Monday, February 27, 2012

iO West's Amy Paffrath gets engaged on stage

Last night during Top Story! Weekly, as part of a desk piece on pressing questions, Amy Paffrath's boyfriend Drew Seeley, asked the ultimate one. And he could not have been more eloquent.




Congratulations, Amy and Drew!

Leap into Solo Performance




Class begins Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Lily Tomlin
Rachel Rosenthal
Spalding Gray
Laurie Anderson
Eric Bogosian
John Leguizamo
Anna Deveare Smith
Karen Finley
Eric Davis
Rhodessa Jones
Roger Guenveur Smith
You

Wednesdays 7:00-10:30pm in the Writer's Room

March 7 - April 11, 2012

Showcases spread over four Sunday nights in April:

> One student will earn an hour-long show
> Two students will each earn 30 minutes
> Three students will each earn 20 minutes
> Four students will earn (or choose) 15 minutes

All students are given the opportunity to put their best selves on stage so they can feel, not just think, the experience.

Solo performance does not have to be autobiographical or involve multiple characters. It can, but it doesn't have to. There is SO MUCH MORE to explore!

Song, dance, music, clowning, mixed media, Postmodernism, Absurdism and more.

Learn what genre and form would best suit YOUR skills, then create and perform either part of all your show during the course of this class with award-winning playwright and solo performer Andrea Kittelson.

What previous students have said:

"Andrea stretches the imagination like a trampoline and then she bounces on it." - Erin S., Los Angeles

"Andrea's genius was evident after the fourth meeting when it all fell into place, and I thought Holy sh*t!" - Ally B., Los Angeles

I AM SO ENERGIZED! I am more and more convinced of my gut feeling, 'Oh, she will teach me!'...What a lottery I won!" - Walker W., NYC

Register either online or by phone: 323-962-7560.

To earn a $50 discount, register by phone and mention this blog.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Kate Walsh and David Anthony Higgins grace the iO West Main Stage this Saturday


This Saturday at 8 on the Main Stage, Kate Walsh from ABC's "Private Practice" and David Anthony Higgins from CBS's "Mike and Molly" will join other talented improvisers for an improvised show located in an improvised pub.

Then, at 9, as host of the Armando, Kate will tell true tales of her past to inspire improvisation in the present.

When you combine all that titilation with in-theater cocktail service, you have a Saturday evening far greater in value than price.
  • Tickets for each show are just $10.
  • Valet (if you mention iO) is $5.
  • And drinks are plentiful and cheap.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Tim Meadows and Dave Pasquesi join Joel Murray and Friends this Thursday


SNL genius Tim Meadows AND improv giant Dave Pasquesi will BOTH join Joel Murray and Friends this Thursday at 8:30.

Even if you have to miss a transatlantic flight, you should attend. Even if your appendix bursts you should attend. Even if you die you should attend. At least if you're a disembodied soul, there will be room enough for everyone to sit.

To purchase tickets, which are $10, and to ensure a seat, click here.

Remember that your ticket stub gets you into all the shows, and there is a full bar.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Dave Pasquesi of TJ and Dave at iO West this Thursday


Anyone who is a student of long-form improv surely has the goal of becoming at least half as observant, nimble and slick as either half of TJ and Dave.

And certainly everyone who loves improv has the goal of witnessing either one or both of them live.

Well, this Thursday, at iO West, everyone has the chance.

David Pasquesi will be performing with Joel Murray and Friends on the iO West Main Stage this Thursday at 8:30pm.

Currently, Pasquesi divides his time between Chicago, where he and Jagodowski improvise a weekly hour-long show at iO Chicago; NYC, where he and Jagodowski perform regular hour-long shows at the Barrow Street Theatre - one of their most famous being the subject of the documentary, Trust Us, This is All Made Up; Los Angeles, where he advances his career in television and film; and the road, where he and Jagodowski share with the world their who, what and where.

Unless you are trapped under something incredibly heavy this Thursday, and LA angst doesn't count, then get yourself to iO.

Here is the evening's line-up:

6:30 Pub Quiz (an interactive game, not a performance)
8:30 BoomTang and Joel Murray and Friends
10:00 Quartet and Pascal
11:30 Cage Match

Saturday, February 11, 2012

'Midnight to Midnight' fundraising improvathon starts tonight


What a way to spend a weekend...

For 24 hours starting tonight at midnight, there will be, in the DCT, nonstop improvisation with some of improvs finest, inluding Waterloo, Dr. God, Hunnicut and Grace, King Ten and more.

And, for this occasion, which is a fundraiser for the DCT, the iO West bar around the corner, which will be open tonight as usual, will open up again tomorrow morning at 10am. So, you can drink your day off.

This event, which is hosted by Triggerfinger, has the goal of raising much needed funds to renovate the DCT, and, to achieve that goal, includes a raffle.

Raffle prizes include headshots, reels, the chance to play with King Ten and more. 

Visit host team Triggerfinger's website for more detailed information.

Then come to iO in your jammies (with a bib for booze) and never leave.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Hollywood Blvd. Bingo at the iO West bar...tonight



If you've teased your hair high, laid down your tchotchkes and charms and cocked your dauber, you have played bingo.

But you haven't played bingo at iO West.

Bingo at the iO West bar involves spotting certain elements of Hollywood Blvd, like "hippie with dreadlocks" or "person looking at a star" then taking a sip of your $3 beer or $4 cocktail.

The prize for "Bingo" is a free drink.

A bingo card and purchase of a drink gets you into the 8:00 show.

Tonight's show schedule:

8:00 First World Problems
8:30 Hot Toddy and Waterloo
9:30 The Cartel and Bandit
10:30 King Ten

So, bring your booty to the bar at 6:30, and perhaps, to get a head start or to help your brethren out, wear your dreads and take in a star.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

iO West advances to the Super Bowl



If you are torn between two selves -- your drama-geek self and your sports-jock self -- come and sate both selves in one happy swoop by enjoying the Super Bowl at iO West.

There will be cheap drinks and even cheaper drinking games to make sure that no one's liver watches the action from the bench.

And, if you're in any of the Super Bowl commercials, you get a free drink because why not reward those who have enough union income to earn health insurance with booze enough to test its scope?

And, following the Super Bowl, parlay the party into an evening of sketch, including a special "Grill the Candidates" episode of "Top Story! Weekly."

Friday, February 3, 2012

The iO West Popcorn to be Everyman’s bitch in a Mexican prison



The iO West Popcorn, who was recently taken into custody after being caught soliciting sexual services inside the Diego Rivera Museum in Guanajuato, México, has been held in a Guanajuato jail awaiting extradition to the United States.

According to sources newly close to the foodstuff, the iO West Popcorn was immediately jumped into a gang called The Ring whose ring leader, Everyman, is a notorious popcorn lover.

Everyman developed his taste for the treat as a boy of limited means in nearby San Miguél de Allende where he would watch movies through people’s windows. He would eat mock popcorn, taking bites as the movie-watchers took bites, developing inadvertent improv skills, making his future hunger for the iO West Popcorn, a born improviser, inevitable. Some with more education than Everyman might even say “serendipitous.”

What Everyman doesn’t know, is that the iO West Popcorn is not a reluctant gang member. He is happy to be in Everyman’s grip. He is hoping that Everyman will one day take him to the Mummy Museum where he is sure not to solicit any sex since the bulk of the mummies are women and children.

Because the trajectory (Everyman might say “path”) of the iO West Popcorn is heading to hell (someone with even less education than Everyman might use the cliché “hell in a hand basket”) friends and family of the iO West Popcorn, especially the iO West Popcorn’s brother, Popcorn with Truffles and Parmesan, are asking the public to gather together and, in homage, lick their fingers -- and, in the spirit of prison, one another's fingers -- with the hope that this form of unity might function as prayer so that the iO West Popcorn might be back in the metacarpals and pericardia (no need to define; Everyman will have plenty of time to study anatomy in prison) of iO West improvisers soon.