MadMup.com

I got to do a little improv tonight – very little, as it happened. We did a gig for “Relay For Life,” a charity event that raises money and awareness for cancer research. It was (actually, still is) being held at one of the local high schools, and the different groups of people involved will have someone walking on the track for 12 straight hours. They take turns – someone might walk for a half hour, then another group member will walk, and so forth.

We did about 20 minutes worth of games in the middle of the track, down towards one end. Like most high school tracks, it surrounds a football field, so we actually performed right under a field goal post. We played Good Advice-Bad Advice, Forward Reverse, 185, and Body Freeze. I think we were scheduled for 30-45 minutes, but we only did about 20-25. That was enough, really. We weren’t on any sort of stage, and only people that came up close to us and sat on the grass could hear and see us. “Outside” is not really the best environment for improv.

Lowest point came early on: one of the performers in Good Advice-Bad Advice was giving bad advice and mentioned smoking…at a function involving cancer. She felt awful the rest of the evening, though I don’t believe many folks caught it.

Afterwards, I headed to the grocery store because I was out of milk, and I’ve been in the mood for cereal lately. Well, okay, I’m just about always in the mood for cereal, but particularly so lately. As I got out of my car, a lady came up to me and asked if I could spare any money for her to get gas to drive home, about an hour away. I gave her what I had in my wallet – $4 – and said, “That’s all I got. And if you spend it on alcohol, I hope you choke on it.” I said it with a smile on my face, and she smiled back and said, “Oh, I don’t drink,” so it was okay. You understand I didn’t really want her to choke – I was just making sure she knew I wanted her to use the money for gas.

And now I’m home, enjoying my ice cream bars. I mean, my cereal. Uh…yeah.