Michael Pizza Comedy Blog

Improv Tips

2011-06-14T12:54:00.000-07:00

by josh

I think most improvisors who've been doing improv a while are uncomfortable giving notes or tips or anything. We don't want to seem full of ourselves and I don't want anyone every watching me thinking he's not following his own instruction. Fact of the matter is improv is hard and you have good shows and bad shows. I'm going to step out of my comfort zone and list a few things I personally try, though fail often, to follow.
1,Everything your partner(s) says is gold. You might think that it's actually crap, but it really is gold. I've watched great improvisors take lines I thought were awful and turn it into a hilarious scene. I no longer think there are any bad lines and it's only helped me.
2, Don't be defensive. If someone says "you're an idiot" then good news you get to be an idiot. Call it gifts call it whatever you want, but listen to it and think yes what if I was an idiot. Improvisors are so easy to defend themselves as if they were actually in real life. You can still be real in a scene an accept what someone throws at you to the n'th degree. "You're a loser" -its just as fun to be a loser as it is to be a winner. "I've never won a bar fight in my life" or some crap like that.
3, Feel some way. Have a want. How ever you say it it's important that you have a direction. Weather it be trying to get laid or trying to ask your son if he's on drugs cause you hate drugs just feel some way and stick to it. It's much more fun to watch action oriented characters than it is to watch someone with no emotion or POV.

That's all I got for now. Improv is hard so imbedding these things in your head takes time and its easy to fall back into bad habits. If you stay focused on doing good work then the payoff will be huge.

3/31/11

2011-04-01T00:23:00.000-07:00

During notes after our show tonight, our new coach, the amazing Jet Eveleth, helped me "re-realize" something I learned in classes at iO: set up your teammates to succeed, not fail. In the middle of our show, I came out as a music teacher introducing a choir of 3rd-graders about to sing Christmas carols. So far, so good, especially since our suggestion was "Winter". We could have gone anywhere with that abbreviated intro, but I added the detail that they weren't very talented. This set us up to be inept singers, which my teammates graciously obliged in the following game. (Props to the rest of MP for honoring that.)

Why did I do this? If they were going to fail as these 3rd-grade singers, wouldn't we and the audience want to discover that together in the moment? I'm a sucker for details, but when it comes to establishing a scene or a game, I believe that dictating action not only forces things to happen, but also limits group mind and creativity. My "game-move" tonight reminded me of this:

"If we treat each other as if we are geniuses, poets, and artists, we have a better chance of becoming that on-stage." - Del Close

Next time, I want to set us up to succeed. Plus, it's a lot more fun!

Ben

Fly down, way down

2011-03-30T14:31:00.000-07:00

by eric

This a quick little story of an improv experience I had while in college.

My friend and I, Mike Garvin, had a two man team which we dubbed "Date Night". In fact, we still do shows whenever I am back in Carbondale, the place of my college days and his current home. We played on a very intimate and cozy space named the Longbranch Backroom that holds about 40 when it is packed to the gills.

On this night, I can honestly say I can't even remember what year this was, we were doing a set in which Mike was wearing a suit and I was wearing a tux. You see, our theme was "classy improv for an un-classy world" and so we tried to dress nice on our "Date Night". (As you can see from the photo a fan took at that very show)

I remember we had to change into the suits at the theater behind a little blind. It was all very sexy. The certain pair of tuxedo pants I was wearing has an extraordinary long fly zipper, which I still posses to this day but haven't worn since. I don't know if that was the style back in the day, to have a super long fly zipper or if it was tailored to a man packing some heat. Either way, that chasm of a fly never made its way closed before the show, unbeknownst to me.

I don't know at what point I realized that the Grand Canyon in my pants was presenting itself to the audience, I just know that when I did I stepped behind Mike and made things right. The zip heard round the world they say.

I later found out that my girlfriend, and now wife, Tamira had been trying to flag me down from the back of the theater as she was taping the show. Don't start looking for the video of Youtube, it isn't there. But it is in my mind to this day and every time I take the stage, I do a little zipper check. If you ever watch me on the back line during a game of "freeze" or the "the dream" at iO Theater, you will likely catch me checking myself.

Doin' If For Yourself

2011-03-21T14:04:00.000-07:00

While flipping through some old acting class folders from college, I came across an article that spoke to me as much today as when I first read it years ago. Back then, I applied the ideas of this periodical to stage acting. Now I apply it to improvisation. I especially like what the author says about fear, as that is one of the biggest hurdles in improv, especially for beginners. Even though this article is about athletes and sports, the same ideas apply to any kind of performance! Honestly, you can apply this article to anything in your life: work, play, relationships, etc. Here are only two excerpts of one great article:

"Doin' It For Yourself"
By K.C. Compton
I have to or else...I choose to because...Within each of those phrases lies an entire story about an athlete's motivation and possibly the of her long-term success. One phrase finds its source in fear; the other comes from and continues to produce joy. Any athlete knows fear--sometimes actual fear for her safety or well-being, but more often fear of looking stupid or fear of just flat-out being a loser. As a motivator, fear can be a doozy, at least for a little while. But it is fear's companions--burnout, limitation and suffering--that ultimately make it bad news for the athlete.
"When you are motivated by fear, your perspective is really limited because all you're trying to do is survive," says sports psychologist Virginia Savage. "you can only see one or tow options, when really you have many options. Fear sometimes works as a motivator, but only for the time being. You suffer because you're always judging yourself harshly, which creates burnout."
Kathy Cosley, a record-setting mountaineer who has climbed some of the world's roughest and most challenging peaks, says some of her worst fears come not from staring down Switzerland's jagged and awe-inspiring Eiger or Patagonia's daunting Cerro Torre peak, but from fearing she'll fail when performing under the scrutiny of her peers.
"I've had a lot of performance anxiety because I was afraid of looking bad in front of people I respect a lot," Cosley says. "It's just natural for those thoughts to pass through your mind. But I can't imagine being motivated for long by that. I keeps me from thinking clearly and makes it hard for me to keep my mind on how to do the best job i can. I'm in this for the fun of it, and if that's your central motivator, you'll keep doing it for as long as you can, no matter what."

(Back to Ben blogging)
Cosley's quote above about "performing under the scrutiny of her peers" really resonates with me. I often perform improv or sketch comedy in front of fellow actors, many of whom I admire. When I have fear racing through my mind right before a show starts, I'm leaving very little room for creativity in the performance. It's like the race has already started, but I'm still at the starting block thinking about who is in the crowd. It's not a lost cause at this point, but doubly hard to catch up to where you'd like to be. When I find myself nervous about who is watching and whether or not they'll like what I do, I remember this simple thing: These people WANT to see me shine. They WANT to see something that makes them laugh. Why would I be afraid of making one of my improv heroes laugh? I've done this, and I know why: fear. Fear of not looking good or worthy in front veteran improvisers, friends or even strangers that will form opinions about me. The most intense fear for me happens if I'm dating a girl and she sees my show for the first time. Now there's an opinion I care about!)
I used to concern myself with that slippery slope much more than I do now. I won't lie, I still care if people think my improv is funny. I just don't worry as much if they don't, and that makes for more fearless performances, which is what we strive for in anything, whether it's improv, scripted shows, or sports. My favorite improv shows are with Michael Pizza when I was less concerned with fear and far more focused on having fun with my boys on stage.

Do you tell yourself that you have to be funny in a show or else people won't like you? Or are you choosing to do it for yourself?

-Ben

Ben and Brett as Stavros and Nikkos...

2010-11-21T14:10:00.000-08:00

So Charna Halpern, the owner of the iO Theater, sent Ben and I on an audition for a movie on Friday. And wouldn't you know it, Ben and I actually got the f'in thing. Apparently, the part was originally written for the Sklar brothers but they dropped out; so Ben and I picked up the scraps like a couple of bottom feeding bristleworms. We auditioned Friday morning and were on set shooting by 5am on Saturday...

The movie is a romantic comedy called "One Small Hitch". Our characters are Nikkos and Stavros, two brothers with a wedding catering company. When the big shit hits the big fan during the main character's wedding planning, we step in and try to save the wedding. It was really fun and I think we did a pretty decent job. They even let us improvise a few takes. I won't know if they use any of our improvised lines until I see the movie, but it was fun to try either way!

I'd say the biggest thing I took from the whole day was surprise at the amount of people involved. I've done a few commercials, a couple of music videos and Michael Pizza has done some sketch stuff, but none of them came close to this. It's pretty intimidating to know that, if you mess up, everyone has to reset. The grips, the boom guy, the actors, the camera people; everyone.

Anyway, it was a real fun experience and I hope it turns out great! If not, let's make fun of Ben and say it was his fault!

I'm off to shoot an industrial for Phillip Morris that I was just hired for. I guess that when it rains it pours. If you feel a sudden, overwhelming desire to smoke a cigarette, I'll know that selling my soul to promote smoking was totally worth while!

-Brett "Nikkos" Elam

Michael Pizza Video of the Week

2010-11-04T14:04:00.000-07:00

Here is the new MP video for this week!!

Ben and Josh at Chicken Hut

2010-10-31T22:45:00.000-07:00

"Look everyone. I'm having my third cup of Pepsi!"

Ben can't wait to dive into that delicious Chicken Hut chicken.

I can wait, but I only chose to wait until the picture was taken.

Josh

Restaurant Review: Paprika

2010-10-27T11:35:00.000-07:00

Service: -1
Food: 6 1/2
Ambiance: 5

If you're into seeing one man impress you with how much he can do in a restaurant then go to Paprika on Lawrence, but if you want a meal when you're actually hungry and would like to leave when you're done than look elsewhere. There must have been a staff shortage because, the owner I'm guessing, was doing everything including: cooking, serving, bussing, and hosting.
The food was decent. I had the Basil Ki Chicken (sauteed chicken breast with tomatoes, onions, red peppers and basil). I'm not a huge proponent of Indian which makes me a little biased, but it was enjoyable. The chicken was tender and there was a burst of basil flavor in each bite. The garlic naan, which the owner/server etc. made himself in the downtime between orders, was very good. If it had been designed as a European slow paced restaurant than by all mean the slow service would have been fine. This guy just stretched himself to thin. Kass, Eric and I were able to laugh off the endless waiting. Paprika was in the "Best of Chicago" edition of Chicago magazine for their dessert. We didn't even get that far because that would have added another hour to the two we'd already spent in there before we could even get the man's attention to ask for our bill. Uhhhhhh! It drives me crazy just thinking about it. I shan't be returning soon.

Here's a sneak peek at Eric's review

Service 2
Food 7
Ambiance 5

Well someone needs to put a an AD in the paper for a server and that place is Paprika...

le Michael Pizza

2010-10-16T14:09:00.000-07:00

We had a super fun show on Thursday night at iO, for two reasons.

Number one, we just had a lot of fun onstage. At one point, Josh and I were breaking so hard that we each had tears in our eyes and neither of us could stop laughing. We just stood there for about 30 seconds trying to hold back the tears.

But the second reason why it was a really fun night is because, after the show, we met two really awesome women. One was from France and had brought her friend from Los Angeles ALL THE WAY to iO Chicago because her French improv teacher had recommended Michael Pizza. In a French improv class. IN FRANCE! I thought "surely she is mistaken and her teacher actually just recommended iO Chicago and not Michael Pizza specifically". But no, she assured me that her teacher recommended us! So, unless he was actually recommending "Michael's Pizza" (the pizza place near Irving Park that refused to return our phone calls about helping with our two year anniversary show), it seems like we are pretty much taking Europe by storm right now.

So, yeah, Charna and I are in discussions to open up L'improvisation olympique.

Yes (by Brett)

2010-09-20T01:13:00.000-07:00

"yes is a world
& in this world of
yes live
(skilfully curled)
all worlds"

That's part of a poem from E. E. Cummings. He also said "I imagine that 'yes' is the only living thing".

Guess what? Michael Pizza just realized that we say "no" a lot in our improv. That sucks. When you realize that you are bad at something and you have been doing it, in front of audiences, for a while... that sucks. I'm not against explicitly saying "no" in a scene but there are times when you can say "no" but imply "yes". Here's what I mean...

Michael Pizza has been taught to always support each other in scenes. Somehow that manifests itself into always trying to be friendly. So, if Ben tells me that we're roommates and he's tired of me always being a dick and leaving my towels on the floor, I always end up saying "I'm sorry, I'll quit leaving towels on the floor". I said "yes" to the scene but, in a different sense, I just said "no" to a huge gift he just gave me. I'm a dick. I don't care about towels on the floor. At very least, I'm an oblivious roommate who will never pick up my towels. The second I start picking up towels and saying "I love you," I've denied the thing he just told me. I'm a dick roommate.

It probably sounds pretty obvious. And I like to consider myself a pretty savvy improviser, but these little gifts always seem to slip past me. So that is what I'm working on right now. Accepting and playing with the gifts that Ben, Eric and Josh give me.

I'll leave you with one last quote, because that's what I do. My ex-girlfriend always wanted to be a singer but she never had any clue where to begin. I tried and tried to help her but she was always too scared to take any step until she was completely sure of a course of action. So she never went anywhere. Anyway, here's a quote I like about that...

"The country needs and, unless I mistake its temper, the country demands bold, persistent experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it: If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something." -FDR

My Favorite Michael Pizza Moments

2010-09-04T10:36:00.000-07:00

After nearly every show we do Michael Moments. The moments usually focus around improv moments that were too fun not to mention, but sometimes we celebrate team victories such as; packing the Playground during Michael @ Midnight, getting our first iO run, or an idol of ours commenting on how great our posters are. We celebrate these because we know that if we really boil it down we're just a couple of guys on an improv team who take it really seriously. Improvisers are usually on a bunch of teams, they perform here and there and do this and that. I think we try to rebel against that. We're almost to protective of our improv team. We talk endlessly about sit-ins and what is the best move to make for the team. We really treat it like a business and that I love.

Its impossible to pick which is the best MP moment because they all hold a special place in my heart. Here's a good one that hasn't been mentioned. There's only been one or two shows where all four of us were there and we had a sit-in. We had Erica Elam sit in. Boy oh boy was that a fun show. Erica is great! Erica, Eric, Brett and I were all girls talking about getting a man to take care of us and finally we had gotten Ben to go to Erica's house with her. Eric, Brett and I went home with them and we hung out in the kitchen. Here's how the scene went. Ben and Erica are in the front room and we're listening to them behind the kitchen door. Suddenly we get distracted by all the food in the kitchen and just start eating various food items. Every so often she'd check back on us and we'd have nothing to comment about what she had in her pantry. It was loads of fun. In that same show we did another scene where Kass went to jail for something ridiculous. I popped in as a hardened criminal and then Eric popped in as an executioner and revealed I was sitting in an electric chair. He then electrocuted me. It all happened in the blink of an eye and was outstanding!

That was a fun show and I really thank Erica endlessly for playing with us.

Josh

My Favorite MP Moment

2010-09-01T21:03:00.001-07:00

by Kass

My favorite Michael Pizza moment comes from the tail end of the show that made us Cagematch champs. This story does end, and it has a happy ending.

The first major goal for Michael Pizza was to win the 2009 iO Cagematch. We rehearsed for months to achieve a tight 20 minute show. The Cagematch was a bracketed tournament of two improv teams performing whatever form they desired. Then the audience voted for one group to move on. MP made it all the way to the finals! I can still remember how nervous we all were that night, but we channeled that energy into my favorite show we've ever done.

Toward the end of our 20 minutes on stage, there was a scene with Eric as an old man. I don't remember exactly how we arrived at a reference to Neverending Story, but all four of us quickly cut to Eric's old man character riding the dragon-dog Falkor (played by me, Brett and Josh) through the sky! We explored the whole stage like that as the crowd erupted in laughter and then applause! Two noteworthy details: this called back Josh riding Brett as a horse toward the top of the show, and Falkor turned out to be deathly allergic to carrots just like said horse. This scene was done with pure joy and complete acceptance as all four of us created something together. We won the iO Cagematch that night, and it was one of the best nights of my life.

My Favorite MP Moment

2010-09-01T12:38:00.001-07:00

by brett

Eric's blog got me thinking about some of the best MP moments that we've ever had. Man, there have been some pretty fun times onstage but one moment really stands out to me.

In our 5b performances, Eric and I used to play two characters backstage called Huck N Shuck. We were like college frat guys who always did secret handshakes. Well, during our "Michael At Midnight" run at The Playground, we finally had a chance to use those characters. We were messing with some girl in the high school hallway when we got a call from the commissioner (Josh). Apparently the mayor's wife had been kidnapped and he needed Huck N Shuck to save her. So these two douche bag jocks (who are also super heroes as we find out) fly all the way to England to stop a sadistic killer who is driving with the mayor's wife (Ben) all tied up in the car. We landed, punched through the car window and then threw the car across the stage. It was the first time in a show that we actually got cheers and applause from the audience!

That was also the moment that I realized that team work is always better than just "being funny". Nobody really did anything that funny in that scene, but because we all played together and everyone was involved, the audience loved it. In Michael Pizza, the "whole" is greater than it's "parts". What I mean is that the things we are capable of as a group are leaps and bounds better than the things we are capable of individually.

I can still clearly see the look on Josh's face when I lifted up the front of that object work car and he pretended to be flying away. Funny.

It Started in a Shoe Store

2010-09-01T07:45:00.000-07:00

by eric

In case you hadn't heard, we are about to celebrate our two year anniversary with a show that is basically an excuse to party with friends and colleagues. This is the first part of a collection on memories we have all shared getting to this point.

While the date of the anniversary show is September 5th we actually had a our first great show in October, one year and eleven months ago. Prior to that team defining show we had only done a handful of "barprov" shows and an opening for Pimprov that crashed and burned.

Flash back to late October 2008, Michael Pizza had just begun rehearsing with a new coach, David Montgomery, and we were anxious to try out a new form we had been working on named "The Parlor". The show was to be at CIC Theater in Lakeview on a Saturday night and if I recall we were the middle team of a three team line-up.

The air was brisk but pleasant as we stood in a garden at the back of the theater and warmed up for the show. We did all the standard warm-ups and moved into just practicing scenes. The mood was giddy and nervous as the four of us played together surrounded by plants. David arrived near the end of the warm up and gave us some things to think about before we went on and told us to "have fun".

Walking out onto the stage at CIC in front of a crowd is a great feeling. If you have never been to this theater, it seats about 40 and the crowd is right on top of the stage. Essentially it is a very intimate environment that makes it very difficult to miss any action. The patrons were in a good mood that night as the BYOB was flowing and we had a few friends in the crowd.

Our form starts with a four person scene at the top, in this case we were a family in a shoe store. I played a young girl trying on shoes, Ben was my Mom, Josh was my Dad and Brett was the shoe salesman (that would later become a character of his named Mike Cardealer). I am not sure what the suggestion was looking back but it was most likely shoe or boot.

The show hit the ground running from the top with four fleshed out characters at the top. From there we saw the daughter at school getting hit on in the hallway, the parents at home and even a commercial by the shoe salesman. In the end, it was a tight, funny and energetic show that had a great capper with Brett addressing a camera that had been filming a commercial all along.

The crowd went nuts an when we got off the stage and back into the friendly confines of the garden we all kind of looked at each other with big eyes and grins on our faces. It was kind of a "Did we just do that?" moment. Looking back it, it is hard to say how good the show was and if it would have stacked up with shows we do now but I know we all look back at that show with a certain fondness.

Afterward, we went the a bar down the street named the Longroom and had drinks, laughed, enjoyed each others company and celebrated what was the beginning a wild ride.

Eye Contact

2010-08-02T22:45:00.000-07:00

Someone told me that Susan Messing said "Anything you need to know in improv is in your partners eyes." That about says it all.

Eye contact is a huge source of communication. Anything I need to communicate I can do through a glance. If I want to let Ben know I have nothing in this weirdo flame thrower game I easily can with a "Ben Help" look. Eye contact is so subtle also. When my Harold team Owl Farm started we were doing awful openings. They were honestly the worst things in the world. After a while, and Farrell hammering eye contact into our heads, they got much better. Its a way of communicating "hey guys! lets get on the same page here and stop throwing in random garbage."

I started re-watching some Seinfeld episodes recently. In one episode Kramer was refusing to meet with the cable guy because he had been burned by the cable company in the past. After being abused the cable guy gave up and gave a monologue to Kramer's door apologizing for the way the cable company had treated him in the past. After the speech Kramer opened the door and without saying a word, just using his eyes and body language, forgave him for all the abuse. It was such a funny moment, built up with the happenings of the episode, brought to an near pinnacle with the cable guy's speech and then knocked out of the park with Kramer's look of forgiveness.

Here's the link to watch yourself if interested. Its 6 mins.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhWavua-1FI&feature=related

Eye contact is easy to forget. In the beginning you have to remind yourself to do it constantly. After a while you rely on it. It becomes the impetus for everything. Sometimes all the improv jargon (improv has jargon. Isn't that weird.) and notes get me in my head and I need to remind myself to just look at my partner(s) and react. They're already giving me everything I need to know.

Josh

"Gentlemen, we are not Knights!"

2010-06-27T12:14:00.000-07:00

by eric

Recently Michael Pizza was given 4 shows on DVD by our friend Aadam Jacobs who films quite a few of our shows as well as The Scene's shows.

Ben Kass and I watched a couple of the better shows last night over my famous Chihuahua burgers and some summer ales. It is strange watching yourself do improv and you really get to see what you missed and what could have been done better. However, the one thing I really enjoyed watching was the things that I didn't get to see for one reason or another.

One moment in particular is from the "Medieval Times" show in which I started a game of the four knights on their horses doing their ride before the show. In the game, Josh's horse was acting up and not riding straight to the point where it looked like he was on an animatronic ride.

I was in the front and didn't get to see this happening and when I saw it on tape I was in tears I was laughing so hard. It sure is fun to make believe in front of a crowd each week.

We have posted this show online for everyone to enjoy and we will post more later this week!

Enjoy: www.michaelpizzacomedy.com

How Brett Got Here...

2010-06-18T01:01:00.000-07:00

Tonight's Michael Pizza show was a pretty fun night. I was worried at first because our warm ups hadn't gone that great (I was being a little bit of a dick and everyone else seemed a little unenthusiastic). But, at the end of the night, I was pretty happy with the show we had done. The night was made up of singing ventriloquists, creepy janitors and slow motion marriages. Fun stuff. Michael Pizza is really starting to have consistently good shows, and that's exciting.

Lately, I've been thinking about moving to LA. My friend Cesar just made the leap and I also have a very close friend who is an animator for Disney out there. Add to that the fact that I've been writing a lot with Gary Richardson (from the Harold team Neapolitan) and I have booked a commercial or two lately, and I'm starting to think that LA may just be in my future.

Anyway, the little bit of success that I've had recently with Michael Pizza and all the thoughts of moving to LA have got me thinking about my past and how I got to this point in my life. I have lived a pretty weird life and I thought I'd share it with you. So, for those who are interested, here is how I came to be where I'm at...

I was raised in Memphis, TN. My mother was a school teacher in the Memphis public schools and my dad was a struggling musician who worked in wheat fields and oil rigs to pay for our family. Eventually, my dad starting performing with Roy Orbison (Pretty Woman, Traveling Wilburys, etc). You can still see my dad on old episodes of SNL with his huge red afro, playing bongo drums with Roy. Memphis is also where I fell in love with rap music. I used to visit my friend Scott in the bad part of town and he introduced me to rap. We lived in Memphis until Roy died and my dad moved us to LA so he could help with Roy's estate. I got super into art and drawing in California and I vowed to be a cartoonist. At least until we moved back to Tennessee.

Once I moved back to Nashville though, I pretty much gave up on art. I got really into anything and everything bad. Fist fights with kids in my neighborhood. Robbing people. Man, I was an idiot. But there were two major events that really turned my life around...

Number one: On my first day of senior year in high school, I was driving to visit my friend Terrence at his job at McDonalds. I had been having a little turf war with some guys from down the street and there was a lot of animosity between us. Anyway, one of the guy's older brothers pulled his car up in front of mine and slammed on his brakes. When he got out of the car, he punched me through my car window. My friends and I (Matt, Seth and Fred) jumped out of the car and started beating this dude up. Before we knew it, he had pulled a gun and, while trying to shoot me, had shot my friend Fred in the arm. The cops came and blockaded the street. We were laying on the ground with shotguns at our heads. I even had a cop tell me that he'd "blow my head off". Anyway, long story short: we beat that guy up pretty bad, took the gun from him and spent a year in court over the whole ordeal.

The second thing that happened was even crazier (this is where the story really gets weird). After that whole gun fight fiasco, we kind of quit being friends with Seth. For no particular reason, it just happened that way. Anyway, one day Terrence and I decided that we should break into Seth's house and rob him for anything of any value. True story. So we did. And, in the process, someone saw us and called the police. I got arrested at my job at Jersey Mike's Subs and Salads. My parents had to come see me in court in shackles and an orange jumpsuit the next day. It was crazy. In the long run, I was charged with aggravated burglary and theft over $10,000. A few felonies on my juvenile record but nothing too major. Weird, huh?

It gets weirder.

I went to college for music business. I started an independent rap record label. I released many albums and made a little money with rap music. Everything was cool for a while. Then, my rapper friend Luis (who I had met in juvenile detention for the aforementioned story) was murdered. My rapper friend Marquise went to prison for murder. And my rapper friend Lamont was murdered. All within a few years of each other. On top of that, my brother had been an amazing rapper but was starting to get burned out on music, so he quit rapping all together (here's his newest record for free if you're interested: http://ripcadence.com).

So, with no rappers left to produce and no real focus, I needed a new creative outlet. My sister was performing in a show called Baby Wants Candy in Chicago and, for Christmas, she got me a gift certificate to Second City. I had always fancied myself a funny, smart guy. Misguided, sure, but funny and smart nonetheless. So I did what any failed rap producer/wannabe thug would do: I moved to Chicago and started comedy. I met Josh and Ben in level two at iO and Eric in level four. We created Michael Pizza and the rest is history.

A lot of improvisers don't believe me when I tell these stories (it all seems so long ago that I hardly believe myself anymore). But ask my sister Erica or my brother Scott. Or, just get a few vodka/cranberries in me and ask me about the stories I didn't tell. Hell, some stories I can't tell because the statute of limitations isn't up yet. It's been a weird road to get to this point.

Oh, did I mention that I've worked with the country music artist Kenny Chesney for the past 7 years??? I can't make this shit up people.

Come see Michael Pizza on Thursday nights at iO Chicago. It's a four man show and our weird, fucked up lives make for some pretty funny point of views each week. And, if you see me play a thug character, I'm just doing a little Truth In Comedy, courtesy of my friend Lemont McLemore AKA Money Maker Mont (RIP).

The Shirt

2010-05-21T12:16:00.000-07:00

by eric

This is the story of how the airbrushed t-shirt that Brett wore during our show last night came to be.

It all started with a Michael Pizza rehearsal over a year ago. Brett and I played a scene in which we were two airbrush artists who owned a small store on a boardwalk and were contemplating getting out of airbrushing altogether.

In the scene my character tried to convince Brett's character to not give up our dream. In order to show my appreciation for him my character showed him the airbrush shirt that I made him, "It's us riding dolphins that are jumping over a rainbow and it says 'wishes'."

I knew that day that I had to create that shirt and vowed to get it for Brett as a gift. As luck would have it I was in a Evanston mall months later that had an airbrush art stand.

I approached the "artist" and told him my idea. He sketched it out and then said, "So the guy and girl are riding on the dolphins?" I told him yes, but it actually would be a guy and a guy riding the dolphins. There was a brief silence met with a "Oh, hey that's cool man, whatever." I proceeded to tell him a little of the story of why I was making the shirt and that seemed to put him at ease.

So about an hour later there it was, the first ever made up prop from an improv scene brought to life.

Brett said he would wear it to a show but had yet to do follow through so I knew that my birthday would be the best excuse to introduce the shirt to the world. So world, you're welcome.

Improv Marketing

2010-05-13T13:26:00.001-07:00

by eric

Recently in Michael Pizza we decided to each take on certain tasks that need to be done for the sake of the group. I took up marketing, Brett is now or video liaison, Ben is the man in charge of finding time and space for rehearsal and Josh keeps everyone's schedule in order.

Marketing a four man improv group in a city that has more four man improv groups than pigeons is a daunting task. We don't talk in Shakespearean dialect, we don't have a 5 piece band and nobody in our group is named Tim Meadows. So how do we make a name for ourselves in the improv world?

The first answer that might pop up is, "Be a great improv team, do good work and make people laugh." It really is as simple as that but it also is not the answer. Of course Micheal Pizza is going to strive to get better at the art of improv through workshops and rehearsals but how do we supplement that?

In my opinion, we take what we do best and we amplify it to the nth degree and what Michael Pizza does best is have infections, joyous fun on stage. That is why it has become my goal this summer to let that spill over into our marketing. We have a huge 2 year anniversary show coming up in September that will be unlike anything anyone has ever done, or at least since I have been in Chicago.

That is just one idea and definite event that will be happening. There are tons more that will come along that I can't share right now since the details are still be hammered out but rest assured they will be injected with that same Mike Pizza fun that has become our staple.

Hopefully we can find the time for it all!

Knowledge

2010-05-12T09:17:00.000-07:00

Josh-

I saw Stubs last night, starring Brad Morris and Dina Fackalis. Brad Morris played this guy named Hiroaki Aoki, the guy that started Benihana. Aoki was giving a demonstration on cooking while swearing up a storm. Not only did Brads Japanese accent crack everyone up but he seemed to display so much knowledge about Benihana. I was pretty sure he was just fudging all the info about the restaurant, but to my surprise it was true. That's the actual name of the guy that started Benihana! How did he know that?

This brings me to my point. You can make up anything in improv. Its hilarious when people say that the plane weighs 50 tons and go into some bull about how the jet engines work. But it's downright amazing when people have actual knowledge on something. In Ben's last blog he mentioned how I like to learn. I do. The world is interesting, but another reason is if my scene partner decides to make us soldiers I want to be ready with some cool facts to detail our scene.

During one of Bill Arnett's classes he told us that sometimes when he walks around he likes to look at people, guess what they do, and then give a couple lines of dialogue as that person doing their job. He also had us do an exercise where we went around in a circle, someone would give the next person an occupation and they had to give five lines of dialogue speaking as that person without coming out and saying what occupation they were. For example; if dentist was given- "Your bicuspids look out of order, this practice wouldn't be shit without the sexy hygienists, if I whiten your teeth for free I'll have to do it for everyone, I'm only gonna take four bite wings and then you can get outta here, the DDS stands for honor.

Here's a real cool website that has a terminology data bank for all sorts of occupations.
http://www.uwasa.fi/viestintatieteet/terminology/special/

The best improvisers are also the smartest people, so if I want to be within that realm I've got a lot of catching up to do. Eric like to bust my balls because what I consider a tough day he considers relaxing. On Sunday I watched 24 hour party people, read a couple plays, listened to a few albums and then saw Family Tree House Boat Accident. That's a tough day to me.

Learn to Learn

2010-05-10T21:19:00.000-07:00

In improv, I can do anything. Sometimes I'll initiate a scene or add details that put myself and my scene partner in a place where neither of us really know what we're talking about. For example, I like space shuttle scenes where the astronauts are naming buttons and valves and use jargon that we make up. We're still astronauts, though! Improv, right? This is fun to do and can be very entertaining! The audience simply believes us, or knows we are obviously feigning the knowledge and references of NASA. It's like they're in on the joke with us. No matter how ridiculous we get, it's fine as long as we sell it! If there happens to be an astronaut in the crowd, he or she might be knee-slapping because they actually know the jargon. No one would expect that kind of expertise from an actor, let alone an improvising one. But...what if we did know a thing or two about space shuttles?
Or f*ckin' magnets- how do they work?! (Thanks to ICP, the inspiration for this entry.)

The more I watch veteran improvisers, the more I realize that the majority of them are exceptionally smart and aware of the world around them. Some performers drop way too many references, often at the expense of the piece. I can only watch someone show off how much he or she knows about prairie dogs for so long, even if it is science fact. However, the best of the best seem to walk the tightrope of playing to the top of their intelligence while still being emotionally invested in their scene partners and enriching the show as a whole. They do not get snagged in the net of showing off their own cognitive prowess. (e.g. saying something like, "cognitive prowess".)

Here's something I love about Josh Logan: he will avidly delve into random things, like space shuttles, out of mere curiosity. He borrows plays from me because he wants to know about different theatre styles. Similarly, I'll catch myself looking up something like cashews on Wikipedia for no apparent reason. We just like to learn. I am not suggesting that improvisers should start learning facts just to regurgitate them in a scene. I would suggest strengthening your craft by learning- learning about anything. Is there something that you've always been genuinely interested in, but have never gotten around to checking out? At the risk of sounding like Levar Burton, take a look! It's in a book! If acting holds up a mirror to us and our world, then we as performers could and should know more about it. If we want to play to the top of our intelligence, then why not be more intelligent so we can play at a higher level?

There is no destination with acting or improv. A genuine performer is not going to wake up one morning and realize, "Wow, I've arrived! There is nothing more I can do to improve my craft. I don't need to learn anymore." A true master of any art is never beyond learning, "but don't take my word for it". DUN-UH-DUNT!

Ben

Poor Choices Podcast

2010-04-25T14:54:00.000-07:00

by Eric

We recently did a podcast with the guys from Poor Choices. In it we talked about MP’s future and how we started. We also did a bat. Which for those who do not know is an audio improv show.

Take a listen!

New Website

2010-04-25T14:45:00.000-07:00

by Eric

Well it is finally here. I decided with all the craziness subsiding that involved the 2010 So ILL Improv Festival I would create the first Michael Pizza website. The site will likely evolve these next few months as we try different things out so please check back frequently.

Check out of blog as we will update it weekly as well.

That is all.

Party and Show

2010-04-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

Just to let everyone in, MP is planning a blow-out Anniversary show that will also serve as a fundraiser for a party for all of our closest friends and fans.

It is gonna be fun.

2010-03-17T19:11:00.000-07:00

A lot of people have been asking for the words to the rap song that Michael Pizza performed at The Del Awards last night. So here ya go...

Brett:

This song is dedicated to all my fallen homies

The soul of Del Close is in the building

The soul of Fat Kid is in the building

The soul of The Signatures is in the building

And we're gonna do it like this...

In all black, by the casket saying RIP/

To all my fallen soldiers from RGB/

I thank God it wasn't me whenever Charna swings the ax/

Face the facts, Shadowfax aint never comin' back/

And Electric Mayhem, you should have been on this song/

But your gone and I still can't figure out what went wrong/

It should have been Owl Farm but a bullets got no name on it/

So to honor you I got a tattoo with your name on it

Eric:

It was scenes and games homie, but no one ever told me/

That in my quest we'd lose Hunter Family Crest/

It was like someone up and turned out the lights/

Leaving me standing in the darkest of nights/

My eyes couldn't see so I stumbled and I fell/

A hand, a body, the late Lionelle/

This walk, these struggles, this game, these fears/

I dedicate it all to Willie Nelson Slept Here/

Ben:

Fallen but not forgotten

iO, iO, iO x3

Brett:

I got my hat pulled down to my eyes/

As I swerve down Lake Shore Drive and I'm just glad to be alive/

Cuz a lot of teams didn't survive/

I saw The Council, it was like they never even tried/

I get fried, high as hell and reminisce on Swanel/

Sip on a 40 ounce and pour some out for Lionelle

Eric:

And talk about Troy, oh boy bitch/

The team went belly up like a coy fish/

And The Bird and The Bison, you best be forewarned/

Brett:

These streets'll leave that ass cut like Airbourne/

Eric:

And I was shocked to hear about Shock Corridor/

Brett:

Chopped down like an Orc but this is not Mordor/

Eric:

This is real life man, and Charna needs proof/

Brett:

Alacazam, Street Magic disappeared like POOF/

Eric:

You want the truth, you might as well not bother/

Brett:

The Commission cuts any team not named Revolver

Ben:

Fallen but not forgotten

iO, iO, iO x3

Josh:

Do teams get to go to Heaven? Do teams get to go to Heaven?

Lord I need to know right now, do teams get to go to Heaven when they die?

Whoa

We didn't forget about you dog

Whoa

Michael Pizza on thursdays!

Whoa

Neapolitan you're cut, Neapolitan you're cut

Whoa, whoa

For all my fallen homies, for all my fallen homies

Like the Kangaroo Dudes, Oh The Kangaroo Dudes

Shake it Signatures, shake it Signatures

Electric Mayhem, Oh Electric Mayhem

City of Chicago, city of Chicago

Rosemont

Shaumburg is in the building

Napierville is in the building

Skokie, city of Skokie

Evanston knows how to party, Evanston knows how to party

Aurora's in the building, Aurora's definitely in the building

Gary Indiana, Gary Indiana, Gary Indiana