Home again, home again....Jiggity, Jig!

We're HOME!!!

What a wonderful trip! Loose Moose performed on the Friday evening. We had the first half of the show to ourselves and played Gorilla. I could attempt modesty at this point...but we did in fact have a GREAT show and the Norwegians went bananas for us. In truth, our half was a little bit too funny which always raises the concern that you leave yourself nowhere to go in the second half. Our efforts to "bring it down" only resulted in more laughter and applause. We were playful and mischievous...just the way Keith Johnstone likes it (but too funny).

It was SO great to be improvising with Calgarians again. There are wonderful improvisers in Toronto, a handful that I even look up to and learn from when I see them work....But Calgary improvisers have a certain quality about them that is rarely found elsewhere. It's an amazing feeling to look into the eyes of your fellow improviser and a) they're right there looking back at you, b) there is so much trust between you that even if a scene is sucking you know you can admit it and go down in flames together, c) when a scene IS going down in flames...it's not long before another improviser runs in to try and save your ass, and d) there is a common goal of "tell a story and take care of each other first"....and trust that the comedy will come to you in the moment without having to sacrifice the scene or your partner. Ahhhhh.....improv BLISS! ( and LIFE bliss too, because wouldn't it be GREAT if the people in your life had your back in that same way? I think that's why I have such good friends!)

In the second half we played Theatresports against Oslo. Our team name was, "Rumpe Hule"....which is a literal translation into Norwegian of "Asshole". We found it amusing, as did the Norwegians who had to yell it out anytime they wanted to vote for us. Tony Totino, a former Mooser of days gone by, played with the Norwegian and improvised IN NORWEGIAN!!! So great! I had met all of these improvisers at a Loose Moose Summer School 13 years ago, if you can believe it! One of them, Thorbjorn Harr (who is now a famous actor in Norway and works at the National Theatre), I must admit to having been madly in love with way back when......Nothing ever happened between us, other than a lot of flirting and some great hanging out with him and the other two Norwegians (Harald Eia and Jan Paul....not sure what his last name is...). However - during the show they challenged us to a scene involving history. Thorbjorn got up and told the audience all about the summer we hung out, how he had felt the same way but had had a girlfriend at the time that he wanted to stay faithful to...who ended up dumping him not long after he returned from Canada, etc....And he wanted to do a scene with ME that would show the life that we might have had IF we had kissed that summer!!!! I could not stop laughing and blushing! (Lucky for me that Bruce is a relaxed and confident man when it comes to stuff like that and he was not phased in the least!)

Anyhow.....In the scene Thorbjorn and I were married, not all that happily, with two ROTTEN, foul-mouthed kids (Shawn Kinley and Derek Flores) and it came out that we had an agreement that we were to live in Canada for 13 years...and then move to Norway.....But I confessed that I couldn't move to Norway....because I can't stand the sound of Norwegian. So, we decided to end it and each take one child. As Thorbjorn was about to leave I suggested that we should at least have a goodbye kiss then....The audience went CRAZY and Thorbjorn and I both got a bit nervous in a "19 year old" way - because it's strange how something like that can take you RIGHT back to where you were 13 years ago! The lights came down on our actual "first-kiss-13-years-after-the-fact", which was lovely and awkward, and partially done in a comedic way to save us both from anything "too real".....But it was nice. Only in the world of improv do you get to manufacture some of the moments you wish you'd had and get to tie up some loose ends. Thorbjorn is well and has a wonderful life in Norway.....He's a father of a beautiful little boy name Illias, and he's going to marry Illias's mother Thai in August. And I have a wonderful life in Canada with Bruce Horak, my HUSBAND! Life is good!

The rest of our time in Norway was gentle. Bruce caught my cold which left us both wiped out and off to bed early every night. Norway is BEAUTIFUL though! We did some great sight-seeing....We went to the National Gallery, to the Viking museum where they have three Viking ships built in 900AD (!!!!). We went to a big park that is FULL of one man's sculptures, over 100 of them, of naked people in various stages of life. STUNNING! We even got the chance to hang out with Thorbjorn, Jan Paul, Tony and their families and walk through the Norwegian wood and spend some time at Jan Paul's house and see the domestic side of Norwegian life. Delightful!

Now we are home with a week's down time before we head off to Acapulco for a corporate gig. I can hardly wait! There's a HUGE group of us going down: Albert Howell, Peter Oldring, Pat Kelly, Roman Danylo, Audrey Dwyer, Tracey Erin Smith....! We're there for three days, but only working for one! I have no doubt I will have MUCH to tell after that little trip! If anyone is curious....this gig has come out of a company that Albert and I have started up with a partner, Randy Sabourin. It's called Biz Improv....and we even have a website:

www.biz-improv.com

Check it out. It's really starting to take off! So much so, that Albert and I are a little overwhelmed by the success of it! Be careful what you wish for, I guess! Randy is doing most of the work at this point as Albert and I are still learning the ropes. Fun times!

More later.....

R