Sunday, March 30, 2008

Success!

To answer your question.... the show was GREAT!!!

Again, we couldn't be happier. We did 3 scenes from our last show. Two of them were scenes that went well the first time, but didn't hit quite as hard as we knew they could. So, we edited them a bit, tightened things up and they killed. Our 5 new sketches got huge laughs too. Again, we plan to edit and pare down a couple of our scenes to make them even better for the next show.

This has been such a fun process. Having a show like Grafitti where you can try out material is so helpful. We've got some more work to do to tie all our scenes together, but I'm confident that we're going to blow it out of the water. It helps that we have such a great director. Kate Duffy is awesome. Besides being hilarious and having a great eye for knowing how to make the scenes better, she has a way that really helps us feel confident, and of course that can only help the show. Next up is the Gilda's Club show on April 19th. Get ready Rock Island.

We'll also likely do another Grafitti show at the end of April and have been told that we can do a one off at iO in a month or so. That's the one that'll help get us our run. We don't have an exact date yet, but we'll definitely post it here as soon as we know. Be prepared to show up to that one in numbers. We'll be calling in any and all favors to pack the house.

Thanks again for all the support!

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

At the end of the day



Come see us perform some more of our sketches. This show will be about a 20 minutes set. We're gearing up towards a run of the full show we've been writing.

This Friday at 10pm at The Playground.

Friday, March 21, 2008

DrinkStrong



The staged reading of my Family Guy spec script, "DrinkStrong" was held last night at the iO Theater.

I worked hard on the script and hope to eventually send it to an agent to get representation. The point of the reading was to get honest feedback from a real audience. I even had questionnaires for them to fill out so I could get blunt critique. From there I'll take the surveys home and continue to edit it, before sending it out.

I couldn't have been happier. The turn out was great, as was the response. The actors did a great job of bringing the characters to life. After just briefly looking over the questionnaires it looks like I only have minor tweaks to make. Everyone was super positive and thought I captured the feel and the characters of the show accurately. Plus I got a ton of laughs, which is really exciting. Now I just need to improve or edit a few of the jokes, maybe make some changes to one of the story lines. The biggest struggle with this is that it's now all a matter of opinion. One person may love a joke while another isn't so thrilled with it. I'll have to figure out if there are any common denominators and otherwise just trust my gut instincts. Thank goodness Corey's such a wonderful supporter/writer/editor to help me out.

I'm really enjoying writing in general. It's so fulfilling to work hard on written material and make people laugh. After I finish this script I'm going to write another one along with continuing to build my portfolio with sampels of my work so that an agent has plenty to read if he's interested.

Next up...
Corey and Monique: at the end of the day (A sketch comedy show)
March 28th, The Playground Theater - Graffiti 10pm
Stay tuned for more details.

- Mo

Friday, March 14, 2008

Colorado: The Customer Service State

Sorry for the sporadic posting. Real busy past couple of days. Mo and I were booked on a show in Pueblo, Colorado on Thursday so we flew out a day early to see our good friends the Schwartz's in Denver on Wednesday first. We got to hang out with them and their kids all day and then Mo had a gift certificate for a free night at a Marriott that we used that night. We then met up with our friends Chris and Lillie back at the Denver airport the next day and drove 2 hours to Pueblo to perform, stayed the night in Pueblo, drove back to Denver on Friday, flew home to Chicago, drove straight to the theater where Mo performed two more shows and I bartended them. Whew.

Now, I know Missouri is the "Show-Me State" and Texas is the "Lone Star State", but I never knew that Colorado was apparently the "Customer Service State". Everywhere we went, it was like a seminar in how to give excellent service. Maybe because we've had so many issues with our condo developer and association, as well as little issues here and there like when we had to get new tires, etc. but I guess we had a little "good service karma"built up and it all got cashed in this week.

It started out at O'Hare Airport and United Airlines. In a ridiculous twist of fate, things went smooth sailing there, and the most shocking part, United landed us in Denver AHEAD of schedule.

Then in Denver, it continued. We went to dinner at Chili's with Brian and Michelle, their kids Macey and Avery (ages 3 and 5), Michelle's cousin Tovah and her boyfriend Dan (KU grads!). Dinner with larger groups can be iffy. Add in two little kids, it gets real dicey. The waiter at Chili's was awesome! He was always there when we needed him, but didn't hover. Wrote down and remembered everything, and just nailed it from start to finish. Everytime he would do something else above and beyond, Brian and I would look at each other and say "aw man, we really gotta tip this guy well now." And that just kept happening again and again. So we did, but it was also definitely worth it.

The great service continued that night when Mo and I checked into our hotel. The front desk girl named, I kid you not - Sugar - was so nice and sweet (I know) and even gave us a complimentary mini-bottle of wine upon arrival. Mo asked if the hotel had a bar, and Sugar told us they didn't, but said she could probably hook us up with a bottle of wine. Mo, jaded by all our customer service issues in the recent past, asked how much that was going to run us. Sugar repeated that she could give us a bottle of wine. Mo said again, "and that will cost how much?". Sugar just stood there and looked at Mo. Then it clicked. Ahh, she would be able to GIVE us a bottle of wine. Sorry, Sugar. We've just been through a bunch of crap lately. The wine was a nice touch.

We headed back to the airport the next day, and our shuttle arrived within 10 minutes of the scheduled time - pretty remarkable for them. The car rental went smoothly. The folks at the college in Pueblo where we performed were so gracious and hospitable. When we went out for a drink after the show, we found a little dive called The Downtown Bar, and the bartender was this awesome dude name Mark who happened to have previously lived in Chicago. Not to mention New York as well as growing up in Switzerland. The drinks were perfect, Mark was great, and the four of us had a blast sitting there, talking and playing cards, as we were the only people in the joint. Hell, even the Colorado weather was nearly perfect as it was sunny and in the mid to high 50's during the day. Such a welcome relief from the unending cold of Chicago.

We're back in Chicago now, things are still crazy busy as friends are coming into town (Dan W. today, Billy and Ali B. later this week), Mo is putting finishing touches on a spec script that will have a public reading on Thursday, we're still working on our sketch show which will be performed at the end of March, we're both working a ton at the CCC theater, and we really need to get our taxes ready to go as there's only a month left to do that. Actually, what the hell am I doing sitting here typing this?

- Corey

Monday, March 10, 2008

I did it!

I did it! I did it!
I ate an entire portion of tuna steak!

In my quest to eat new (and healthy) foods, I've been working on acquiring the tastes of different foods. I'm so sick of the same meals. We even had Boca burgers for lunch, just to change things up.

It took me a while, but I finally started liking shrimp. I still hadn't started liking fish...until tonight. In the past, I've offered to buy fish for Corey to make hoping I'd eventually acquire the taste. Usually I'd eat about half of it and then push my plate away. Mostly it's a texture thing, I catch myself wishing I were eating a steak or chicken.

Well today is a new day folks! Corey made tuna steak, seared on the outside but medium-rare on the inside. It was delicious! I ate the entire thing. Maybe it's a small thing, but I'm very proud of myself and happy to expand my repertoire.

Next up sushi. Stay tuned....

- Mo

Monday, March 03, 2008

Day One

So, what's new with you? I've been good, thanks. Last night I did a little improv show at The Playground with my friends Ryan and Emily. We played as the team from KU in a "March Madness" tournament they're having there. We did some cool scenes, but ultimately lost to a really funny group from William and Mary. Oh well, it was really fun playing with those guys, so in a way we're all winners. And if you think about it, the winners were the audience. And also improv. But really The College of William and Mary.

Oh yeah, also my life of self-employment has begun in earnest today. I actually got up before noon, so I failed on that goal, but otherwise it's been great. Mo and I went to the gym, and I ran 30 minutes on the treadmill, lifted a few weights. I'm gradually working my weight down and I'm feeling good. I've had to move in a notch on my belt, so that's a good feeling.

After the gym and a little lunch, I've been working on lines for a custom corporate show that I'm doing tomorrow for a Salvation Army group, booked through Chicago Comedy Company. Then I went through my closet picking out potential clothes for the new headshots I'm getting taken on Wednesday. I have a few other items I need, though, so Mo and I are going to do a little shopping this afternoon. Finally, tonight is the last week of the Level 102 improv class I'm teaching at CCC.

So, all in all, a productive day. This week is going to be fairly busy, too. The whole month of March looks good, actually. Ask me again come April or May, though.

- Corey