The Utility Players
  • Improv Comedy
  • The Game Show Show
  • Singing Telegrams
  • Teambuilding
  • Booking
    • Singing Telegrams
    • Corporate Events
    • Fundraisers
    • Private Parties
    • Holiday Carolers
  • Murder Mysteries
  • Press
  • About Us
  • Blog
  • Videos
  • Contact

I Failed - A Lesson from Improv [Reflection on SFIF from Chris]

9/18/2014

1 Comment

 
Utility Players Reno Tahoe Improv Comedy Murder Mystery
This past weekend The Utility Players participated in the 10th annual San Francisco Improv Festival. Amazing does not aptly describe this weekend of improv jamming, watching master improvisers take to the stage, and all the lessons I took away from the experience. One lesson in particular has had a great impact on me; at a workshop we attended, we were asked to step into the middle of a circle and proudly proclaim "I Failed!". We were then met with cheering, clapping, and supportive affirmations. I have never witnessed so many individuals, and actors at that, openly admit that they had failed at something. 

Typically, we do everything within our power to disassociate with failure. As part of our personal prehistory and cultural mythology, failure has become a dreaded state of being. As opposed to being able to admit a mistake, a label of "being" is attached to our identity. It is no longer "I failed in this one instance." Instead, we become "failures". And yet, I see an endless parade of memes stating how our greatest failures can be our greatest opportunities for growth and personal development. So why do we run from failure?

I have seen actors, when given notes, compete in a rousing game of mental gymnastics, talking their way out of personal responsibility and ownership. "It was the lights, the crowd, everyone else on stage, Mercury in retrograde, etc." As if admitting failure tarnishes and diminishes their skills or talents. What would our shows look like - and our lives for that matter - if when somebody failed, they shouted with jubilation, "I FAILED", and were met with sincere support and congratulations? I can say that it was definitely easier to step into that circle and admit my own shortcomings when others had bravely acknowledged their's first. 

So, I am going to spend less time saving face by rationalizing and justifying my failures, and spend more time simply admitting "I failed," and use all that left-over energy on learning and improving for the future.

-Chris

1 Comment

The Utility Players at the San Francisco Improv Festival!

9/9/2014

0 Comments

 

The Utility Players, Reno's #1 Improv Comedy Troupe, take the stage at The San Francisco Improv Festival on September 14th.

Comprised of the creme de la creme of Reno actors, comedians, and personalities, The Utility Players will keep you in fits of laughter with their larger-than-life characters, spot-on comedic timing, and impromptu dance parties. Highly acclaimed for their undeniable group chemistry, they’ve spent the last five years following the rules so that now they can play like they’ve forgotten them.

The Utility Players’ improv shows feature 35 minutes of hard-hitting, side-splitting, hilarious improv comedy in the style of ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?’ that will keep audiences entertained all night.

SEE THEIR SHOW WITH UN-SCRIPTED THEATER CO.:SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 AT 9:00 PM

Picture

It was our first year ever receiving this email:

Picture
0 Comments

[press release] The Utility Players’ 8th Improv Comedy Season is Live at the Sands! 

9/8/2014

0 Comments

 

The Utility Players’ 8th Season is Live at the Sands! 

Casino picks up Reno’s hit comedy troupe for 12-show run 

Reno Tahoe Improv Comedy Teambuilding Murder Mystery Sands
Reno, NV, September 27, 2014:  The Sands Casino partners with Reno’s Best Bet for Comedy, The Utility Players, for a weekly Saturday night improv comedy show at the newly revamped Jester’s Theater, inside the Sands. “The Utility Players Season 8: Live at the Sands!” premieres September 27th, 2014, and runs for 12 weeks at the Sands in downtown Reno.

The show is 90 minutes of hard-hitting, side-splitting improv comedy in the style of Whose Line is It Anyway?.  Creator and Host, Jessica Levity (Homeslice Productions), takes suggestions from the audience, allowing patrons to co-create the experience with the troupe; each show is always fresh, and always funny. Players create characters, environments, and situations on the spot, based upon those suggestions from the audience. There’s a little bit of something for everyone: musical games, guessing games, and all-original games that The Utility Players have developed over their five and a half years as a troupe.  “Any of our fans will tell you that you’re guaranteed to laugh until your face hurts,” says Levity. That’s exactly why everyone from first-timers to longtime fans (called Utilitarians) can expect a one-of-a kind, unforgettable show, each and every time.

This homegrown troupe is excited and thrilled with the opportunity to work with a casino with personality, and one that knows how to have some fun. "The Utility Players are a Reno favorite for comedy, and it's time to share their talents with all of our patrons. Their color and style makes a perfect fit to be “Live at the Sands!", says Ferenc Szony, CEO of Sands Regency. The troupe has much in store for their 8th season, including workshops, classes, a family-friendly improv show called “Big Kids”, another installment of their popular “The Game Show Show”, and performing another brand new, all-original murder mystery, written by Utility Player and local playwright, Chris Daniels.  Also, the troupe was accepted into the 10th annual San Francisco Improv Festival for the first time, and will be performing with 27 other improvisational companies from all over the country on September 14.

Tickets for The Utility Players Season 8: Live at the Sands! are available now online at www.sandsregency.com, at the cage inside of the Sands, or at the door. Show begins at 8:00pm, doors open at 7:30pm. The show is Rated R for language and adult themes. For more information about the troupe and the show, check out www.utilityplayerscomedy.com.

###                          


0 Comments

    Categories

    All
    Artown
    Classes/Workshops
    Homeslice Productions
    Ian Sorensen
    Murder Mystery
    Press
    Press Releases
    San Francisco Improv Festival
    Season 7
    Season 8
    Season 9
    Storytelling

    Author

    Bloggity blog blog blog.

    Archives

    February 2017
    November 2016
    September 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    July 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    March 2014
    September 2013
    January 2013
    September 2010
    July 2010
    April 2010
    June 2009

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Improv Comedy
  • The Game Show Show
  • Singing Telegrams
  • Teambuilding
  • Booking
    • Singing Telegrams
    • Corporate Events
    • Fundraisers
    • Private Parties
    • Holiday Carolers
  • Murder Mysteries
  • Press
  • About Us
  • Blog
  • Videos
  • Contact