Home
About
Shows
Auditions
Work(shop)-in-Progress

Contact


UPCOMING EVENTS


[The Bracket]

Improv/Sketch Competition

Wednesdays, 8 PM

June17-August 5

at Matilda

3101 N. Sheffield


Rehearsal studio rentals

Coming in July


Work(shop)-in-Progress
Improv Theatre Lab
Every Sunday 3-6PM
Cornelia Arts Building


Theatre Momentum
In The News

 

 

Theatre Momentum has lots of news!

 


 

AUDITIONS

Theatre Momentum is holding auditions for the next TM shows, with performances at the Greenhouse Theater Center.
 

Auditions to take place at the Theatre Momentum Studio, 1800 W. Cornelia Ave, June 25th and June 29th.

Email auditions@theatremomentum.com to sign up!

 


[The Bracket]

Wednesdays, June 17th-August 5th at 8 PM, Theatre Momentum presents our Improv versus Sketch competition.  A $400 prize awaits your improv or sketch team. 16 teams enter, one team leaves!

 

Audience vote determines the winner, so get all your friends out to cheer you on!

 

All shows will take place at Matilda, at 3101 N. Sheffield.

 


 

A new space! TM is taking over the rehearsal space at the Cornelia Arts Building in July. This space will be available for rental for just $10/hr. Email rentals@theatremomentum.com for more details.

 


And, as always, Work(shop)-in-Progress continues. We will be bringing new coaches to WiP, every 4-6 weeks.

Please note, there will be no WiP session on June 14th, the day after The 15 Hour Project.

 

Please meet our coach for the next 6 weeks, Regan Davis.

Regan will be coaching WiP May 17-July 5, 2009.

 

 

 

We got Regan to answer a few questions about himself and his take on improvisation and theatre.

 

 

Tell us a little about your background- education, personal history, performance history, etc.
I'm originally from St. Petersburg, Florida, and I have a background in acting and improvisation, having trained at Florida State University for Acting and Directing, and training at the Second City Conservatory and Workshop-in-Progress (among other places) for improvisation. I have performed at the Chicago Improv Festival and Chicago Sketchfest, Miami Improv Festival, and directed groups for both the Miami Improv Festival and the Dirty South Improv Festival in Chapel Hill, NC. I'm currently a company member of WNEP Theater in Chicago, and I've performed theatre across Florida and on tour, and in Chicago with New Millenium, Bailiwick, WTA, WNEP and others. In addition, I'm a professional graphic designer, I've performed in independent films, shot an ill-fated TV pilot, am a contributing writer to Big News in Los Angeles, and co-created and directed the 24-Hour Projects for La Cosa Nostra Productions in Florida, building a series of one-acts from improvisation over 24 straight hours without sleep.

What are some of the basic tenets of your personal improv philosophy?
To me, the two most important elements in improvisation are emotion and objectives. Improv is about reaction to your scene partner; and an emotion is a gift to them. Everything else - wordplay, object work, staging, the humor - stems from the emotion you give to your partner. The objective that you discover in the scene is the roadmap and gives the scene purpose.

What are some experiences you think have shaped your outlook on theatre and improv?
I
think my background with scripted theatre really instilled in me the importance of objectives and dramatic action in improvisation. Working with teachers and coaches like Michael Gellman and Don Hall really pushed me to create characters that live beyond a 3-4 minute window and are interesting enough to watch for a full hour.

If you had one nugget of advice to give to budding actors and improvisors, what would it be?
There is no singular technique for acting or improvisation, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you something. The most important thing anyone can do is be open to new ways of learning, to sample a bunch of teaching styles and find the ones that connect with their own sensibilities. I think every single improviser should take at least a general acting class, a scene study class, and perform in at least one scripted play. Improvisation is about creating spontaneous theatre and it's important that we all have a knowledge of the theatre we're trying to create.
 

What do you think, outside the usual, are some useful tools that improvisors should have in their toolbelt?
Read a newspaper or magazine in full, cover to cover. With the internet and blogs, etc., we've all developed shorter attention spans, and it carries over to our scene work. Become familiar with how others tell stories that last more than two minutes, and I guarantee your scenework will improve.

What elements do you think separate a decent show from a truly great one? Do you have any favorite companies that you think really hit the mark?
The best shows have an efficiency to them wherein nothing is wasted. Anton Chekhov once wrote "If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don't put it there." In improv, our jobs are easier, because we don't have to worry about foreshadowing, we just have to remember where we hung the pistol.

 

What do you think is a good book, movie, or piece of art an improvisor should experience, to become better at their craft?
At the absolute minimum, improvisers and actors should be familiar with the American Realism classics (O'Neil, Miller, Williams, Shepard, Mamet). Most improvisation is American Realism, and every coach and director you have is going to make some reference to these playwrights in a rehearsal and it's essential that you know what they're talking about. Also, see theatre, not just improv and sketch in Chicago. Seeing theatre gives you a whole different take on objectives and characters that are compelling and can last for hours, and can open you up to new ways of telling stories. I'd also suggest watching the Director's Series label of music videos made by Chris Cunningham, Spike Jonze, and Michel Gondry. These music videos are perfect improv lessons -- they go to unusual places by using "yes, and..", they play the game of the scene really well, and they create really unique storytelling structures.

Any parting thoughts, hopes?
I'm looking forward to working with everyone at WiP. The goal of creating new forms each workshop is really exciting to me, and I hope that I can continue to make this workshop a safe place for improvisers to do dangerous things.

 

Send mail to webmaster@theatremomentum.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2008 Theatre Momentum