Tag Archives: rws

Runnin’ With Scissors no more

I forgot to mention that we had an improv show on Sunday the 30th. I hosted for the first time. I think the show went really well.

We are no longer known as Runnin’ With Scissors. We decided to change our name because of name space collision. Namely, there’s a book and a movie with the same name and also a performance group out of Chicago with the same name. Not to mention other more personal reasons among some in the group.

So we are now known as the Lab Rats. See, we started out and mainly perform in the lab theatre of McComas hall. So…now we’re spreading the comedic plague or or searching for the comedic cheese or maybe doing experimental comedy.

I didn’t get to perform in this show as an improver but it was fun hosting. I did get to play Questions, where you can only improv a scene using questions. If you repeat yourself or say a statement, you’re out and the next person steps in. We had two teams and I put out 4 or 5 of the other team. It was fun.

So we’re done for the semester. We are planning to host a comedy festival next semester. The first one in Mississippi as far as I know. We’ll be working on it over the summer and will invite comedy troupes from all over the southeast.

I’m off tonight from Smoke on the Mountain. The only break I get until the show wraps on the 6th. I think I’m going to the MSU choir concert tonight and do some quality couch sitting.

Improv show Friday night

I shoulda posted this earlier, but I didn’t. So now I am.

RWS is going classical. Well, I mean, it’s a classic-style show. In the lab. Improv. Sketch. Just straight up funny.

Friday night, March 31st in the lab theatre in McComas hall at 7:00pm and 10:00pm. I’m in the 7:00pm show but you should come to both. Admission is $5 for one show or $8 for both.

Don’t miss it or I’ll beat you with a plastic straw.

Great Wall – Live

My last clip from the RWS Vaudeville show. This song closed the show and it was awesome. The Great Wall is a chinese eatery in the student union on campus. Sorry the sound sucks, we hope to actually shoot a music video of it this semester. Singer is Will Cooper and the dancer is Jonette Wilburn. Enjoy.

greatwall-live.jpg
(7MB, Quicktime)

The Bucket Game

Here’s a clip from the RWS Vaudeville show. This is the Bucket, or in this case, Aquarium game. I’ll explain in the video. Oh, and the ending joke was a call-back to a previous game where Lily and I burnt down The Grove in Oxford (Oxford is where Ole Miss is located, our in-state rivals. The Grove is where they tailgate on gameday).

bucket.jpg
14MB, Quicktime

Barbershop Quartet

Here’s a sketch we performed at the RWS Vaudeville show on Feb 10th. Note that the last two lines can’t be heard very well due to laughter. They are:

PA: I thought you were a barbershop quartet!
James and Matt: I thought we were a barbershop trio!

Also, there’s a joke about Will’s wife going into labor and Joe’s the father. Will and Joe are two performers in the show. You kinda had to be at the show because a running theme was Will’s girlfiend/wife cheating on him with Joe.

barbershop.jpg
8.5MB Quicktime

The End is Near

For this URL. I registered a domain and bought some hosting. All that’s left is the work of finding a design I like, customizing it, creating content and getting it published. Ok, that’s probably like 97% of the actual work of building a new website so it may be awhile before karyhead.com is open for business.

Meanwhile, RWS had the main stage show on Friday. It was Vaudeville themed and it was a hoot. If I can get my hands on a decent recording of it, I’ll post some clips. The main problem with the video (mine at least) is the sound is next to worthless. All you can hear is the audience’s raucous laughter. We have another show Thursday the 16th at the Wise Center. It’s a fund raiser for the Horseman’s Association.

Last night I had an audition for the next community theatre show, Smoke on the Mountain. It’s a musical comedy set in the 1930’s around a southern baptist Saturday night singin’. There’s so many talented people trying out (and people who can actually play an instrument) I doubt I’ll get a part. Plus I’ve been sick for a week and didn’t have much energy. The second half of the auditions are tonight.

Rehearsals are going well for SCT’s Terror by Gaslight. We open the 23rd and run 23-26 and 28-March 4. Call 662-323-6855 for reservations.

I’m getting a better feel for my character at each rehearsal. At first it was hard not to make him funny, because that’s my nature, but the character, in general, isn’t the comic relief. He’s cohorts with the comic relief character. My character, Scrubbs, is a nasty fellow and it’s been hard to connect with him. When I first read the script I felt the least connected to him than some of the other characters so it’s been a fun challenge that I’m still working at. The set is looking great and the director, Lyle, has the whole show mapped out in his head, so he knows exactly what he wants and specifically what to ask for from the cast, so that’s been nice.

For those that saw the comedy show on Friday night, you’ll no doubt recall Will Cooper’s Great Wall song. It’s an original song written by himself to the tune of Aerosmith’s Dream On. It’s about his love for the Great Wall chinese eatery in the student union. It brought the house down, as they say. Well, we’re planning a video shoot. It’s. going. to. be. legendary.

Theatre Update

So last Friday I had the improv show. I was really nervous at the beginning of the week but by Friday I was just ready to make the funnay happen.

Highlights from the show:

-First game was Questions. In this game you and your partner are basically only allowed to ask questions to build the scene. If you make a statement or a non sequitur or repeat a question, you’re out and another person takes your place. (Rosencrantz and Guildernstern Are Dead, anyone?) Anyway, the setting, which was provided by the audience, was Hell. I’m about third in line and when it’s my turn, I open with “Is that a snowflake?” The other person says something to the effect of “What’s going on?” I comeback with “Did Mississippi State win a game?” Booyah, instant comedy. Actually for my first joke it got pretty good laughs (since our football team ain’t so good. When I say good I mean sucks.) Getting a big laugh early on relaxed me somewhat and gave me a bit of confidence.

-Will and Lily making out in Half Life and being in every other game together. They are both high energy people and they were fun to watch. After intermission when we came back into the lab theatre, Will and Lily went around the back way and were behind the “backdoor” in an embrace. So we all walk in the “front door” and the back door opens and there they are “caught” in an embrace. It was funny but I think you probably had to be there.

-Getting fondled in my first show. I was a prop in Living Scenery. In this game two people act out a scene and two other people are the props for the scene. Well I was a toilet and the other prop, er, person Derek was a wrench. And you know, uh, wrenches fiddle with nuts and bolts and stuff and well, uh, my nuts got fiddled with.

-I fell down or died a lot and by the end of the night, by knee was sore from where it was breaking my falls. Note to self, need a new falling technique.

There were other funny moments, but I can’t remember them all. It was a lot of fun and I look forward to the next show (probably February).

In other news, Story Theatre opened Tuesday morning. Having an actual audience (and children at that) made it so much more fun. For some reason I can’t quite identify, I didn’t feel very good about my performance on Tuesday. We did another show today and I felt a lot better about it but I can’t really put my finger on a reason.

I’ve learned sooo much in the last several weeks as we’ve put this show together. This is my first play and it’s been absolutely great. Our director Kevin Kern (also my teacher in the acting class) is very knowledgeable and he knows how to teach it to his students and cast. I’ve also learned a lot from the cast. They’re all younger than me by *ahem* a few years but they all have more stage experience than me and it’s been cool to learn from them. They’ve been totally awesome and have included me in their, uh, social interactions, which I appreciate.

If you are in the area you have two more opportunities to see the show: Thursday night the 17th at 7:30pm (general audience) and Friday morning the 18th at 9:30am (school children show).

I’ll be sad after Friday cause they’ll be no more shows or rehearsals. I won’t get to hang out with swell theatre MSU people much. But I’m looking forward to the next opportunity which is coming up in December at Starkville Community Theatre: auditions for Terror By Gaslight. I had so much fun and met so many great people at SCT over the summer for my first experience on the stage with the musical revue that I hope to get a part in the show cause I know it’ll be another great SCT experience.

Ok, that’s it for now. Harry Potter and Walk The Line open this weekend, I think. Gonna try to see ’em both.

Don’t tell my mom but

tomorrow night I’m Runnin’ With Scissors.

Yep, my first improv show is tomorrow night Friday the 11th at 7:30pm at McComas Hall in the lab theatre. I’m totally excited and a little bit nervous (everytime I think about it, I poop a little in my pants). I mean, I might freeze up and won’t be able to speak. Or maybe I won’t be funny.

Ok, haha, that’s ridiculous. Of course, I’ll be funny. Heck, if I can’t think of anything to say, THE CLOTHES ARE COMING OFF.

Which reminds me of one thing I’ve learned since I got involved in theatre lo these 5 months: theatre people will take off their clothes at the drop of a hat and with no provocation whatsoever. Interesting tidbit for ya there.

Anyway, there will be another show at 10:00pm. I’m not in that one so you’ll want to come and see both, obviously. Drive, fly, run, tricycle, pogo stick: whatever you gotta do to get here and see the show. You’ll need to clear any excuses with me prior to the show

Otherwise, you’ll be hearing from me.

Call Me Kirby

I’ve decided that’s who I’ll be when I don’t need to be me. Other possibilities include Cecil, Devin or Charlie. But I think I’ll stick with Kirby.

See the thing is, I tend to clam up or freeze up or, well you get the picture, when I’m nervous and/or out of my comfort zone.

I went to a Runnin With Scissors practice last night. RWS is the improv/sketch comedy group that I’m wanting to join up with. So what did I do? Did I jump right in and make an ass of myself? NO! I sat on my arse too scared to move.

I’ve mentioned this sort of thing before (somewhere in there anyway); how it takes me a while to open up and be myself around new people. My brain doesn’t work very good in those situations. Well I can’t have brain freezage when I’m trying to be funny off the top of my head, can I? I don’t wanna get cut before I even get started, do I?

So I’ve decided next time I’ll take Kirby with me and he’ll do just fine.

And I really wasn’t mentally prepared to participate. I thought it was more of a meet ‘n’ greet and sit and watch practice. But there were other new people jumping in and the regulars asked if any new people wanted to try it out.

I was afraid of this very thing going into my acting class. You know, where the instructor would ask for a volunteer or volunteers for something and I would sit there going “oh dear, I should volunteer and I will as soon as we sit here for 3 minutes and no one else volunteers.” Well screw that. Before the first class meeting I told myself “Self, you’re taking this class to learn and you can’t be scared so when he asks for volunteers, you are going to jump up right then and DO IT.” And so I have. I’ve been very proud of myself. So I just gotta have the same attitude about improv comedy. JUST DO IT and if I suck, I’LL GET BETTER. I mean, er, Kirby will.

Meanwhile, this weekend is alumni marching band. It’s when all the old people get to relive their college band days for a bit. Of course the alumni band sounds horrible because only half (at best) still play their horns with any kind of regularity. I think I actually haven’t played mine since last year’s alumni band. That makes me sad but only a little. I mean, I have played since the 6th grade. That’s like, 73 years.

My buddy Richard and I always go and sneak in with the regular band for the 4th quarter of the game. I think this year will be the first year that we won’t know anybody in the band. The incoming freshmen of our last year in band are all gone now. At least the ones we knew are. Which is sad because it means we are now officially old people, too. But that’s OK, we always have fun freaking out the young ‘uns by playing everything up an octave. w00t!

On Sunday, my lips will be very sore.

Well, I wish each and every 4 of you a safe and happy weekend.

By the way, cinnamon is soooo gangsta

I don’t know what that means. Ask Rahul. (pic “borrowed” from Mallory)

I went to Roxie’s last night to meet up with some of the Runnin’ With Scissors Posse (RWSP). RWS is the university improv/sketch comedy group. I plan to audition for the group this fall.

I’ve only been able to make it to one show in the past, but I enjoyed it and it made me laugh-out-loud several times. I think the best part was during one of the games, the old Slip N Slide came up. One of the members, a girl mind you, dove head-first, sliding on her chest on the concrete floor, doing a complete Pete Rose. It was awesome and I wanted to stand up and applaud.

As is obvious, it’s a talented, funny group of performers. And I’m excited at the chance to be part of it.

So I went up there to hang out a little while and ask questions about the group. I met Houston, Laura, Mallory, Laura and Chuck. Houston is the director, the first Laura is a self-professed groupie, Mallory is the graphic artist and photographer, the second Laura is a member, er, actor, er, player and Chuck is the filmographer.

Lots of my questions were answered and a good time was had. I got the impression that they were afraid of scaring me off due to the on-going antics and other alcohol-related-whatnot. But no, I didn’t feel my life was threatened at any time during the evening. An’ I been ’round crazier. I think I probably scared them off with that bird call video (post below this one). “Yeah, we don’t need any of that crap.”

Anyway, it seems like they have a good time and they were very welcoming to an outsider.

So thanks. I’m looking forward to the opportunity of making teh funnay with you alls.