what? no!

my last post got all kinds of erased, but the gist of it was that i am now reading 'watchmen' for the first time, and i am having to learn how to read comic books, because it's not like regular reading. i got it on tuesday, and it's slow going, but i like it so far.

then i was waiting for a train last night in the miserable rain (the entrance to the C E at 25th street was FLOODED ENTIRELY - there was no possible way to get to the entrance from the stairs with out jumping into several inches of water. i swore for a bit and then walked to the 23rd street entrance). i was reading said graphic novel when a guy approached me and said 'that's watchmen', to which i tried to reply non-sarcastically, as the title is emblazoned upon the front of the book in black and yellow. we began talking, and he assured me he was 'not just some guy', but rather from the UCB. apparently he'd just taken kate spencer's class (which met while i was the intern on duty) so he recognized me. kate was really great about telling her class to see the 'In A World...' shows, so several of the class did. Apparently this not-just-some-guy-but-rather-a-UCB-guy had been told about me (?) by someone else, who raved about 'THIS GIRL WHO KNOWS EVERYTHING ABOUT COMIC BOOKS!!1'. presumably because i have a vagina, this is exciting and noteworthy news.

however, because i am a nerd, i felt the need to insist to him that i actually didn't know much about comic books at all, despite being caught red-handed reading the Graphic Novel to End All Other Graphic Novels, which is in and of itself ABOUT comic book characters, and having done the core scene of a comic book characters deconstruction show (which, i assume, is what this other person had gathered his conclusions from). i went on to explain that i was having a hard time reading 'watchmen', and that all i know about comic books comes from either the early 90's x-men cartoon or 'the amazing adventures of kavalier and clay'. and thinking back to that show (which i don't even like doing, as it was pretty frustrating show), the only real cache i had was that jean grey was phoenix... but x-men 3 established that! it's not even cool to know that anymore, right? i don't know because i don't know that much about comic books.

i felt guilty! i wanted to point out all my friends who are INFINITELY bigger comic book fans than myself, merely by dint of actually liking comic books! brett white! matt little! dave bluvband! will hines! kevin hines! basically everyone i know! or eliza skinner! she's hilarious, gorgeous, possessing of a vagina and ACTUALLY knows about comic books! like, knows a lot, as far as i can tell, which isn't that far because HAVE I MENTIONED I DON'T ACTUALLY KNOW MUCH ABOUT COMIC BOOKS!! i was looking for anything to assure him that i didn't presume to actually have any real knowledge about comic books.

but he didn't ever seem to believe me. so i can only conclude, that thanks indirectly to kate spencer, i now have a reputation for being both a comic books expert and a pathological liar! thanks! THANKS A BUNCH KATE SHEESH!

not really, kate's the best. i am just... weird. it was weird. i guess i just need to be more careful about where i read that book. but really it was weird to be known, in whatever small and specific way. stop it! don't know me! i'm nothing! i haven't even read batman year one! BAD NERD!

however, in related 'in a world...' news, i am heading out to do sweaterprov at the creek in LIC with a mash up of the two teams (just who was available to do it, we haven't changed the line up). the show is free and at 8 pm. come out if you want!

In a World...

my first 600 class' last show of our run was last night and it was totally awesome. both teams really nailed the form and the show generally, AND we all had a ton of fun. i loved my team so much! the class was a great experience, and had it's share of serious ups and downs, but we really pulled together last night and i am beyond proud of the whole class.

which leads me to my next point: how fucking proud i am of the illustrious harold team whorenado. they had some serious struggles early on, and at some point (i choose to believe it was sometime after their kickass performance at my show, the lorelei) they all decided to commit SO HARD to their team, and commit to extra rehearsals and commit selflessly to their teammates. and their hard work has paid off so much recently. they support each other's weaknesses and ideas in such a fucking fun way. this is extremely cheesy, but their example has given me a ton of hope about the power of attitude and commitment in improv. they are obviously all talented individuals, but they are a great TEAM because they are all working so hard to commit and support that TEAM. OMG I LOVE WHORENADO.

<3
katey

p.s. Always pack a suit, even if you think you aren't going to need one. ~ Anton Chekov.

TONIGHT!

you should head on down to the UCB theatre tonight at 11 and check out the first show for "In A World", starring a whole slew of very talented improvisors, and directed by shannon o'neill. the show is free if you attend any part of harold night OR are an improv student, and a mere $5 otherwise.

i would love to see you there!

<3
katey

congestion

is terrible. and right now it's sitting in my chest, waiting until tomorrow to make me cough. LAME.

i need to buy cat food and litter tonight. oh and roach traps. YUCK. do they make cat proof traps? ugh i dunno. i hate bugs. and i need to go to bed early tonight.

i found an itunes library at work that has a bunch of the national stuff that i don't, so i am listening to that and trying to find the snl sketches i missed on saturday. i found amy's palin rap, which was badass, and the mcgruber runner,. which are always fun, but that's it.

i got some more work to do.

improv update:
my 600 class is going well. it's a very supportive group onstage, for the most part. apparently my new go-to moves are to assume that retarded people always want to eat food out of the garbage and to ask people why their dicks are out. and apparently there is no difference between the way i play a crackhead and the way i play an old drunk man. in my defense, i know very few crackheads. also in my defense, i was on some pretty serious medication to stop my body from telling me to pass out. SNAP - was i high? i don't think so. we are making solid progress though, i think, and i pretty optimistic about the whole thing.

i stayed out to see reuben williams on saturday. i hadn't seen them since DCM! what! that's nuts! i used to see them every week! it was quite fun. they also happened to do a deconstruction, which is the form we are doing in the 600. it was very helpful to see it be done by an experienced team. i am very glad our performance class has had a form in mind from the begining. i think it's helped us greatly to focus on a goal. looking at other 600s with a critical eye (and no offense meant towards anyone involved), i think many itierations have failed because of a desire to invent a form that reflected the goal of the class. i think 8 weeks is just not enough time to focus on goals of the class as well bonding as a group AND a performing team, to also invent an entire form as well. basically, i think improv teams invent forms when they trust one another and have a great dynamic - teams that have often been together, learning one another's playing style for a year or more. forcing the creation of a form is just that, forced. it rarely seems work well.

trust is an under-utilized improv tool, i think. people tend to appreciate it when it comes about, and extol its virtues, but rarely do they do anything to actively foster or create trust (thanks to nicole for reminding me of that) besides hanging out. and coming from a background of group-process study, i know how much simple trust tools can change how any individual feels about and reacts to a group. it's something i've been wanting to discuss and implement, but which i am not really in a position to do so. i think i need to start discussing it more, at the very least.

seeing shark tank perform on friday night made me miss performing with a team. they had a lot of fun out there with each other. sigh. plus they did a scene about the worst rollercoaster ever (i think it raped them at one point, and then ruined the economy); who doesn't want to be a part of that?

in other news i managed to stab my lip open with my thumbnail during a wild gesture friday night... while doing some silly bit. LAME TOWN, population: me.