Something from Nothing, A scripted play about improv, opens Sun., 4/29 (Coupon Incl.)

[Bryan Cohen]

Set in Chicago in the year 1985, Something from Nothing is a drama about comedy. The show opens on Sunday, April 29th and is being put on by the Improv As Theatre Initiative. This "created-through improvisation" play is both an homage to the first ImprovOlympic Harold house team (Baron's Barricudas) and a reimagining of the time period (Chicago: 1985-6) through the lenses of the actors/creators. We have conducted interviews with various performers from the time to get the most well-rounded picture possible and we're finally ready to show off the product of our collective hard work.
(It also features a kickin' original Chicago-style 1980s house music soundtrack!)

Something from Nothing
Directed by Bryan Cohen
Sunday, April 29th through Wednesday, May 16th
Sundays through Wednesdays at 8 PM
Apollo Studio Theater (2540 N. Lincoln Ave.)
Closest Red/Brown Line = Fullerton
Tickets are $10 general/$7 for students
Visit www.apollochicago.com (http://www.apollochicago.com/) for more information!

E-mail improvastheatre@gmail.com for more information. There are also going to be a lot of $5 coupons circulating around, so keep an eye out!

Sincerely,
Bryan

[Bryan Cohen]

Something from Nothing, a re-creation of 1985 Chicago Improv is a three-act play based on interviews with members of Baron's Barricudas and other early iO performers. Using the lens of the personal histories of our cast members, we have crafted a story about what it would have been like to do improv in 1985.

The show runs from Sunday, April 29th to Wednesday, May 16th
Sundays through Wednesdays at 8 PM
At the Apollo Studio Theater (2540 N. Lincoln Ave.)

There is a $2 coupon attached to this thread. We hope to see you there.

Sincerely,
Bryan Cohen, Jim Burchill, Caleb Manci, Megan Green, Carrie Bain, Lauren Hearter, Aaron Rueter, Aaron Kozbial

[Aaron_Kozbial]

Being in this show feels like I was taught by Del Close himself. Like I existed in 1985 when this Art, this Harold was forming. Everyone in the improv community should come and see this. Where else can you see a scripted play about the great amazingly unscripted art known as improv?

[Aaron R]

I am very glad to be a part of this show. I have learned so much about long-form, the Harold, and Del Close. Before this, I had only known the Second City form. One of the coolest things about this is the inclusion of 80s Chicago House Music as created by DJ Michael Anthony Christopher. Each character has their own beat. It is very "Peter and the Wolf." Here is a link to a fascinating interview that DJ Michael Anthony Christopher did with the director, Bryan Cohen.


http://chicagohousedj.com/get<WBR>-to-know-director-brian-cohen/ (http://chicagohousedj.com/get-to-know-director-brian-cohen/)
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[Bryan Cohen]

Show opens on Sunday at 8 PM at the Apollo!

Thought I'd leak one of the house music tracks:
http://www.michaelangelochristopher.net/MIXESMP3/r/piano.wav

And my favorite monologue from the play:
Act 1, Scene 8
(Lights up on Lauren in therapy.)
There’s something I want to ask you, but I can’t remember what. I know I was thinking about my childhood and about people calling me a giraffe. Well, not everybody did because I had bucked-teeth too, so some people called me a bunny. I was kind of like a bunny-giraffe. But it’s not about my childhood. It’s maybe about regret? Like, in the sort way I regret stopping piano lessons, but it’s not about a piano. I never really understood why my practice books were underneath me when I played. Like, why don’t they just get a bench, and put my practice books there, so I’m not sitting on them. It just makes more sense. I know it’s about the issue of what my major issue is…ok, I think I remember.<o></o>
I think I’ve figured out my problem. Like, the entire problem. Like, the reason I don’t function. I don’t really know how to solve it, but I guess that’s your job. Unless, you were supposed to figure out my problem, and I’m supposed to solve it, in which case, I’m paying you for shit. But, here it is. I need everything to be perfect. Everything I do, everything I say, everything I feel. And at some point, I got so frustrated with doing something less than perfect, I just stopped. I stopped trying to do important things or say things that I actually feel. I mean, I still blurt shit out occasionally, but those things make people avoid me. I just kept reinforcing the habit of not doing things, because it made me feel slightly comfortable in that my holding back meant that I wasn’t using 100% effort. But by stopping myself from trying my hardest, if I didn’t do something perfectly, I could subconsciously blame it on my lack of effort. So my possibility of perfection is still in tact. 0 for 0, no attempts. It’s like deep in my mind I’m rebelling against myself. Is this problem solveable? Is it something diagnosable and written down in a book of things that fucked-up people have to deal with? If it is, I want you to read it to me, and read the solutions, because in truth, I’ve been dealing with this my whole life and I very rarely have a lucid moment or two to piece this kind of stuff together. Please, find it in a book and read it to me.

[Aaron_Kozbial]

Come see this show.