “Happy Gilmore,” “Big Daddy,” and “Mr. Deeds” are all ‘Adam Sandler Movies.’ In the same vein, “Anchorman,” “Blades of Glory,” “Semi-Pro,” and “Talladega Nights,” are all ‘Will Ferrell Movies.’  These are the only two actors for whom this happens; no one ever calls “National Treasure” a ‘Nicolas Cage Movie’ and no one calls “Sophie’s Choice” a ‘Meryl Streep Movie.’  With these two guys being the exception, actors don’t own their movies; directors do, because directors for the most part leave their mark with the project choices they make. For instance, there’s the Christopher Nolan Movie (dark, mind-bending, suspenseful), the Woody Allen Movie (neurotic, awkwardly funny) and the Michael Bay Movie (CGI-riddled, terrible). 

Here’s the kicker: I’ve only liked Adam Sandler and Will Ferrell in the movies that weren’t Adam Sandler Movies or Will Ferrell Movies (with one exception). 

My favorite film that Adam Sandler has starred in is “Punch Drunk Love,” partially because it wasn’t an Adam Sandler Movie. It was a distinct deviation from all of the films he has done before and since (with the exception of “Spanglish”). Similarly, one of my favorite roles that Will Ferrell took was that of Harold Crick in “Stranger Than Fiction.” The other: Ron Burgundy in “Anchorman,” which remains of the funniest, most ridiculous movies ever made, and the exception I mentioned earlier.

I do concede some points: I have not seen “Semi-Pro” or “Blades of Glory,” which fellow Utility Player Judi stresses I must do. The only reason I liked “Big Daddy” was because of Jon Stewart (that one guy who hosts The Daily Show) and the only reason I liked “Billy Madison” was because of Bradley Whitford (Josh Lyman in “The West Wing”).  It occurs to me that nearly all characters Sandler and Ferrell play are loud but loveable dimwits.

And that’s okay. People find that funny. But for me, it’s like a breath of fresh air when these guys do something completely different from the norm.

And to all persons offended by this blog who consider Sandler and Ferrell to be the funniest people on the planet: when you send me your hate mail, please sign it. I want to know what name to give to the police.

I look at the clock of my Saturn dashboard, which is an hour and 4 minutes early. I never changed it for daylight savings time, and I see no reason to do it now. 8:46. (9:50, normal standard time). I am twenty minutes late.

Yep. Definitely going to hell now.

Not only am I one of those Christmas Christians now (There’s no point in going at Easter. All the toddlers glare at me when I participate in the egg hunt and whoop their tiny asses), but now I’m nearly a half hour late to a service which I really wanted to be at on time. My father, the Reverend Rick Sorensen, is doing the sermon today. In addition to my lateness, I have an ulterior motive: I’m hoping to guilt my former Episcopalian compadres into purchasing tickets to Improv: The Musical.  But I am no party-crasher, and certainly no heathen. I ran it by my dad in advance, and he approved.

I turn into the cracked and broken parking lot and drive to the back, Interpol’s “PDA” blasting from my speakers. I curse myself yet again for being late and as I walk quickly to the see-through glass door leading to the church, I hear the voice of the eternally mustached deacon Mike Margerum saying The Gospel According to Somebody. I sheepishly walk onto the nicely decorated tiles and the pews are not as filled as I would have thought. Charlene instantly recognizes me and smiles with her braced teeth as she hands me a program. I sit down, not too close, sort of like a slacker student who arrives late to a History class, and I sit down just as my father steps up to his lectern.

He opens his homily with startling news: this, the 234^th birthday of our country, is exactly one week since the decision was made to close St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. My heart jumps when I heard this. My dad had mentioned it during a rousing game of Scrabble the night before, but somehow with him announcing it in his white robe and colorful vestments in that place of worship, it hit me even harder. This place, which I had visited nearly every Sunday for half of my life, was not going to be around much longer. But my father, with his wisdom in the midst of sadness and disbelief said this: “We have learned to love each other in this place, and that can never be taken from us.”

Afterward, just before the Offertory hymn booms and after we recite the Nicene Creed (which I still know by heart), there is a time for announcements.  My father gestures to me, the lone guy in a striped shirt and Buddy Holly glasses in a pew, and says that there is someone here you may remember. I stand up, grasping the wooden bench in front of me, as the congregation applauds. I look over the faces of everyone I have known and worshipped with for half of my existence: Hal Goss, ever-sarcastic and spry for an old man, Norman Beesley, my dentist and frequent companion on family vacations to the Oregon Coast, and Deacon Margerum, who has an endless list of bad jokes that he always told at church potlucks.   

“I am a member of a local comedy troupe called the Utility Players,” I manage to say. “We have written an original musical which will be on July 29^th.  We have put a lot of love and a lot of work into it and still do, so if you would like to buy a ticket, I will be around after the service.” With the somewhat lack of attendance, I didn’t expect many people to take me up on my offer. Twenty minutes later, I have eaten the body of Christ and drank from the cup of salvation and have sold 15 tickets and one IOU to my old friends.

I have bad-mouthed religion before, mostly when I see conservative “holy men” rail against homosexuality and the ordaining of women. But when I’m in that space, surrounded by people who do their best to walk in God’s love and grace, I am reminded of why I went to church to begin with.  I did an event in high school called Teens Encounter Christ, a weekend dedicated to exploring God’s place in the lives of high-schoolers. I was the leader of the Prayer Team one year, and my job was to come up with creative and applicable prayers to say before meals and such. A particular one I made up comes to mind as I write this; it’s extremely trite and a bit contrived, but it still makes a point: “Some people say ‘Hell is other people.’ As I look at the people here, I say ‘Heaven is other people.’”

Thanks be to God.

Writer’s Note: The title of this particular blog, “Twylight?” was originally the title of a Utility Players sketch that was performed eons ago during one of their splendiferous comedy shows. I decided to use it again, because it’s the most clever title I’ve come up with that incisively describes my feelings on the “Twilight” phenomenon. However, since I originally wrote said sketch, it isn’t technically plagiarism. But I always like to cover my bases. God forbid I should end up on some local news fact check program because they thought I stole the title, if only because I can pretty much guarantee they would  spell my name wrong. (It’s Ian SorensEN, not SorensON, RGJ). Anyway, on with the blog.

According to MSN, “Eclipse,” the third installment of the “Twilight” series, opened at midnight last night to a record debut of $30 million.

I’d like to tell you why that disturbs me.

Now, before you get on your high Edward-loving horse, please know that I have seen both of the preceding films in their entirety. I don’t want to be attacked by packs of pre-teens girls (and some boys), foaming at the mouth and calling me an ignorant vampire –hater who hasn’t even seen the films.  I wanted so badly to go on any and all social networking sites and trash them before I saw them, but the phrase “Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it” came to mind.  So I got “Twilight” on Netflix and watched “New Moon” at the GSR (which I luckily didn’t have to pay for. It was only, like, three dollars, but it’s the principle of the thing).  Now, having seen the introduction of Bella to Edward and their ensuing complicated love story that inevitably grew into an awkward isosceles love triangle involving a supposedly Native Indian werewolf guy named Jacob who takes off his shirt without the slightest provocation, I can safely say this:

These movies are bad. They’re simply not good movies.

The acting is wooden and uninspired, but that stems directly from the absolutely deplorable script that they had to work with. Let’s be clear here: Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson are not bad actors. Taylor Lautner most likely is, but I’d have to see him in something completely different to make sure. Stewart played a memorable part in “Into the Wild,” and Pattinson was the doomed Cedric Diggory in a couple of the Harry Potter movies (Sorry, no spoiler alert. He dies. Voldemort kills him. If you don’t know that by now, you probably shouldn’t be reading this blog).  Speaking of Harry Potter, it amazes me that Twilight has gained the same amount, if not more, notoriety as the wizard series, seeing as the Harry Potter movies have 1) Excellent Acting, 2) Excellent Writing and 3) Excellent Directing, and the Twilight series has, well, none of these. Also, if the editor of the Twilight films had been vigilant enough to take out all of the awkward pauses, close-ups of Edward looking creepy, and images of Bella sighing heavily, the two-hour-and-then-some screen time could be cut down to a simple hour and a half.

So why is something so bad getting the large amount of attention that it is?

The answer lies not in what Twilight is, but in what it represents.  For one thing, Vampires are a huge fad currently, even those who sparkle when in direct sunlight, instead of historically burning into ash (a change to the vampire lore that I never quite understood, but hey, if Stephanie Meyer wants to reinvent a genre, she’s gotta change somethin’).  Also, the cold, pale embrace of Edward, or the bare-chested furry affection of Jacob holds a certain draw for these fans. Much like the pathetic and boring Bella, many Twilight fans (who may or may not be pathetic or boring) wish they could find love with a forbidden fruit (and I mean fruit in the most homosexual way possible), be he or she vampire, werewolf, or smurf.

Despite all that I have said negatively about the Twilight series, I will still see “Eclipse,” though I fully expect to not enjoy it at all. Why subject myself to such torture? It’s the same reason I watched the whole “Matrix” Trilogy.  I had seen the first two, and, though the second was infinitely worse than the first, I still had to see it through all the way to the end.

And to all of those individuals who have aligned themselves with Teams Edward and Jacob, I’m on a different team: Team USA.  Stick that in your smoke and pipe it.     

Make sure to bring all of your friends for a hilarious night of improv comedy, music, villains, and fairy godmothers! Hope to see you all there!

In the context of the musical, Ariel is often perceived as stupid or not playing with full deck of cards. Instead in this song she relates that she in fact is not oblivious, but instead sees the world through a different lens and viewpoint. Though she might not know every pop culture reference, she notices the finer and more often overlooked aspects of life.

IMPROV - the Musical, an official Artown event, is scheduled for July 29th at 7:00pm in the Siena ballroom. Tickets are available for $10 in advance or $15 at the door. If you make like to get a ticket in advance, email us at theutilityplayers@gmail.com to reserve your ticket. Stayed tuned for more updates and more previews as we get closer to show day!!!!

We are just about two months away from the premiere of IMPROV the MUSICAL - an original production by the Utility Players. Improv the Musical will be showcased as part of Artown in the Siena Ballroom July 29th. We created a facebook fan page for the show so that people can stay up-to-date about photos, show information, video clips, and more. Make sure to click this link to find us on facebook. Otherwise check out the IMPROV the MUSICAL page on our website for all the information.

Here is the preview from host Ian Sorensen: "Joe was born during a pots and pans sale, Ian was named after a guy from 'Chariots of Fire', and Chris had a seat in the C-Section. Also: a whiskey maker dies of a stubbed toe and John Ritter should be brought back to like."

Make sure to listen to this hilarious half an hour podcast and stayed tuned to more from the Utility Players!!!

A sports store—we’ll call it Large 4 Sporting Goods—is my place of employment, and has been for my entire time in college, going on four years. It’s a marriage of convenience; I get paid next to nothing, but at least the time I have to spend with it is flexible, because a man has priorities. One rule the store has is no beards. In fact, no facial hair at all besides moustaches. I have never understood this rule, and I try to weakly protest it at every turn, just to add a little spice to my work day. “You know what? I’m not gonna shave today! It’s a Sunday, so everyone who comes in is a heathen who should be in church. What should I care what they think about my attempt at a 5 o’clock shadow?!?!” These are the insignificant battles which rage within my head on a daily basis. If someone posh should come in, my only hope is that my small patch of hairs that are too far away from each other, which seem to show falsely that I reached puberty mere days before, will make me look debonair and rugged. Like Russell Crowe without all the phone-throwing. But why moustaches and no beards? No wonder my former boss looked like a former ‘70s porn actor. That huge hairy caterpillar would stare at me every time he spoke, which, along with his overall stupidity and ignorance, would cause me to tune out and miss everything he said. He was a man who called Native American Indians “a bunch of drunks.” I do not miss him at all, and fantasize about punching him full in the face whenever he comes in looking for camping equipment to share with his no-doubt miserable wife and bitchy daughter.

But I digress. The store is located within a shopping center that includes a Dollar Store and a CVS pharmacy. Seeing as how I am in retail and the realm of customer service, to a certain point I can identify and empathize with other retail workers, even in other stores. But I draw the line with the employees of the Dollar Store and CVS. I often wonder if Dollar Store workers actually make a dollar an hour (since this would fit with their business model), because the overall apathy is palpable as soon as you walk in. The biggest steaming pile of ridiculous is not their attitude; it is the lack of open cash registers at any given point. The Dollar Store, what with their canned goods and large boxes of Gobstoppers for a mere 100 cents, gets to be a busy place. So when I walk up with a dollar ready in one hand and a Mountain Dew Code Red in the other, I expect this will be an in-and-out, snatch-and-grab job. What results is an ordeal of “National Treasure” proportions. People grocery shop at the Dollar Store. I realize this is more common now with the economy how it is, but PEOPLE GROCERY SHOP AT THE DOLLAR STORE. This is something I can’t get over. Especially when I have four people with carts filled to the brim in front of me, all I have is one item, and there’s only ONE LANE OPEN. For the love of Betty White, please open another one, perhaps two, Dollar Store employees. Otherwise my ten-minute break will turn into a lunch, and a fu**ing Mountain Dew Code Red isn’t too filling.

The same happened at CVS this past Monday. I went in with the relatively simple and easy goal of getting blank CDs for making kick-ass mixes of Midnight Oil and Paul McCartney. I was met with a locked glass case, a 5-dollar pack of 5 CDs staring tantalizingly at me from behind the clear material. Other expensive technological instruments were there too, but why the blank CDs? Was someone going to steal the whole lot of them, with the goal of returning home and making pirated copies of Transformers 2? I’m not sure, because I have not a member of the criminal element, and don’t let any muffled cries from my basement convince you otherwise. I looked around and there was a cute checkout girl helping 8.5 people laden with stuff, and I walked a ways to find an old codger talking on the phone in the slot machine section. A slot machine section in a pharmacy. This is Nevada.

So I tell the cute checkout girl my dilemma, and she says it will just be a minute, and she calls customer service the Expensive Technological Instruments and Blank CDs Section, and five long minutes later I’m still staring through the glass, wishing I was Harry Potter at the zoo in the first book, and just make it disappear. Despite having another 8.5 customers, I make eye contact with the cute checkout girl and she hurries over to unlock it, making me feel kinda like a douche, but now I have my CDs, so my guilt goes away. I get in line behind 5.25 people laden with stuff, my small package of blank CDs grasped tightly and there remains the one line. A guy who looks like he follows Large 4’s ‘moustache but no beard’ policy, wearing a tie connoting his managerial status, calls another cashier over to help the overflow, a skinny, frazzled blonde whose name I imagine is Patience. She asks “Can I help the next customer in line?” Everyone looks at each other. I am roughly fifth in line, an older Asian woman is fourth, and two middle-aged women are third and second. No one goes for a full five seconds, so I say “Okay then,” and step up to the counter where Patience impatiently awaits. She looks down at her keyboard, makes a few strokes, looks up at me, and says plainly “That other lady was next in line.” Thanks for making me feel like asshole, Patience. I look behind me where the Asian lady nervously grasps her shopping basket and I do a dramatic wave with my arm as if I’m introducing the First Lady at a state dinner and she smirks and goes ahead of me.

Bottom line: if CVS would have two to three lines going at any given time, I wouldn’t have to be so opportunistic, or, as some might see it, an asshole. I am normally a patient person, but waiting ten minutes to buy one item is annoying. You gotta read your customers, CVS and Dollar Store. As soon as the line gets long enough to where passersby think you’re waiting for Lady Gaga tickets, OPEN ANOTHER REGISTER. That is all.