My Five Minutes

Looking back, I really did love the 90s. It took a while, but that’s what makes it nostalgic, right? The ability to breathe a sigh of relief when it’s over, laugh about it, and then miss it? Maybe it was the progression that we as people sought after and strived for. The 80s were done. Bring on the last decade of the millennium! We phased out those ridiculous acid-washed jeans (at least some of us never got into them); the palate of neon that swathed our hair, faces, and bed sheets; and the synthesizer - all soon took a back seat to flannel, grunge, and anything Seattle. Nirvana. Saved by the Bell. Full House. This was livin’. These were America’s influences. For me, the biggest influence was being introduced to Saturday Night Live.

My mom showed me a recorded VHS tape (Gosh, those were great!) of the 15^th Anniversary of SNL, which aired in 1990. I just didn’t get it at first. There’s a woman who has Jaws for a neighbor. Sam Kinison yells. Buckwheat still has a speech impediment. For every Coneheads scene highlighting Dan Aykroyd shoving fried eggs down his mouth while drinking a 6-pack, there was an episode of “It’s Pat!” that wasted its double entendre on me. I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. Though to be fair, I was only 8.

Hit fast forward on the VCR Remote Control (Ha! Classic.) four years, and you’ll find my weekly ritual of sitting with my buddy Tom on the basement futon, turning on the news at 10:34 so as not to miss the opener, and laughing at Hartman, Farley, Meadows, and Myers. The Dream Team. This cast was silly, over-the-top, and the perfect brand of humor for the angsty, early-to-mid-90s pre-teens figuring themselves out while listening to musical guests The Cranberries, Live, and Pearl Jam blaring from the TV. This. This I got. I understood it now.  Now, as a smart and worldly 12-year-old, I would re-watch the anniversary tape over and over. I now understood and loved Mel’s Char-Palace. The Bass-o-matic. And why it’s funny Lorne Michaels offers a check to The Beatles for $3,000.

Now, as I’m going through my experiences at Second City and iO, I can’t help but appreciate and fawn over the memorabilia and photos of the alumni that filled both theatres with laughter. This is where they found themselves. In improv. In characters. In satire. In the ugliness of the world, they found humanity with laughter and tears. These jesters were no fools.

I’ve been fortunate enough to see some SNL alum, along with other amazing performers from TV and movies, go back to their improvisational roots and perform on stage. In front of me. Like, right there. It was surreal. To hear them speak. To see them create. To show us the love of their lives. To appreciate that no matter what level of fame they’ve attained, all they want to do is a $5 improv show.

Recently, SNL had auditions in NYC, LA, and Chicago. They were searching for the next few talented people to bring up to the big leagues. I stood in line for 2 ½ hours just to be able to get into the theatre at iO, and another hour and a half glued to my seat before the auditions even started. 15 people. 5 minutes each. Invite-only audition. Those they liked would be flown to New York to audition again at 30 Rockefeller.

Everyone who auditioned was amazing and completely inspiring. They were bold. They brought characters. They were smart. Some could rap.  And I’m excited for the day that I can say, “Oh, yeah…I saw them before…” Watching the audition showcase presented me with knowledge – where I am in my creative and performance abilities, where I need to be, and more importantly, what I need to do. I need to write and create the best 5 minutes I can, spotlighting my strengths.

In college, I can honestly say I was more than a little bummed when my theatre professors all labeled me as a “character actor.” That means you’re not the good looking one right? I mean, come on. It was the early ‘00s. Jeans without holes. Track suits. Eminem. I was living in my angsty late-teens-to-early-20s. Every time I heard “character actor,” I thought of Joe Pesci for some reason. But now I understand their labeling: A) This can actually be a very good thing. B) I love creating a wide range of characters, so why was I so mad? C) It seems that I can’t escape any family holiday without at least 4 family members slipping into some form of a British or Russian accent. And D) I love doing impressions. I can still remember in 3^rd grade, I was making a killing as Elvis and a white Steve Urkel, donning my Hammer pants. How many 8-9 year olds can say that?

5 minutes. That’s all you get. You need to bring it. This is the time where most people see this industry as cut-throat. I see it as a time to make like the Hunger Games and form alliances. Work with some talented friends that are on the same path. Write. Push one another. Grow. Write some more. Develop characters. Form groups. After all, how many movies have Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau worked on together? That’s no accident.

And guess where they have their roots?

I also remember something else my theatre professors told me: It’s about the process, not about the destination. It's not about "making it." Though, that would be incredible, of course. But it's about living without regret. No matter the result, we will work for it.

My First Month in Chicago

Chapter 1 - Work
First, the boring stuff. As you all know, the condition of education nationwide is horrible. There isn't any money, jobs, or happiness in dealing with it. But, that's ok. Well, not for the future of our kids or teachers, but for me. For the past 3 weeks, I've been working for a huge financial / investment / day trade firm right in the loop of Chicago (that's the downtown area of the city - watch the new Transformers movie to see where I work and the surrounding area get blown up by Decepticons). I'm an office administrative assistant, and it's pretty easy and stress-free. It provides me with an ideal schedule for improv, working Mon-Fri, 8-5. The pay is decent, and I hope to be made permanent soon so I can go to salary with benefits. The people here are all very nice, and I've even had several conversations with one of the VPs about improv. The only bad part is the ridiculous commute.

Chapter 2 - The Commute
Being in the suburbs with Yvette's parents is nice, since we're in a pretty big house living rent-free while we get settled. They're both very nice and generous to us, which is a plus. As for the commute: I drive 15 minutes to the train station. Not the "L" train, but the real train. The train you take to go somewhere far. I ride this train for an hour and 15 minutes to get to the loop. Then, from Union Station to my building, it's about a 15 minute walk. 2 hours. Each way. Everyday.

Chapter 3 - Killing Time on the Train
The Kindle is the greatest invention of all time. For any of you with an iPad, I don't want to hear it. It's the Kindle. So far, I've read "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," "The Adventures of Huck Finn," and I'm currently reading additional adventures of Tom, Huck, and Jim. Right now, I'm reading one about how they got into a hot air balloon with a crazy scientist, who I'm convinced is the character Doc Brown from the "Back to the Future" trilogy is based. I'm also reading Upton Sinclair's "The Moneychangers." I don't share this information with my investment co-workers. I don't think they read Sinclair.

Chapter 4 - Yvette's Sitch
As you all know, radio is extremely competitive, and Yvette and her agent are searching, but so far, nothing much. She's also working with a couple temp agencies (who seem to specialize in working with actors and improvisers), and is on a week long temp assignment right now. The temp agency put her information in the hat for a few temp-to-perm assignments, all for admin jobs. We're hoping something comes through soon so we can move into a neighborhood downtown soon. When we go into the city for improv classes and such, we stay with friends for a night to make the most out of the commute (see Chapter 2).

Chapter 5 - Improv and Such
The reason why we're here. Right now, Yvette and I are half-way through Level 1 at iO (improvOlympic - http://chicago.ioimprov.com/about/alumni). We've quickly learned that iO has their own methods and style of doing things. I feel like I can relate well to this style, since Eric Farone, the owner of the Bovine, has based a lot of his coaching for SansScript and our 2-man group, Dave and Eric, on similar styles and approaches, preparing us well. We're seen a few amazing shows there, and feel like we made the right choice in moving here and joining iO. These classes are about a year long, then we'll have a grad show run for 6-7 weeks. Then we're able to audition for house teams. We've also taken a couple drop-in classes through Second City (http://www.secondcity/com/history/alumni/), and have auditions for their conservatory this Friday. The conservatory is their professional level of improv classes, as opposed to their general classes that anyone can sign up for. The conservatory is more advanced, and is directed for people who want to act, improvise, and write as a career. Their style is similar, but different, as they improvise for sketch comedy. This is why so many SNL alumni come from Second City. I'm still adapting to their methodologies. We took an audition prep call from Jay Sukow, who's been with Second City since '92. He had Steve Carell and Stephen Colbert as his first couple of teachers. Right now, we haven't performed in any shows, but there are a lot of small theatre and bats that have improv night. Because of the commute (Ch. 2), it'll be difficult for us to do any performing until we move to the city. Some of you may know my buddy Frank, who was in Bovine classes, The 32nd Coming, and Knit Wits with me in Denver. He's been out here for about 3 years, and he, Yvette, and I are starting a 3 person group, Nigel, and hope to perform soon. There are a couple other Denver connections out here, which is nice, and a couple others that will be joining us in the next year or so. Frank's been nice enough to offer up his couches when we stay, but we've been rotating friends, as to not bother his roommate.

Chapter 6 - Freakin' Weather
Yes, I knew about it going in...for winter. I also knew it got humid. With the rest of the country, we're in a heat wave. I've read it's the worst it's been in about 15 years, which is good since I know it can't really get any worse, but, c'mon. With the heat index, we're had a few days go about 110*. Fortunately, every business in Chicago has AC, even 7-11. Just starting out here, I heard someone say, "Oh gosh, it's going to be real hot tomorrow. It'll be 85!" Ha! I thought. 85. I'll see your 85. I've seen plenty of 100* Colorado days. But that 85 is about 10-15* less than what it really feels like with the humidity and heat index. I can not longer say, "At least it's a dry heat." And I still get angry when people ask, "Is it hot enough for ya?"

Chapter 7 - Ten Things I've Learned about Chicago
10. Though a fast-paced city, people are actually pretty nice and helpful. There's a nice, Mid-West courtesy out here.
9. With my interests in accents and voices, I'm learning to notice the differences between a North Side and South Side accent, as well as a Milwaukee and Michican accent.
8. The rival between the Sox and Cubs is alive and well, but also pretty friendly since they both suck.
7. Chicago loves their giardiniera, even forcing Subway to carry it.
6. Chicago loves their pulled pork sandwiches, even forcing Subway to carry it.
5. Chicagoans will wear beach attire everyday, even if they aren't going to the beach or should be wearing beach attire.
4. There's no modesty here.
3. There is a strong sense of pride and family in the Mid-West - probably from being forced to be together due to the weather.
2. The neighborhoods are so distinct and defined, that even looking at one side of the street and then the other, you can easily tell a difference.
1. The improv community is alive and well. I think there's an unwritten law that if you live here, you must improvise. Like LA...if you live there, you must be an actor, model, or anorexic.