So as you may or may not have heard from my many anxious tweets last weekend, I have basically reached the end of my improv training. I’ve been studying improvisation for the better part of the year now, originally just for the heck of it, but later on for two major reasons: a) it fascinates me — I like chasing both the form of improvised theater as a currently evolving art, and that mindset that you get in while performing well, a wacky little state of awareness and communication with everyone around you, including the audience and your fellow performers. And b) because it seems to make me a better person, not necessarily in a therapy/discovering myself way (though if I’m honest, I guess there’s some of that in there), but in an intelligent, well-studied, well-rounded individual kind of way. There are a lot of things that would meet this second criteria, I think, but in this case, improv just happens to be one of them. (I also spent last night doing some intermediate-to-advanced hardware repair on my Mac mini, and before that, I ran about seven miles for fun and exercise. So there’s your well-rounded for you.)

Anyway, I’m finishing level 7 at Los Angeles’ IO West theater, which is the graduation level, so in a few weeks I will have finished my training, and generally learned what improv is. But that’s only the beginning — I also auditioned last weekend to join one of the official teams at the theater, and after the previously mentioned anxiety, I was accepted. So I’ve joined a team, with a bunch of other folks, and we’re going to be performing some improv there in LA. I also occasionally perform with a group of friends called Motel TV, and I’ll probably join at least one more team or show before this is all done — I’d like to try some really down-to-Earth two-person improv at some point.

In other words, I have a lot of shows lately. I’m not sure of the best way to share them with you all (or if you even care — I know most people reading this probably don’t live in Los Angeles anyway). But I do feel the need to market them somehow, and so even if this isn’t the right place, I’m going to try to put my shows up here, so that interested parties can have some idea when I’ll be on stage.

Tonight is actually the first of many shows I’m in this month — my level 7 class is performing this evening at 7pm in IO West’s Del Close Theater. All of these shows, unless otherwise stated, are in that theater, which is right behind IO West over on Hollywood and Cahuenga Blvd. Valet parking is a cheap $5 right across the street, or you can usually find some meters over on Wilcox if you’re parking after 7pm in the evening.

This Thursday, Motel TV will be on stage with the Prism Box theater at 9pm. I believe that show is at the Elephant, 6322 Santa Monica Boulevard, but I may be wrong about that. I’ll update this when I know for sure.

Then on Friday, my brand new (still nameless) team will perform in the Del Close Theater. We go on at 9pm or thereabouts, and I recommend you make an evening out of it — there are a lot of solid teams performing in the DCT lately.

Next Sunday, we have another level 7 show, also at 7pm in the DCT. The level 7 class team, whose name is Wiffle Waffle, is also performing next Thursday and the Thursday after (the 14th and the 21st), both of those shows at 8pm, and on the main stage of the theater. That’s a big deal — each of those shows are $10, but if you want in, let me know ahead of time, and I can probably get you a comp.

Finally, on Tuesday the 19th, my unnamed team will be performing at 11pm out on the Mainstage. That whole night on the mainstage will be terrific, with great teams like Waterloo, Bandit, and Local 132 all performing. Buying one ticket at IO gets you in all night, so come early, grab a set, and then just enjoy a full night of improv finishing with me.

Hope some of you can come out! My challenge still hasn’t been accepted, so if anyone shows up before a show and says hi to me, I will throw in a World of Warcraft reference sometime during the show (or any reference you happen to want, as long as it’s not super obscene). Please come out if you can! Thanks!

Oh, and I do want you to come, but because I know you will all ask if there will be any videotape of these, I will tell you that there probably will be. Stay tuned for that. But please don’t let that stop you from coming to see us live — one of the many reasons I like improv so much is that it is still very much a live form. Works much better when you’re part of all of that communication going around.