"Dishwasher!" "Saloon!" "Dinosaurs!"
These are some of the suggestions that you may catch being blurted out by audience members of Empire Improv's Hostel Greetings Improv Night, which is held at the Studio on 4th theater-bar. The theater area has about 20 people occupying the raised, round tables with drinks in hand. The atmosphere is chock full of conversation and anticipation for the upcoming performance.
The voices of the audience members go down with the bar lights as the stage lights up. The founder of Empire Improv, Michael Lewis, starts off the show with a short introduction about how the improv is going to work, and then without hesitation, he turns to the audience and asks for a theme suggestion.
The first game, called freeze tag, is fast-paced, short-form improv where two performers begin a scene with the audience's suggestion and the third performer may, at any time, yell, "Freeze!" He then jumps in and energetically takes the place, and exact positioning, of one of the frozen two and carries on with a completely new scene. It's fast paced and utterly hilarious, as the crowd absolutely explodes every couple minutes.
Halfway through the show, there is a brief intermission to fill up on drinks and check out the art on the barroom walls. The performers then continue with the second half of the show that features long-form improv, a continuous story made up on the spot.
Another Hostel Greetings show is happening Friday, Oct. 10, at Studio on 4th.
The three performers on stage consist of Ben Craig of Second City Chicago and Las Vegas, Tim Dufrisne, a student of theater and dramatic literature at UNR, and Lewis. All have gone through their respective improv training courses and convened here in the Reno area to perform.
Lewis, a former performer in L.A.'s Improv Olympic, now officially known as iO Improv and also a past teacher of Bakersfield's ComedySportz Team, moved to the Truckee area for the terrain. The self-proclaimed ski bum is quoted on the Empire Improv Web site as saying, "Why Reno? Because the mountains in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles are lame." With true Sierra Nevada spirit and love Michael hopes to create a following of improv fanatics in the greater Reno area.
Empire Improv began with a "very primitive website" where Lewis posted an ad for an improv workshop. He heard back from a handful of prospective students including the likes of his current comedic companions Ben Craig and Tim Dufrisne. The classes ran eight weeks and when they were finished, the trio took their show on the road. Well, the road from Truckee to Reno at least. They started Hostel Greetings Improv in early January, and since then, the fan base has grown.
Lewis said that he wants to create a show that's "not just good enough for Reno, but good enough for anywhere."
That is why he has plans to continue teaching improv classes in the Reno-Truckee area. The most recent classes will begin on October 23 lasting eight weeks. There are three levels of classes offered to adults and separate classes solely for high school students who want to explore the improv world.
Lewis is even attempting to bring some of his improv-savvy friends from around the U.S. as guest speakers and performers for both his classes and his shows. The classes are $200.00 for the eight weeks of instruction.
"Ideally," he said, "I would like to have eight or so performers on stage for this show." Lewis also said he would eventually like to have a series of shows or skits. Each separate show would feature different improv actors from his classes doing the type of show that best suits their talents. One show may be entirely short form or possibly an improv jam where anyone in the audience can participate in games like "freeze tag."
But for now, the fan base is still growing and more talent is still out there, waiting to find its way into Lewis' improving hands.
Find out the latest Empire Improv shows on the official Web site.
