So, what is a crapshoot, exactly?  Basically it’s something risky — something that depends more on luck than on skill … something that has an unpredictable outcome.  But the secret to the success of Rising Sun Production’s monthly show Crapshoot! is that while a lot of it is wildly unpredictable, it’s sitting on the shoulders of talented folks who have a solid improv foundation and are pretty much ready to handle whatever gets thrown at them.  More luck than skill?  I’d say there’s skill aplenty here, and it comes zooming at you at 90mph in this variety show.  The result is a boisterous, crazy, sometimes chaotic but always hilarious night of pure enjoyment that offers up nothing but silliness, fun and entertainment.

The format for Crapshoot! is simple – and they stick to it. Part improv (well, more than part) part talk show, part audience participation, part balls-to-the-wall hilarity … these folks will do anything to give the audience a good time and I left with my sides hurting from laughter.  Just be warned if you answer their sweet-faced “Do you want to play a game?” with “Yes” then your name is going into the pool of volunteers who will be called up to the stage.  While it’s all in good fun, if you don’t want to play, make sure you don’t submit your name card.  If you do wanna play however … be ready for anything.

Each show is different but I can assume the basic premise will be the same. On my night host Mia Y. Anderson had the audience in the palm of her hand as she immediately warmed us up with material that was both prepared ahead of time as well as tossed off on the spot. As a full-fledged bisexual she had full license to flirt with any and all who caught her eye, and she did so with a naughty wink that never went too far.

There was just enough variety – served up in short segments – to keep the movement going: a talk-show format, some interviews with “Nurse Betty” where questions were taken from the audience, a game show (cue giant puffy dice) that was so hilarious I couldn’t catch my breath. The audience is encouraged to liquor up beforehand (and during!) so the looser the crowd the better the show.

Intersperesed between all the games, fake commercial breaks, and white fly girl dancing, there is some out-of-the box improv done on the spot to real life postcards and love letters – supplied by the audience.  (“BRING YOUR POSTCARDS, HIGH SCHOOL LOVE LETTERS, DIARY ENTRIES AND BREAK UP STORIES AND SEE YOUR MEMORIES ACTED OUT LIVE ON STAGE FOR THE AMUSEMENT OF OTHERS!” Click here to submit. All names will remain confidential.) Bad handwriting often proved to be the speed-bump which brought this otherwise funny bit to a halt.   I’d suggest perhaps vetting the cards before hand – not for content but for legibility.  Still, on my night the audience gamely rooted the cast on and was duely happy with the results.  It’s all in good fun, folks.

Coming in at just around an hour this later show is the perfect way to start an evening of hi-jinx of your own … see the show, get in a few laughs and then hit the great bars in the area. While almost all of your experience may vary, chances are this capable cast will do right by you.  You’ll have a blast.  And that, my friends, may be a crapshoot, but it’s also a pretty safe bet.

The cast I enjoyed on Thursday June 21st for Crapshoot! was:

Host Mia Y. Anderson
MC/Pianist/Closing Act: Michael Burns
Fly White Girls: Samantha DeSimone, Amanda Berry, Haley Selmon
Cowboy Deuce: Ryan Dursek
Nurse Betty: Sarah Norris
Jackie Walker: Haley Selmon
Wish you Were Here (Postcards Players): Mike Burns, Sarah Norris, Ryan Dursek, Amanda Berry
Post-Apocalyptic Mailman: Carl Fengler
Game Squad: Amanda Berry, Sarah Norris, Carl Fengler

~~~

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Actress and Comedian Livia Scott hosts this monthly variety show, where dead celebrities are brought back to life and stellar guest performances contribute to the experience of Livia’s Castle of Enchantment at the UCB Theater East.

I attended Livia’s Castle of Enchantment on Tuesday, April 24, and was pleasantly taken on a whirlwind as Livia morphed into the dead celebrity of the evening: Mike Wallace. Livia’s portrayal as Mike Wallace was as respectful as it was funny and had the crowd laughing throughout the show, highlighting her skills in stand-up, improv, and impersonation.

Livia (ahem … Mike Wallace) was joined by three special guests: Mike Milazzo, Bamboo Silva, and Seaton Smith. These acts were woven throughout the show, giving each performer a space in which to shine, while being incorporated into the total experience of the evening’s enchantment.

Seaton Smith did a riotous comedy set, enthralling the audience with his edgy humor, thoughts, and observations.  Mike Milazzo and Bamboo Silva rocked the theater with solo acts, and then collaborated in an improvisational jam that had the audience shouting with excitement and electric applause. As Livia said, “the ferociously heartbreaking guitarist + Bronx beatboxer beyond Thunderdome = together they’re unlike anything you’ve ever seen.”

Overall, Livia’s Castle of Enchantment is a fun, organic variety show. Each month brings a new dead celebrity host via Livia and amazing guest acts to round out the experience. The show starts by 7:30 and lasts about an hour. At only $5, you won’t want to miss this kind of enchantment.

More about Livia Scott:

Livia is an actress, comedian and character powerhouse who’s appeared on Law & Order, Late Night With Conan O’Brien, the Comedy Central series Honesty, the upcoming feature film Snatched as Andrew McCarthy’s nurse and she pulls a Peter Sellers by playing about 7 different roles in National Lampoon’s Dirty Movie directed by Christopher Meloni.

She’s an ensemble player in The Shushan Channel by writers from The Daily Show With Jon Stewart with guest appearances by Will Forte, Scott Adsit, Rachel Dratch, John Oliver and Joel McHale, and MEAT, the critically acclaimed all-female sketch phenomenon hailed as “One of the nation’s best groups” by THE ONION.

Livia also writes for MIRTH Magazine, hosts the celebrated variety experience Livia’s Castle Of Enchantment at UCB and is a double ECNY Award nominee for Best Emerging Comic of the Year and Best Solo Show for Goodnight, OJ, her adaptation of real letters written to OJ Simpson which ran for a year at UCB and was directed by Baron Vaughn.

She’s been featured in The New York Times, Backstage, The New York Post, The NY Daily News and The Apiary.

Livia won the 2011 Channy Award for Best Villain in a Web Series & the 2010 Channy Award for Best Actress.  She was recently named “One Of Our Favorite 53 Female Comedians” along with Tina Fey, Amy Poehler & Sarah Silverman by THE HUFFINGTON POST.

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If you haven’t already had a chance to check out Groundling alum  Holly Mandel’s IMPROVOLUTION! now’s a great time to 1) give yourself a great night of improv 2) support people who really need it during a time of need.  Because This Friday, Jan 29 @ 8pm Improvolution will be holding their next Improv Lovefest which will not only be a night of long form improv but also be a FUNDRAISER FOR HAITI where 100% of the money collected will be donated to the American Red Cross to help their efforts there … a TRUE Lovefest!

For more information, check out http://www.improvolution.org

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Deck The Hallmans!

Let’s face it, the holiday season is all about getting family together.  And as much as we’d all like to think that that’s a good thing, the truth is that when family members are forced to spend hours on end in the same house it can often spell chaos – which is the main thrust of The Brick’s production of Deck The Hallmans! (improvised by the ensemble and directed by Audrey Crabtree).

Too many generations mingling with too many lifestyles which are sometimes in direct conflict with each other; old traditions that aren’t cherished anymore, versus old heirlooms that are given too much value; hidden agendas nestled in among the good wishes and feigned merriment, all wrapped up with a nice bow.  Throw in a little improv, some choreographed punches, and the Hallmans find themselves thoroughly Decked.

I liked the loose improv of this show, which begins with Dave the security guy (Played by Director Audrey Crabtree) thoroughly policing the crowd.  Ms. Crabtree has great ironic timing and, when asking the crowd for nuggets that will become seeds of the story (such as names of childhood pets, issues you have with your parents, or ideas for where the family last may have gotten together) she has a way of getting a laugh from the most pedestrian of answers.  Naturally comic and comically natural she keeps the plot moving along and adds just the right touch between scenes as we spend what almost seems like Christmas Eve played out in real time.

The family consists of blissfully quaint dad Bob Hallman (Robert Honeywell) who invites the rest of his family to “come into my office” whenever he thinks they need a heart to heart, his wife Carol (Moira Stone – who displays shades of SNL vet Mary Gross) a devoted housewife who dithers about cooking her “slow food”,  the twins Chris and Chrissy played simultaneously (with the switch of a hat) by Lauri Berritta, eccentric Aunt Lily (Alyssa Simon) who does experimental theatre and wafts into the room like a hipster version of Vera Charles.  Add to this a curmudgeonly old Grandma (Iracel Rivero) , her male nurse (Jonathan Kaplan), Laverne the frisky neighbor (Donetta Riley), a blowhard uncle (Lynn Berg) and eventually a crazy ex wife (also Audrey Crabtree) and there’s enough here to keep the night moving along with plenty to riff off of.

Interspersed throughout the night are Adam Swiderski’s choreographed fights, some of which play out comically well, some of which are cartoonish (but intentionally so) and some of which are a bit of a stretch.  Still, the mood remains in tact throughout, and aside from a few glitches (As this is an improv show I had the feeling something went wrong as the cast displayed various stages of boredom waiting for dinner to be done … and no one knew where to pick it up.  Still, this was more a missed opportunity rather than a solid misstep) it was fun to watch the cast incorporate the audience’s ideas.  The final fight which had the entire cast at each other throats is reminiscent of a live-action version of some day dreams we’ve all no doubt had at the holiday dinner-table.  All in all Deck the Hallmans! is a satisfying pre-holiday gear up to the petty arguments and full blown fights that, no doubt, will grace some homes this season.

~ ~ ~

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The next Improv Jam will be with IMPROVOLUTION’S finest!

A night of improvised games, scenes, long form, instant characters, experimental theater…and more fun fun fun!

Starring:
Holly Mandel * Anthony Minto  * Darrin Giglio * Orli Ben-Dor * Radhika Vaz  *  TJ Kenneally  *  Paul Pinizzotto  *  David Frenkiel  *  Barry Sacker  *  Mike Drummey

Directed by: Holly Mandel

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