Wednesday, August 15th 2012

There are some who scoff at the idea that improvisational comedy is a valid form of entertainment.  That it requires no skills and is just a bunch of loonies on stage making up stuff to satiate their own egos.  While there may be some truth that improvisers make up stuff to satiate their egos, improv however, does require skills that need to be continually practiced and honed for its performers to become better individually and as a group.  The Bit Players take great pride in their work ethic to improve what they already do, as well as working on adding new “bits” to their repertoire.  Their summer, Wednesday performances are a glimpse into that experimentation and fine-tuning from which their regular audiences are normally excluded.  In the few remaining Wednesdays of summer, The Bit Players will continue to offer their experimental performances, in the structure of a real show.  What you see may eventually become part of the ongoing repertoire of bits, or it may be something that’s been shelved that they are working to improve.  Either way, the Wednesday audiences are privy to the raw creation that is at the heart of improv comedy.



Clayon and Dylan remain in "Story, Story, Die"
Hosted by Neal



Taking the reigns as Host on Wednesday, was Neal Leaheey.  The show started with a warm-up piece, “Story, Story Die!”  In this scene game performed by the entire cast (Dylan Eberle, Matt Lindman, John Mulligan, Clayon McFarlane, and Lobo Linhares) the players are “killed off” if they falter in the telling of a collaboratively constructed tale about an audience suggested topic.  In the story “The Littlest Peanut”, as the story meandered on a train enroute to Plantersville, Neal eradicated player after player until only Dylan and Clayon remained.  In the end, it was Dylan to live to tell another tale.

Clayon and Matt perform "Puppets"
with the help of two audience members

Two lucky audience members were invited up onto the stage to help with the bit, “Puppets”.  In this bit, the two helpers can bend and manipulate the actors (Clayon & Matt) in any way they would like, while the actors justify their positions within the context of the scene.  The audience enjoyed watching the somewhat masochistic posing and postures to which our helpers subjected Matt and Clayon in this zany scene at a graveyard.

Dylan, Clayon, John, and Matt in
"Gibberish Interpretive Dance Poem"

“Gibberish Interpretive Dance Poem” was a bit that was dusted off and resurrected from the oldies pile.  In this bit, one player speaks in “gibberish”, two players interpret the gibberish in the form of movement and dance, while a fourth player translates the gibberish and the movement into a coherent story.  While Dylan was speaking a form of German gibberish, our dancers, Clayon and John used their bodies to enhance the narrative, while it was Matt’s job to tell the story, entitled “The Road that was Actually Taken”.

Clayon, Lobo, and Matt in "Doo Run"

Two (fortunate?) audience members Ann and Ralph were the subjects for a “Doo Run” song performed by Lobo, Matt and Clayon.  Although Ralph described Ann as being wonderful and Ann may have playfully described Ralph as an idiot, our players made up an amusing song all about them in the style of an old time 60’s song.



"Epic Poem" performed by Clayon, Lobo, and John



Thinking that she could remain in anonymity in the darkened confines of the theater, Joan became the topic of an “Epic Poem” performed by Clayon, Lobo, and John, in “The Day Joan Landscaped”.

“Radio Show” was up next with Dylan narrating.  As the lights went down, and the theater was On Air, our fictitious radio broadcast on station WWCDY (with the second “W” standing for weird) we meet evil  Dr Dangerous at a carnival who has an affiliation with the creepy Bearded Lady.  It was the Bearded Lady and another circus freak, Reptileman (aka Cobra Commander) that plot their revenge and devise a sinister plot to take down the circus.  As tension mounted and the Bearded Lady and Repitleman cut the ropes, the Big Top falls.  A pillar crashes down and pins young Timmy.  The Bearded Lady then has reservations about what she has done, but not so for Reptileman, who relishes in his malevolence.

The Bit Players perform "Mini-Musical"

The Wednesday night show ended with “Mini-Musical” performed by the entire cast.  In this improvised musical “Haley and Arthur at the beach” we learn that Haley desperately wants a commitment in the relationship with Arthur, but time and again Arthur makes more friends  like that with the Hotdog Man, and discards Haley.  The Hotdog Man conveys to Arthur that he is a “friendslut” and to make amends with Haley, he must ask him out on a man-date.  Alas, we see Haley and Arthur together at a Batman movie.   Haley begins to softens with Arthur’s attention, believing them alone together in the theater…  But has Arthur truly become friendship-monogamous?  Only time and our imaginations, will tell.

And as always, The Bit Players perform improv comedy every Friday and Saturday night at 8:00pm at the Firehouse Theatre, 4 Equality Park Place (off Broadway), Newport, RI 02840.  Please call the box office for reservations and information about all of the shows   401-849-FIRE (3473)  And it is always BYOB!