The Philadelphia theater scene is stunningly prolific. We’ve got numerous Equity houses like the Wilma, PTC, the Arden, and the Lantern. We have many more companies like 1812, the Lantern, Azuka, InterAct, Brat Productions, and Pig Iron that offer union wages while developing provocative work. We host award-winning comtemporary playwrights like Michael Hollinger and Bruce Graham. And, via the annual Live Arts and Fringe Festival, we provide fertile ground for up-and-coming companies like Swim Pony, Nice People,  and 11th Hour to grow and thrive. Attention Mayor Nutter: perhaps we should change our motto to “Come for the cheesesteak; stay for the show.”

A big part of why I co-founded PJI with Kate is because I’ve long felt that Philadelphia improv could benefit from absorbing some of the local theatricality. Part of the beauty of improv is that it’s possible to do a great show with nothing more than some people, some other people watching, and a space to do it in. Yet improv’s punk rock aesthetic often contributes to its downfall. Many audience members leave a comedy show with the feeling that they got lost on the way to the theater and wound up in somebody’s cousins’ friends’ basement. Sometimes shitty production values aren’t hilarious, or guerilla, or refreshingly minimalist. They’re just shitty.

That’s one reason I was endlessly excited to kick off with a show like Cecily and Gwendolyn’s Fantastical Balloon Ride. While I’ve always known that improv was a legitimate performance form, it was beyond satisfying to see theatrical professionals Karen Getz and Kelly Jennings do a  I felt just like Kevin Pollak as Wayne Boggs in the legendary coming-of-age epic She’s All That; watching improv take of her stupid nerdy glasses and change into a nice dress so that Freddie Prinze, Jr. can just love her already. For you Prinze Jr. types (who somehow missed that Rachel Leigh Cook in an ugly outfit IS STILL RACHEL LEIGH FREAKIN’ COOK), my hope is that PJI’s investment in production values will help divulge one of theater’s biggest open secrets.

Coming up next for PJI is “Rodgers and Hammerstein Are Dead.” It’s a completely improvised musical inspired by the classic musicals of Broadway’s Golden Age. No, we aren’t doing any Rodgers and Hammerstein music. We couldn’t afford the rights, and anyway, if we knew the music in advance it wouldn’t be improvised! Yes, we are dressing our superb cast in period-appropriate costumes (designed by Katherine Fritz) that evoke the proper aesthetic. Yes, we did enlist the help of musician/comedian/excellent person Joe Gribbin (of ComedySportz and the Action Section). And yes, the project is under the direction of Jason Stockdale. For hot director-on-cast directing action, see below photo!

Jason Stockdale (R) directs R&HAD cast members Olwn Conway and Mark Bringhurst.
Photo by Katherine Fritz.

This post was originally supposed to be about why we selected Jason as the director. The short answer is that he’s an experienced improviser, an experienced musical theatre performer, outrageously talented, and a swell guy (PJI has a fairly strict “No A-Holes” policy). The long answer is worth a whole separate blog post. Managing Director Kate Sabato managed to sit down with Jason and record his thoughts on the project. Hopefully we’ll be able to post some or all of the interview and you’ll be able to hear Jason’s qualifications for yourself.

Ok, here is the part where I struggle for a conclusion. Well, this entry has already taken several days to complete (blogging is NOT EASY when you’re a mediocre writer) and I’m getting really, really hungry. So I’m going to go all grade school on this post and commit as many concluding faux pas as I can recall

In conclusion, I — the author of this piece — do hereby conclude, THAT PAUL WALKER TOOK IMPROV TO A SWANKY HOTEL AND TRIED TO RAPE IT.

How could you, Paul Walker? How could you?

Do you like the N Crowd? Do you like recordings of lively conversations with lively people? Do you like gratuitous use of the term “Butt oils”? Well if you answered yes to at least one of those questions, then you will probably enjoy the N Crowd’s Saturday Morning Hangover!

Oh, you were not aware that the N Crowd has a podcast? Well, we don’t blame you. It is hard to keep up with everything that’s awesome and still have time for your family and job and stuff. To catch you up: for almost as long as the N Crowd has been performing every Friday night, Executive Director BJ Ellis has been recording a podcast the following Saturday morning. Ellis invites improvisers to do what they do best: stand near his microphone and talk, such that he may record their wisdom.

This past October he brought this magical audio-wisdom capture machine to the Philadelphia Improv Festival and let ‘er rip. He spoke with PJI Artistic Director Alexis Simpson, and we’re posting it here for your listening pleasure. PJI plus BJ Ellis? We’re going to go ahead and call that “BJI.”

NOT SAFE FOR WORK ADVISORY: BJ doesn’t edit, and so there may be NSFW comments or language. I mean, we already told you about the Butt Oil nonsense. You were warned.

Full episode: The N Crowd Saturday Morning Hangover: PHIF 5 edition (about 40 min). Featuring: Zach Ward, Kristen Schier, Charles Rosen, Ben Snitkoff, Alexis Simpson, and the mysterious “MilkShake.”

Partial episode: BJI on the Saturday Morning Hangover