What: Experience the Fun of Improv Fun/Comedy with Host Brad Knight from Monkey Business Institute
When: Saturday, September 11, 2010; 1:00 – 3:00 P.M.
Where: Midvale Community Lutheran Church (4329 Tokay Blvd. – corner of Tokay Blvd. & Midvale Blvd. West side of Madison – see map on next page)
Cost: Free! Bring a snack to share with your AUsome friends
This is your chance to have a fun time and learn some acting techniques at the same time! If you’ve ever seen a Monkey Business performance or the TV show, “Whose Line is it Anyway?”, you’ve seen some of the best of Improv Comedy. Improv stands for Improvisational – which means you basically make up (improvise) funny things to act out as you go along based on our leader’s (host) directions. Our host, Brad Knight, will give us basic instructions on improv “games” and we get to use our fertile imaginations to make up the rest. It is a form of acting. I went through a class in improv comedy about 10 years ago given by the Comedy Sports organization. I still think it was the most fun I have ever had in my life.
Actual AUsome members will get to be the improv actors while parents, siblings and other support staff will act as the audience. The audience will play an active role by suggesting ideas for things.
Here are some of the improv “games” we will be trying (we might try different ones as well):
- Count Down
The audience will be asked to suggest a short scenario that host Brad will help the actors develop into a 2 minute performance. Then Brad will have the actors speed everything up to do it in one minute and then do it again in 30 seconds. The challenge and humor is in trying to go faster and faster. - What Are You Doing?
Two actors will face each other. The audience will suggest a simple activity like “painting a fence”. One actor will pretend to paint a fence. The other actor will ask “What are you doing?” Then the painting actor will have to reply that he is doing something else totally different – like “Eating a hot dog”. Then the second actor will act out the hot dog eating while saying he is doing something else, etc. - The Genius Panel
Several actors will line up in a row facing the audience. They will form the panel. The audience will ask the panel a question. Then the panel will provide the audience with an answer, but each panel member can only say one word at a time as they make up the answer. - Storytelling
Several actors will form a team of story tellers. The audience will suggest a subject. Each story teller on the team makes up part of the story for a short time until the host points to another story team member. Then that storyteller has to pick up the story and keep adding to it.
Don’t worry if this all sounds kind of confusing. Our host Brad has lots of experience getting all kinds of audiences to play these kinds of games – even if you’ve never done anything like this in your life. It’s what he does for a living. It will be lots of fun! You can find out more about the Monkey Business Institute at their web site – http://www.monkeybusinessinstitute.com/. They have a show every Friday night at The Glass Nickel Pizza place on Atwood Ave.
Our “show” will last a little over an hour. After we’re done, we’ll relax with our snacks and lemonade. Brad will hang around to chat more about improv comedy. He will also have information about the classes they offer like the one I took ten years ago.
We’re glad the major church remodeling is done so we can use the Midvale Community Lutheran facilities again. However, even though we are able to use the fellowship hall, the kitchen area is now the subject of remodeling so we won’t be able to use those facilities for our September activity. The kitchen should be done in time for our annual video game night in November this year.
Be sure to bring a snack to share that doesn’t need refrigeration. Also bring all necessary serving utensils. I’ll bring cups, plates and lemonade.
Important Items and Sensory Issues:
Bring a snack to share
Bring your active imagination!
Map to Midvale Community Lutheran
The AUsome Social Group
Teen/Young Adult Recreation/Social Group
Sponsored by the Autism Society of Greater Madison (ASGM); http://www.autismmadison.org/
Contact: Nancy Alar, 3802 Gala Way, Cottage Grove, WI 53527
(608) 222-4378 or ausome@hughes.net
