My story as an improvisor

I moved to Chicago in the spring of 1991 with the hope of becoming a professional actor. Although I had little training at the time, I had performed in a few plays in college and I had done a little improv too. My plan was to study acting, do some shows and apply to MFA programs. That’s not what happened.

I studied acting at a place called Center Theater up on Devon Avenue. They taught a method that was Meisner based. Some of my favorite teachers from that time are still around, teaching for the Artistic Home. It was an exciting and visceral approach to acting, and I learned a lot. Sadly, the actual plays that I was involved with were not as interesting and raw as the training. I had trouble applying what I learned to regular acting. It did seem to help me with my improv though. For almost two decades I’ve tried to figure out ways to take what I learned there and apply it to improv.

I started, like many people at the time, going through the Players Workshop of Second City, a group that was very thinly associated with Second City (the final show at the end of the year was on the Second City mainstage). At the time, Second City didn’t have the A-E program that it does now. So Players Workshop was frequently the program that people did before auditioning for the Second City Conservatory.

Jay Leggett from Blue Velveeta
Jay Leggett from Blue Velveeta
I remember very little of what I learned at Players Workshop, but I met a lot of great people. Some of us created a group and enlisted Jay Leggett to teach us. Jay was from the legendary Harold team Blue Velveeta. They were the house Harold team at ImprovOlympic in the late 80’s. Eventually they broke off and started doing shows independently. Jay was an awesome teacher. He taught me to be patient and realistic in my scenes. He taught us the Harold. He taught us about the game of the scene and how to make connections. It was an excellent introduction to long form.

Jay talked a lot about Del Close in class. He credited Del with most of the ideas we were learning. One night after class, Jay was talking about moving to LA and how perhaps we should start studying at iO. This was probably the spring of 1993. He had heard that Del was sick and that if we wanted to study from him, we better get our ass over there for classes soon. So I went to a few shows and signed up.

This was the era of the Family at Improv Olympic. They had been the house team for at least a few months (maybe closer to a year) when I started taking classes. I had Charna for level 1, like everyone did back then. Then I took a class taught by Miles Stroth and Adam McKay. I think I was in Matt Besser’s first ever class next. And finally I studied with Del for about 6 months.

It was a tremendous experience being a part of Improv Olympic back then. There were some independent long form groups around, but if you were going to do long form improv back then, you did it at iO. I got on a team pretty quickly after level 1. And after a couple of terrible shows with one team I was moved to Frank Booth and stayed with them for four years.

Craig Cackowski
Craig Cackowski
Frank Booth was one of those very rare iO teams that just gelled. We were a bunch of nice people and we worked well together. After a year or so we found ourselves to be one of the top teams. We played every Saturday night. We created a show called Frank Booth in the Blue Velvet Lounge which combined improv and jazz standards sung by our friend Tara Davis. Eventually we broke up in early 1997. Paul Grondy was on that team. He still teaches at iO. Lilly Frances, the owner of LOL Theater was on it too. So was Liz Allen who co-wrote that book with Jimmy Carrane. She won the coach of the year award so many times at iO that it was named after her. We had one, and only one coach the whole time, Craig Cackowski. It was a great bunch. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so supported on stage before or since.

It was while I was on this team that I started coaching and eventually teaching. I talked Charna into letting me establish a touring group called the iO Road Show which I directed and produced. I ran what I think were the first improv auditions at iO for that group. I ran it for a couple more years until I left for New York.

I can’t remember exactly when I started the Improv Resource Center. I think it was in 1995. At first it was a few pages of html and an attached message board. It was through that site that some of the UCB’s students started finding my essays on improv. The UCB contacted me and asked if I would come out and teach a workshop in 1998, which I did. It was my Weird Harold workshop, where I had people do specific kinds of Harolds like musical Harolds, dream Harolds, etc. I loved New York and I began thinking how great it would be to perform and teach there, but I returned to the grind in Chicago at iO.

The next Spring after Del passed away and after the UCB had finished their first season of their Comedy Central show, they contacted me out of the blue. I had just moved in with some friends on Ashland Ave. We were sitting around playing poker. I went to check my email and there was a message from Amy Poehler saying that they’d like me to come out and teach for them. I was so excited. This was exactly what I wanted to do next.

I quit my jobs and my teams in Chicago and headed for New York. It was an amazing time to join the UCB Theater. The only ones teaching for them then were the UCB 4, Armando Diaz and me. They had just opened their first theater on 22nd street. There were probably a core of about 50-100 performers. And the rush of new students was already beginning. I think there were only five or six teams at the start, but things were growing like crazy. I stayed with the UCB for 7 years and taught something like 100 classes for them at every level. I served as their Artistic Director and after that, I ran the training center, hiring teachers, overseeing the curriculum, and scheduling classes.

In 2006, family issues took me away from New York and for the next four years I’d be helping to take care of my parents, first accompanying my father to Arizona and then returning to my home town in Illinois to help take care of my mom. She passed away in 2010, and it was a strange moment in my life. I had not been doing much theater or improv and I wanted very much to return to New York or go to LA.

But I also had this idea that maybe I should go back to Chicago. I wanted very much to start a theater, to build something for myself instead of spending so much energy over the years building other people’s theaters. I felt like Chicago was a better place to start something than New York, and LA just isn’t theater town, so I returned to Chicago and started plugging away. I felt a bit rusty, so I took writing classes at Second City, improv classes at the Annoyance and went through the acting program at Black Box Acting Studio and eventually studied clown and physical theater with Paola Coletta. It was great to be a student again. I learned a lot of new stuff. Most importantly, I remembered what it was like to be a student. It reminded me how important it was to keep your students on their feet working and how crucial it was to not waste time in class. It was good to feel that antsy energy of wanting to do an exercise many times instead of just once, like so often happens in classes.

2012 was a busy year for me. I performed in three plays and a sketch show. In 2013, I’ve refocused on improv and comedy. I’ve been running a variety show called Hump Night. I wanted very much to be teaching improv again, and so I started offering performance classes last year. I’ve done four of them so far.

Looking over this, I feel like there is so much I’ve left out, so many highlights, like creating the show Cage Match which ran at iO for years and runs at both UCBT NY and UCBT LA and later starting the 3 on 3 tournament in New York, an event that has become an annual tradition at Thanksgiving. There was the year I produced a run of shows at the Edinburgh Fringe for Frank Booth. As far as I know, we performed the first Harolds ever in Scotland.

The Swarm
The Swarm
When I was in New York, I directed a bunch of shows at the UCB Theater. One of the highlights was directing the Swarm in their breakout show: Slow Waltz Around Rage Mountain. That’s where we first coined the term monoscene to describe a form with only one scene, but which could be broken down into many smaller scenes via entrances and exits.

Since I’ve been back in Chicago, I’ve enjoyed performing in Mullaney Chain, a show where I invite someone to play and they invite someone else (and so on). Through that show I’ve had the privilege to perform with so many amazing Chicago improvisors. Many of them started long after I left for New York years ago.

So, that’s a little introduction to who I am as an improvisor and a teacher. If you are interested in improv and live in Chicago, I hope you will consider taking a class with me, or joining the improv meetup group I run, or at least dropping by some Wednesday in the fall to see Mullaney Chain at Hump Night. If you don’t live in Chicago, I hope to see you at a festival or maybe I can coach you via Skype.

Also, please invite me to play sometime in your show. If I can do it, I usually say yes.

Photos from July 17 Hump Night

Some photos from last week’s Hump Night. Tonight’s show will be the last Hump Night of the summer. We return in September. More details to come.

Last Hump Night of the Summer!

This is the last Hump Night of the summer. We won’t be back until September so be sure to come down and check us out. Thanks!

humpnightposterHump Night returns this week with another great lineup of standup, improv, music, and storytelling.
7:30 – The Improv Hour
The improv hour features teams of players coached by Kevin Mullaney

  • Pancakes Tonight! with Will Meinen, Oopey Mason, David Prouty, Danielle Bluford, Shana Weinstein and Alex Frenkel
  • Richard and the Kids with Richard Scruggs, Jude Tedmori, Kyle Reinhard, Alex Hanpeter, Bethanie John, Matt Pina
  • Delicately Seasoned with Grant Grieshaber, Sara Cardon, Caitlin Wilson, Alex Romero, Jeff Jackel, Phil Caron, Dan de Dios
8:30 – The Variety Hour
Standup, storytelling, music, sketch and occasionally some improv.

  • Stand Up by Collin Bullock
  • Storytelling by Don Hall
  • Solo Performance by Amrita Dhaliwal
  • Musical Guest Sad Banana
  • Solo Performance by Lindsay Williams
9:45 – Mullaney Chain
Kevin invites a great improvisor to play, who invites a third, who invites a fourth who invites one more. This week’s guests:

  • Colleen Doyle
  • Alison Gates

Please RSVP on Facebook!

Hump Night, July 17th

humpnightposterHump Night returns this week with another great lineup of standup, improv, music, and storytelling.
7:30 – The Improv Hour
The improv hour features teams of players coached by Kevin Mullaney

  • Pancakes Tonght! with Will Meinen, Oopey Mason, David Prouty, Danielle Bluford, Shana Weinstein and Alex Frenkel
  • Richard and the Kids with Richard Scruggs, Jude Tedmori, Kyle Reinhard, Alex Hanpeter, Bethanie John, Matt Pina
  • Delicately Seasoned with Grant Grieshaber, Sara Cardon, Caitlin Wilson, Alex Romero, Jeff Jackel, Phil Caron, Dan de Dios
8:30 – The Variety Hour
Standup, storytelling, music, sketch and occasionally some improv.

  • Stand Up by Marz Timms
  • Solo Performance by Claire Friedman
  • Storytelling by Angie McMahon
  • Storytelling by Shannon Cason
  • Music by Plucky Rosenthal
9:45 – Mullaney Chain
Kevin invites a great improvisor to play, who invites a third, who invites a fourth who invites one more.

  • Chris Witaske
  • Tim Stoltenberg
  • Beth Melewski
  • Tim Mason

Please RSVP on Facebook!

Mullaney Chain at the Del Close Marathon

I’ll be performing in Mullaney Chain at the Del Close Marathon this weekend. I am super excited about the lineup. These are some of the best improvisors and funniest guys I know. I invited Andy Secunda. He invited Gavin Speiller. Gavin invited John Gemberling, and John invited Andy Rocco. The show is at 5:45pm at the Hudson. Skip the line at UCB Chelsea and start your DCM15 with us. Bassprov is directly after!

I’ll also be in the 7pm show at UCB Chelsea with most (if not all) of the former and current UCBT Artistic Directors in ADeez Nutz.

Can’t wait!

Photos from Hump Night, June 10, 2013

Here is some of what you missed from last week’s Hump Night. Make sure to be there tomorrow night to see Saurin Choksi and Honeybuns!


Most of these photos were taken by Oopey Mason.

Hump Night lineup for June 12th

humpnightposterHump Night returns this week with another great lineup of standup, improv, music, and storytelling.
7:30 – The Improv Hour
The improv hour features teams of players coached by Kevin Mullaney

  • Pancakes Tonght! with Will Meinen, Oopey Mason, David Prouty, Danielle Bluford, Shana Weinstein and Alex Frenkel
  • Richard and the Kids with Richard Scruggs, Jude Tedmori, Kyle Reinhard, Alex Hanpeter, Bethanie John, Matt Pina
  • Delicately Seasoned with Grant Grieshaber, Sara Cardon, Caitlin Wilson, Alex Romero, Jeff Jackel, Phil Caron
8:30 – The Variety Hour
Standup, storytelling, music, sketch and occasionally some improv.

  • Music by Andy Eninger
  • Standup by Mia McCullough
  • Standup by Jeff Hansen
  • Sketch by Sex Puppet
  • Music by Cover Stories
9:45 – Mullaney Chain
Kevin invites a great improvisor to play, who invites a third, who invites a fourth who invites one more. This weeks guests include:

  • Zach Zimmerman
  • Willie Myers
  • Blythe Roberson
  • Molly Todd

Please RSVP on Facebook!

I could use a little help

Hey there,

Five months ago, I started a variety show called Hump Night. If you follow me, you’ve probably heard about it. You may have come to see it once or twice. Maybe you have even performed at Hump Night. Well, if you like Hump Night, if you have been getting something out of it, I could use a little help.

The deal I have with Strawdog is pretty good. They don’t charge me upfront for the space. Instead, they have a bar in the back of the room. They have a certain minimum that they’d like the bar to make and if they don’t reach that, then I have to make up the difference. Many times, that hasn’t been a problem. Between the donations and the bar, I haven’t had to pay a lot each week. And in the beginning, the students who were performing were essentially subsidizing the rest of the night. I was using part of the money from their tuition to pay for the space.

However, some nights it has cost a lot to run the show. Sometimes we don’t sell much at the bar and we don’t take enough in donations and I end up spending more to keep Hump Night going, then I earn for coaching the teams that perform there.

So there are a few things I could do.

  • I could search for another venue, one that would be less expensive. There are not a lot of venues out there that are as nice as Strawdog and less expensive though. Plus I do really like the location.
  • I could try to charge for the show. But I really prefer the donation model for this show.
  • I could do better at promoting the show. This is true and I’m working on it. It’s a challenge to get people there and I’m constantly trying to figure out the most time-effective ways to get the word out.
  • I could close the show. This is an option. I currently have extended the show through July, and if I can’t figure out a way to support the show, this is the likely outcome.

So what can you do? Maybe you perform at Hump Night, maybe you have come to see some shows. If you get something out of the show and you want to see it continue past July, there are some things you can do.

  • When you come see the show, have a beer or two. Every dollar you spend at the bar is as good as throwing a dollar into the bucket.
  • If you don’t drink, please put a few dollars in the bucket.
  • If you perform, try to recruit one or two people to come each week.

The thing is with the number of people participating in Hump Night in some fashion it shouldn’t be hard to make enough to keep it going. And I don’t mind pitching in a few bucks myself.

I think though, if I’m asking for money so directly, I’m going to take a leap here myself. It’s a small one, but I’m going to change how the donations work. I think people aren’t really sure what happens to the donations and so they are a little reluctant to give. So every show, I’m going to give half the donations to the performers in the Variety Hour. It probably won’t be a huge amount, but I have a hunch that if I give away half, the audience will be more apt to throw some money in the bucket. And this new policy starts tonight.

See you at Hump Night!

-Kevin

Hump Night: May 29th, 2013

humpnightposterHump Night returns this week with another great lineup of standup, improv, music, and storytelling.
7:30 – The Improv Hour

The improv hour features teams of players coached by Kevin Mullaney

  • Team TBA: Will Meinen, Oopey Mason, David Prouty, Danielle Bluford, Shana Weinstein (and more to come)
  • Richard and the Kids: Richard Scruggs, Jude Tedmori, Kyle Reinhard, Alex Hanpeter, Bethanie John, Matt Pina, Matt Visconage
  • Delicately Seasoned: Lisa Akroush Grant Grieshaber, Sara Cardon, Caitlin Wilson, Matthew Fenton, Alex Romero, Jeff Jackel, Phil Caron
8:30 – The Variety Hour
Standup, storytelling, music, sketch and occasionally some improv.
  • Sketch by Katherine and Joe
  • Standup by Kris Simmons
  • Standup by Alexandra Tsarpalas
  • A story by Greg Collozo
  • A special appearance by Lady Love
9:45 – Mullaney Chain

Kevin invites a great improvisor to play, who invites a third, who invites a fourth who invites one more. This week’s guests:

  • Kevin Reome
  • Chris Day
  • Jacqueline Stone
  • Abby McEnany

PAY WHAT YOU WANT – Donations appreciated.

Hump Night, May 8th

Hump Night returns this coming Wednesday at Strawdog Theater, 3829 N Broadway in Chicago:

humpnightposterHump Night is back again this week with another stellar lineup of standup, improv, music, and storytelling.
7:30 – The Improv Hour
  • Richard and the Kids: Richard Scruggs, Jude Tedmori, Kyle Reinhard, Alex Hanpeter, Bethanie John, Matt Pina, Matt Visconage
  • The Kids Table: Lisa Akroush Grant Grieshaber, Sara Cardon, Caitlin Wilson, Matthew Fenton, Alex Romero, Jeff Jackel, Phil Caron
8:30 – The Variety Hour
9:45 – Mullaney Chain
with guest improvisors:

  • Claudia Michelle Wallace
  • John Sabine
  • Andrew Knox
  • TBA

RSVP on Facebook.