A History: Roving Imp Theater

The exciting conclusion to the history of the Roving Imp Theater straight from the fingers of John Robison:

The Imp Creation Story, Part 2:

I searched for an appropriate building for a long time. I looked in all parts of the city. My target area at the time was somewhere around 75th & 1-35. However, it soon became apparent that any type of commercial property in that area was going to be WAY out of my price range. I found a building I really liked that was just on the Kansas side of Westport. I loved the building. It was perfect. It was $400,000. The only building I was able to find that both had potential and was in my price range was on the main street of Bonner Springs, about 20-30 minutes west of Kansas City. However, I wasn’t able to reach a deal with the owner that we were both happy with.

So I decided to chill out for awhile. It was the beginning of November. My thinking was that if I waited until after the first of the year, the market would have changed enough that more buildings might be available for better prices. After a month, just after Thanksgiving, I got a call from the owner of the building in Bonner Springs, a man in his mid-60s originally from Italy. He said, “I haven’t heard from you… what’s going on, you don’t like foreigners?” I shot back, “Foreigners I’m OK with. It’s the Italians I’ve got problems with.” Within another two weeks we’d hammered out a deal. It turned out that time had done a lot of the negotiating for me, and it was a lot easier this time. The only real consideration at that point was that the building wasn’t in the center city. However, it did have two apartments connected, with potential space down below, so there was a guarantee of income. I decided to go ahead, reasoning that if you have a quality product, people will come to see it no matter where it is located. Also, Bonner Springs was something of a cultural void… ready for the planting of cultural seeds that will one day be ready for harvest. (By the way, so far, the “build it and they will come” approach has worked out OK…)

We were scheduled to close on March 1, 2007. I was super freaked at this point, as everything that had before been a pie-in-the-sky fantasy was suddenly terrifying stark reality. It was all going down, and I was the one in charge of it. At that point, my thinking was that we needed to get up and running as soon as humanly possible. We would have the building, and we needed to start the operation of the business so we could start revenue streams. (or at least revenue trickles.) I set the completely insane “what the hell are you thinking” deadline opening date of April 7, 2007. That’s right. One month. One month to remodel the inside of the building, do marketing, assemble a performance team, advertise for classes, and implement the business plan. It was the most thrilling, frightening, exhausting, exhilarating month I have ever lived. It was terrible, hard work, as we had to completely gut the interior and rebuild it in our chosen image. Once we decided on the final layout (we chose our third option), we started working in earnest. I’ll never be able to repay my two brothers, sister, or wife for that month. Two walls came down. Three walls went up. Two bathrooms materialized. A new ceiling went up. The seats got moved in and attached, despite the guy at the U-Haul threatening to burn my house down in the middle of the night because I had the gaul to complain that he’d overcharged me. (Yes, that really happened.) A big complex light box went up into the ceiling. The stage got built. The sound system went in. Advertisements went into newspapers and online. I talked to everyone I knew. Some really kind people came in and helped construct and paint. Rehearsals happened. I remember a few of those early rehearsals when we rehearsed in a small corner of the room because it was the only space that was clean enough in which to exist.

On some level I must have known that it was possible to do. Because we did it. There were a ton of weird city-specific regulations that nearly hung us up at the last minute (it was boring enough living it… no need to re-create it here), but we opened with three mini-shows followed by snacks and chatting. It was a great night all around. Were the shows great? Probably not. But they happened. Everyone has to start somewhere. Not bad for a group that had virtually no experience doing improv. The original group of six included me, my sister, two people I’d met doing a musical the previous summer, a friend that I’d met doing a show, and he later performed in something like four improv shows, and some random teenager that happened to wander in. That first show was fun and energetic, if not the most artistic thing to ever hit the world. The important thing is that we have gotten better since then, by several magnitudes.

I’ve learned a lot about everything since then, not just about the art of improvisation. For example, I’ve found that newspaper advertisements for me are just as useless as posting flyer's. Both are activities I really pursued with gusto in those early three months. Neither produced as much as a single audience member. I’ve learned that I need to not indulge my artistic temperament… just because I’m excited about something doesn’t mean I should immediately devote all resources towards that goal. Nowadays I put forth the idea, sit on it for a couple weeks, and then make plans to implement it two or three months down the line. This is the reason that I plan all my shows and activities at least three months in advance. It prevents me from getting excited and jumping into some foolish and fun notion.

I’m sure there’s a ton more for me to learn. As long as they aren’t painful lessons, I welcome them. Even though it was a really tough time, there’s nothing like watching a dream come true to feed your soul. Even when my soul was covered in drywall dust, paint, sweat, and more blood than I care to remember, it was still smiling. Even though financially I will certainly never be the same, one day when this theater is rolling along at an acceptably successful level, I’d consider opening another one - at a much slower, more careful, better planned and better funded pace. Don’t tell my wife. She’d leave me.

A History: Hype 7

Chapter One: Early Times

Sometime in the early 1990's, there was a group of Kansas University students who liked to play improv games, and perform them in front of audiences. They called themselves Waiters-to-Be. Some went their separate ways, presumably to better futures than food service. The remaining players renamed themselves Single White Males (which was largely the case).

Well before "Whose Line" hit the air, SWM had gained a following in Lawrence, performing at intimate venues like the Renegade Theater and Liberty Hall, and making appearances in larger productions like Rock Chalk Revue. The troupe combined ironic, off-the-beaten-path sketches with the traditional short-form improv games. In contrast to the spontaneity of improv, the sketches were acutely rehearsed and often technically ambitious. They poked fun at the dark arts of aerobics and Centipede, and never missed a shot at the current University Theater production.

Next: What's With the Name Change?

A History: Roving Imp

For awhile, there was a lot of talk about someone opening up an improv dedicated theater in town. In swooped John Robison, the owner of Roving Imp for over a year now. We asked him about Roving Imp's history and here is what he had to say.

"In most respects, the creation story of the Roving Imp is unspectacular and unimportant. Boiled down, the whole story is “I was tired of scrounging for space and being hassled by the man, so I bought a theater.” As with most things, however, if you dig down, there’s more just beneath the surface story.

I’ve written before about the community theater group I created just out of high school, the Better Than Fair Players. This group was together for eight years, performing all over Bonner Springs, Basehor, and Shawnee, in churches, schools, rec centers, and even outside. Toward the middle and end, we were doing five shows a year without an official permanent home. Each show was another negotiation for space. Each rehearsal represented another day of completely setting up the stage from scratch, rehearsing, and then completely breaking everything down and loading props back in cars and stowing sets in an out-of-the-way place. It was during this four-or-more-times weekly exercise in frustration that the seeds were planted. Yes, like 50% of all actors, I got the completely original idea, “We should have a theater of our own.”

Unlike most, however, I began to do some research, and I began to look for an appropriate space. After about a year of looking, I found a place I really liked. I put an offer on the building… and it fell through for various reasons which may or may not have to do with the fact that the seller had just emerged from prison. After another six weeks, I found another place. It wasn’t as ideal, but I thought I could probably make it work. I put in an offer, but the deal fell through, as it had problems with sewers… mainly the fact that it wasn’t connected to any.

At that point, my personal life sort of imploded for awhile, and to say that the theater search took a backseat would be a gross understatement. My main focus in life at that point was to try to save my marriage (which didn’t work, by the way). After that little disintegration occurred, I decided to expand my horizons by doing some shows in the big city of Kansas City for awhile. It had been eight years, after all, since I had done a show for someone else… I’d been directing my own shows since I was 19 years old, and I thought it might be a good idea to go learn from other directors.

I did a couple shows, and quickly found out that those other directors should really be learning from ME. The directors I worked with were great people, but did not live up to my own standards. I wanted specific feedback and a consistent, coherent vision for a show. This is not too much to ask, but I didn’t get it. (This is not uncommon, from what I have heard, unless you work with certain specific directors.)

Though this foray into “big city theater” was disappointing in certain ways, it really opened up my world in other ways. First, it got me known as a person that knew what he was doing. I quickly got hired to direct shows in town, and found that my directing skills transferred very well from the small town to the big(ger). Second, it introduced me to the world of improv.

I had done improv before. I had even taught improv before. However, I had never before been plugged in to the “world” of improv. I had always before been the one that had known the most about improv in the room (which was not much, FYI). But when Full Frontal Comedy took a chance on me (due completely, I think, to a funky made up dance I came up with in a show), I found a group of really talented, funny people that I didn’t teach and that I wasn’t responsible for. I learned a lot from that group, and made a lot of great friends that I have to this day.

At about the same time I found FFC, I also went back to school to get my master’s degree. The combination of FFC, a very special moment in an entrepreneurship class, and a pivotal conversation with my (new) wife’s sister resparked this idea in my head: I can open a theater now. Not only that: I MUST open a theater.

I quickly mapped out the pros, cons, and things I would need to do before it would be possible. The main thing I needed: a true pedigree from a respected place of improv. So I signed up for classes at i.o. in Chicago. i.o. has the style of improv that is most like the style I like best. Yes, Second City is better known, but has the philosophy that improv should be used as a tool, whereas i.o. founder Del Close always maintained that improv is an artform by itself.

Chicago was fantastic. It helped me in ways that I could never have imagined. I am now a completely different kind of improviser than before I went: a good one. I consider the majority of scenes I do now to be successful… because now I have the experience to recognize why things go awry. Maybe that’s a different post.

Anyway… now I had the experience, knowhow, and the credentials. Now for the hard part… making the theater happen.

To be continued…"

Stay tuned for next part soon to come.

A History: Full Frontal Comedy

Straight from their website:


When did all this craziness start?

In the fall of 1998. Our director and owner, Tina Morrison, was supposed to direct "The Marriage of Bette and Boo" for the Northland Actors Ensemble (NAE). Some stuff happened and the show didn't, but NAE still had dates to fill on the calendar. Tina took those in the cast willing to learn improv and, based on her 7 years of improv with the groups Laughing Stock and Caught In The Act, she started our group to fill those spots. The group has been performing ever since.


Were you drinking when you came up with your name?

The short answer is: Yes.

Now for the long answer. Some of the original members of the group met over some beers at 54th Street Bar & Grill. They'd already begun rehearsals for the NAE show but needed a name. Stasha Case thought (and still does to this day) that the group should be called "Show Me The Funny". She shouted it out repeatedly during the evening, which failed to amuse our fearless leader, Tina. Hence, it is not our name today.

Luckily, Bill Case came up with Full Frontal Comedy. The stars aligned and the children sang and people around the world settled long standing disputes in celebration. Well, maybe. In all actuality, the group probably just ordered another round of beer and each scarfed down a Baja Biggie Basket. For those taking notes, this is the official food of all FFC members except Dave Martin. He prefers the Hearty 12 oz. Bowl of Idaho Baked Potato Soup (order it by name.)

A History: Improv-Abilities

Since 2000, Improv-Abilities has had continued growth and success. Recently, they were invited to the Chicago Improv Festival. Here is their brief history as written by Keith:

I am not in charge of this group, nor have I ever been. However, I am one of the first members. So, I will do my best!

I met Mr. Jim Montemeyer at Sylvester Powell Junior Community Center. We were playing basketball and my friend who was working with him at the time told me to talk to him about improv. This was around the time that I stopped taking the classes at Comedy Sportz which was still in the Deleware location. So, my friend knew that I was interested.

Me and Jim talked and he said to me that he was going to hold auditions for a group and the name would be Improv-Abilities, hyphen and all. Months had passed and I had never heard from him, so I began to bug him......monthly. I would call him and ask him how the process was going and he would say slow, and that he would call me. (Clearly I was beginning to annoy him)

More months passed and he finally called me and told me that auditions were being held in Feb. of 2000.

When I arrived, there were a total of 5 people. Jim, his wife Karen, myself, Aron (who is still in the group), and a guy named Matt.

I-A was born. We began rehearsing Tuesday nights and Jim would teach us everything he knew about improv. A good 9 months passed and we had our first show. At this point we expanded in group size and our show was in the basement of a church that Jim and Karen attended. It was sold out, and it was exciting.

The format for our show was a game show, but pretty much the same thing as comedy sportz. Two teams, lots of short form games, and a host.

Soon Karen got pregnant, and Jim had to quit. This was the summer of 03 I think. Tim Marks, and Aron Carlson took over as owners of the group and things began to take off. Immediately we had monthly shows at The Lucky Brewgrille.

In the summer of 05 we did our first Comedy Festival in Dallas, TX. We learned a lot there! Around that same time The Improv in Zona Rosa booked us for a few test shows, and then suddenly we had 2-3 shows a month with a bunch of private gigs in between.

The private gigs kept pouring in, and our cast is up to the even number of 12 members who are all very funny and talented. During 06 we started venturing into guerrilla improv, much like Improv Everywhere.

I have no idea what is in store for us as a group, because we have been flying by the seat of our pants for the past 2 years as things continue to take off.

If anyone from I-A wants to add anything feel free, I did the best I could. Can't wait for Chicago!

A History: The Trip Fives

The history of the improv groupThe Trip Fives, as told by Jared Brustad.

The tale of the Trip Fives...

We've probably got more history together than any other troupe in town.

Jenny and I went to Cherokee Elementary together parted by only one year. There we both performed separately in annual talent shows, putting on skits that were truly the toast of the school.

Cut to the 8th grade at Westridge Middle School where Ed and Bryan sit in the lunchroom together showing each other Marvel drawings that they've done. Jenny was also there, but didn't give two flips about Bryan and Ed because, well, she did know them. I attended Westridge the previous two years but it is irrelevant to the story. Tim had yet to be born.

Then came high school. Jenny, Bryan and myself attended Shawnee Mission West. Tim, being born post maturely, and Ed attended Shawnee Mission Northwest. All five of us competed against each other at some point in the 4 years in forensics, mainly in IDA (Improvised Duet Acting) and HI (Humorous Interpretation), both at weekly tournaments and at State.

A year after I graduated H.S., I auditioned for Lighten Up. Ed and Tim were already performing there during their senior year at Northwest. Not too long after, Jenny and Bryan joined and we all performed in LightenUp's Theatre Sports. Aside from performing together, we all hung out together, all the time. Some of us shared an apartment. We even witnessed a homicide together*. So we've all been through a lot together.

Back to Improv, after Lighten Up turned into Funny Outfit, the age-gap presented itself. The majority of the older cast didn't want to perform with a majority of the younger cast, so we split weekend shows. The "younger group" experimented with creating longform pieces that fit our energy and style. We came up with Too Hot for TV, a longform structure that loosely resembled a Jerry Springer show. We even performed this piece at the last festival.

After Funny Outfit was over. People went their own ways. Jenny, I believe moved to California, Bryan went back to college, and Ed, Tim and I continued with improv and eventually started BareTV (with a little encouragement from Tom, owner of the Westport Coffeehouse. BareTV was an improvised Internet Mock show. It lasted around 20-some episodes, and I don't want to talk about it anymore. I didn't mention Captain Fantastic Presents for other reasons.

Moving on, Ed joins the Air Force. Jared gets married and has a child. Tim goes back to school. Bryan has a very respectable Job. Jenny moves back and gets married as well. Bad-boom bada-bing, Ed's 4 years are spent, moves back and gets an itching to do some improv. Trish gets him involved with Steve who directed Act Two, Baby! and gets Ed's feet wet again. Ed wants to do more, and yearns to perform with the old gang again.

Ed contacted Tim, Bryan & myself about it. We all said yes. A few bad name ideas later The Mantastic 4 & Two Beard and Not Two Beard we decided that, knowing ourselves very well, it would be best to avoid any man-on-man-gay-scene-action. In comes Jenny. The rest is history, or the future**, I'm not sure.

There Ed, are you happy?

*After a show at the Westport Coffeehouse, we all gathered at a small dive-bar called BJ's Lounge in Westport. At some point a masked gunman came in and tried to hold up the bartender. Two drunks at the end of the bar tried to wrestle the gun away from the perp. At this moment everyone in the bar could see what was happening and everyone hit the floor. Gun goes off. Masked man runs out of bar. Drunk woman lays dead over chair. What a night.

**Since Jared typed this, Bryan has moved away to Denver, Jenny had a baby, but is back in the group, and they added the talented Megan Mercer. The future is bright.

A History: Exit 16

As told by Trish Berrong. This will all make sense by the end of the week, just enjoy the history for now loyal reader.

Rich Brown, theater teacher, started Libery High School's Exit 16 (pronounced one-six, not sixteen) in the fall of '97 to join the now-defunct Kansas City High School Improv League (which, not at all coincidentally, was run by current coach Trish Berrong).

Rich was a big believer in improv as a tool for "traditional" theater--but also as an art form on its own. He wanted to offer performance options for students who weren't interested in scripted theater.
The first group featured Cassie Ash, Mike Blodgett, Garrett Brown, Al Bush, Dara Knealey, Brandon Morgan, Steve Parrish, Channing Johnson and Tommy Todd. They played students from Winnetonka, Oak Park, Center, Shawnee Mission North and Hickman Mills, ultimately winning the KC High School Improv League Championship in the spring of 1998. (They also won the League Spirit Award.)

Exit 16 also began performing for standing-room-only crowds at the high school. The group's entire budget comes from ticket sales; profits have always gone back to the troupe for more training.

In 1999, Exit 16 started making annual trips to Chicago. They've studied with ImprovOlympic's Charna Halpern, Miles Stroth and Christina Gausas; Annoyance Productions' Mick Napier, Joe Bill, Susan Messing and Mark Sutton; Improv Inferno's Dan Izzo; Second City/IO's TJJagodowski; and Tim Mason, a former KC resident and member of the Second City E.T.C. Stage.

Exit 16's annual reunion show, held in December when recent alums are home from college, expanded last year to two shows and, for the first time, featured a second half directed by alum Tommy Todd.

EXIT 16 TRIVIA:
The logo was designed by BJ Snowpeck, and made its first appearance on T-shirts Rich presented to the group to wear in the Kansas City High School Improv League championship.

Below: A photo album of the performers and alum of Exit 16.

A History: Lighten Up

The history of Lighten up told by Trish Berrong.


I started as a performer at ComedySportz in 1990. I'd been playing about 5 months when Marc Garlett joined. We dated for a while, and both worked in the office at CSz--I took charge of PR efforts, with Clancy's permission, and Mark re-started high school leagues (where we met Dan Walsh and Tim Mason) and taught workshops.

Sometime that fall, Marc pissed off Clancy and got fired. I stuck around till the ComedySportz Invitational Tournament, then left as well. We considered moving to another city and trying to get a CSz license, but Chudnow was loyal to Clancy, and said he wouldn't intentionally start a new league with someone in a feud with an existing owner.

So we started Lighten Up, performing an improv game show with sketch commercials and news breaks (Play It By Ear) upstairs at Harry Starker's on the Plaza. Our auditions were in February '92; our first show was Friday, March 13. We had a mostly-new troupe to train in a month--we were lucky to have a couple of former CSz players with us, as well (including Doug McCann, Ria Stafre and Marc's brother Kyle).

We got kicked out of Starker's (audiences were too loud, apparently), so we created a non-formated show (sketch and improv) called Outside the Lines and moved to the Fine Arts.

We left the Fine Arts for a short run at Orlando's in the River Market. In an attempt to make money, they'd brought exotic dancers to the restaurant and caused a huge uproar; one of our members had a connection there and brought us in to take the heat off by doing family shows. We held a press conference, put in Play It By Ear and Outside the Lines (now sketch-free), and lasted exactly one weekend. Even then, we had to ask the bartender not to dress like a ho.

So. I wanted to rent a theater just for shows...Marc wanted to rent our own space. Our first theater was the current location of the Persona Day Spa at 74th and Wornall. We ripped up carpet, broke up tiles, built walls, installed bathrooms, put in air conditioning, covered thrift-store sofas with badly dyed sheets because we couldn't afford tables and chairs...all on my Hallmark salary, some credit cards and a couple of personal loans Marc and I took. We ran into codes issues, parking lot problems...I think we performed there for about 5-6 months before our landlords asked us to leave for making noise (a group that rented our space during the day put their speakers right up against the wall and blasted out the business next door). By then, we were happy to go.

We moved to a space right next door to the old ComedySportz stage at 323 West 8th Street and were there from...oh, 94-97 or 8 or so. While there, we:
--Performed Play It By Ear and Outside the Lines weekly.
--Started Spontaneous Combustion: The US Improv Festival.
--Taught Flying Leap improv workshops.
--Got a license to do Theatresports, which we used to create an "anybody can play" competitive league (where we met Jared & Ed and the rest of the Trip Fives).
--Started the KC High School Theatresports League.
--Brought in out-of-town directors like Joe Bill and Rob Reese.
--Directed some short-run shows with other local improvisers.
--Rented space to Caught in the Act, Renegade Theatre (from Lawrence), Out on a Limb, and whatever the name of Matt Rapport's group was (actually, I think that was in the Wornall space).
--Let Marc's girlfriend direct a REALLY awful Halloween show called "Blood Clot Bingo," in which they threw a ramen-noodle-gelatin-kidney-bean mixture at the audience, and it later turned to cement. (I was thankful to have talked Marc out of his original idea: using animal parts from a butcher.)

Lighten Up came to an end when Marc and I decided to part ways. The company had taken on some debt as a result of paying directors for improv festivals and getting the space up to code for an unprofitable coffee shop. We were starting to dig our way out, as a result of growing crowds for our game shows, regular sell-outs for the improvised musical in Outside the Lines, and a hugely successful high school program (which made money for us AND the school theater departments).

Over the years, Marc and I realized we had very different philosophies about the way the business should be run, and they came to a head over the debt issues. We decided to split. I left, as did the cast. He kept the theater, which closed within weeks.

It was kind of a sucky way for things to end...but man, it was fun while it lasted.

A History: Makeshift Militia

Makeshift Militia banded together in March of 2007. It was a brainchild of UMKC students Magie Hogan and James Nelson, who wanted a tight-knit experimental group after seeing inspirational performances from The Trip Fives and CounterClockwiseComedy at the Kansas City Improv Festival. They recruited two fellow actors in their theater program, Ryan Meharry and Grant Prewitt.

The quartet played their first public show on the UMKC campus on May 6, then played several more shows throughout the summer and fall, at venues such as the Westport Coffee House and Roving Imp Theatre. The latter, a young theatre run by John Robison, was extremely supportive to Makeshift, offering them free rent and a very generous profit split. As thanks to John, the group asked him to perform with them as a special guest during a show.

In November of 2007, MFA acting student Anthony Merchant joined the lineup, and Makeshift Militia was scheduled to appear in Improv Thunderdome. They slowed down the number of performances, and through the winter played only about once a month.

In early 2008, they made efforts to expand the team's success, including taking on new members Will Fritz and Carey MacLaren, doubling their weekly rehearsals, booking lots of on-campus shows, and continuing to develop their unique style. In March, they won the first round of Improv Thunderdome, putting them into the championship round, in which they placed second.

The future looks good for the group as they continue to play in many shows every month. They are slated to appear at the Kansas City Fringe Festival and Improv Thunderdome: Season Two.

A History: Improv Thunderdome

Back in January a couple of Kansas City improv veterans Ed Doris and Jared Brustad (From The Trip Fives) started an improv competition called: Improv Thunderdome. Each show has sold out and the championship match is this Saturday. (It sold out 2 days after the final match) Neither one of them could have predicted the success of the show and neither could we. But, it has been a success, and it will continue to be a success. (They are planning a season 2 starting in June!)

We here at Kansas City Improv wanted to know the history of Improv Thunderdome and here it is:

It all started in late 2007. Jared and Ed came up with the idea of an improvised competition and started doing some research online. They stumbled across something they really liked in Philadelphia called Troika. Where each weekend 3 teams go up against each other, each performing for 30 minutes, and at the end, the audience votes for their favorite to move on to the next round.

At first they wanted to place every Kansas City improviser in a hat and do a random drawing for teams, but there wasn't enough interest in that. So, they just had everyone create their own team. 9 teams later, they had their tournament. It was that simple. Many questions remain, will they expand? Will it ever be random? Who cares, at least the audiences are responding and the groups are putting on great shows. Most importantly, it is expanding the improv community here in Kansas City and introducing a lot of players to one another. Hooray improv! Below are pictures of each rounds winning team.

Loaded Dice

Scriptease

Makeshift Militia

Stay tuned for updates on season 2, they plan on announcing the dates and teams Saturday.

A History: Kansas City's Comedy Sportz

This was taken straight from a post written by Corey Rittmaster himself on City3.org. If any of this is wrong, blame him.

"Kansas City's Comedy Sportz did it's first shows in February of 1987, and I didn't join the cast until April of 1990.

From www.comedysportz.com: ComedySportz as a national organization was started in 1984 in Milwaukee, WI by Dick Chudnow, who based it on the competitive Theatresports improvisational techniques of Keith Johnstone from Calgary, Alberta. Expansion began with the addition of Madison, WI, in 1985.

As I heard it told, a few of Chudnow's guys started heading out to start up clubs in various cities around the country. KC was unique in that it was the first ComedySportz club to open that wasn't started by a former Milwaukee or Madison player.

1987-1989: KC was started by Clancy Hathaway, who answered an ad that Chudnow had placed in the paper (I think KC Star) during his aggressive expansion stage. Clancy was an (at the time) out of work actor who had done a ton of scripted work, lots of children's theater, summer stock, etc. He's actually a very accomplished actor. Anyway, Clancy answered the ad and Chudnow sent him a binder with games and format explanations and a videotape of a show, plus a plan for a one-time visit from some Milwaukee players for a workshop.

Clancy held auditions in late 1986, cast a group of misfits and ne'er-do-wells and this ragtag bunch of ruffians started rehearsing. They secured a space in the back room of Torre's pizza in Westport, doing 4 shows a week (8 and 10:30 on Fri and Sat) Clancy keeping the ticket money and Torre's selling food and drink. The first shows were February 1987, Clancy picking February to start since it was the shortest month, and what little money they had allotted for operating costs would have the best "dollars per day" ratio of any month. True story.

1989-1991: The shows were crude (in terms of the improv skills, not language) but successful. There was nothing like it in KC at the time. After a couple of years Clancy was itching for a space of his own, and found it on 8th Street in Lucas Place downtown. CSz relocated to 8th St. in early 1989. I think Spring, but I'm not sure. The 8th St. location was nice in that CSz now had it's own space, a walk-up bar window, could seat almost 100, had an office and a tiny green room. It was located next door to Gino Schiraldi's pizza and they started offering a pizza buffet+show combo option. The downside of 8th St. was that it was located directly beneath "The Edge", a gay dance club. The music would start thumping during the late show, and you could literally see our ceiling bouncing a half inch or so up and down with the beat. Kinda scary. During the run on 8th St., though, crowds continued to grow and a Thurs show was added. The show times were switched a half hour earlier to 7:30 and 10:00, too. It was during the 8th St. years that KCCSz held their first "World Series of Comedy" tournaments and also when "Out On A Limb" and "Lighten Up" improv groups were spawned out of former CSz players.

1991-1995: After about 3 years battling the bass beats on 8th St (and one unfortunate plumbing breakdown from above. Yes. Yuck.) it was time to move again. CSz was a few years ahead of its time by deciding to move to the River Market. 5th St., across from where Winslow's is now. CSz was there before it's eventual neighbor the River Market Brewery, and after we left the wall was knocked down and the Brewery expanded into our old space. 5th Street was a booming time. Seating grew to about 125, and a Sunday show was added. Now up to 6 shows/wk (Th 7:30 Fri/Sat 7:30 and 10 and Sun 7:30). Crowds were so good and sellouts so regular that we started requiring credit cards to guarantee seating. There was a huge, full bar on 5th St. The pizza buffet continued, and popcorn, hot dogs and nachos were added to the menu. In my opinion, the "Golden Age of KCCSz" began during the 5th Street run, and carried over to the next location, a block up the street and around the corner to Delaware.

1995-1998: CSz moved to 5th and Delaware in the Fall of 1995. The Brewery wanted to expand and the landlord had this bigger location up the street and we were selling out a ton. It was a win-win-win deal. We moved up to Delaware to a much bigger location. Now we seat about 165, have a full kitchen, full bar, separate lounge/waiting area from the theater, a backroom/party room, green room area, walk in cooler, and an office. The lounge was named for Rob "The Turtle" Lawrence as The Smoking Turtle Lounge, as smoking was allowed there, but not in the theater. Now there's an expanded menu, we're making our own pizzas, burgers, dogs, fried stuff, etc. We literally worked through the night for a few days to get the stage built and painted, the lights and sound system set up, and raised seating for the further back seats. The first show in the Delaware location was for the 1995 World Series of Comedy CSz invitational. The shows were rocking, crowds enormous. We're now only reserving seats with pre-paid credit card purchase, and still selling out the Sat. 7:30 show as much as 2 weeks in advance. We add a 5pm Sat. show to help with spillover. At a CSz National Tournament, we see a Comedy Courtz show, and decide to add that to the lineup. It's now Wed 7:30 Courtz, Thurs 7:30, Friday 7:30 and 10, Sat. 5, 7:30, and 10 and Sun 7:30 CSz shows. Additionally, with the lounge having a small stage, we start offering Sat midnight alternative shows in the lounge. Everything from the acoustic guitar of Todd Geritz to song parodies of the Great Lukeski and Lurlene the Trailer Park Queen, to my personal project, the sketch comedy of Der Monkenpickle, among others. In 1996, KCCSz hosted the CSz National Tournament. Something like 26 teams from across the country were there. Workshops and shows from Tues to Sun. The sellouts were continuing. We eventually dropped the Court show from the regular lineup, only doing it for private parties."

At this point Corey states that he left town...Pete Calderone then finishes up as best he can.

"1998-2000: The Blazing Bright Present
Times were still good. The economy hadn't tanked yet and people were still flush with disposable income. In addition to the Sat 7:30 show being sold out in advance, the 10pm show was now selling out in advance. Friday's 7:30 was selling out and the 10PM was almost a 50-50 on selling out. Typically, with walk-ups it would. The rest of the shows had pretty solid numbers between 50 - 100 I would estimate. Aside from the club shows, CSz KC was also getting booked for probably 20-30 remotes in a month. There was a tour of several colleges and even a three week IBM conference tour. It was also a competitive time and if you didn't bring your A game to the stage, chances are you weren't going to get much stage time.

1998-2000: The Darkening
However, sometimes the cast of 35 or so performers wasn't enough to keep up so people eventually made their way to the stage. This meant that some people who probably shouldn't be on stage (you know what I mean, every cast has one or two or more of these people) were logging playing time when they should still have been in workshops. The spirit of improv took a hit as these people started relying less on the tools of improv and depended more on bits and shtick. In the midst of all the success, a dark malevolent presence was rearing it's ugly head in the North. Whispers on the wind blew word that Dick Chudnow was tired of running the business of ComedySportz and there was interest by a former Ralph Loren (iirc) investor in taking over the franchise. Rumors were well founded as Jay Goldman bought the franchise rights and was looking to make CSz a household word. He wanted to produce CSz-TV and bring franchise costs and pricing uniform across the board. ComedySportz: Cookie Cutter style. He wanted the show to be the same no matter what city you saw the show. From vending to the national anthem to the show end, the same. Now not only did he want that, but he also wanted to raise franchise/royalty fees, increase the cost of a remote regardless of what market you were in, and he wanted creative control over everything that happened on a CSz stage. Creative control of an improv show. Let that sink in, I'll wait.

*aaaannnnnnnd we're back* A little side story before we continue: at this time, aside Milwaukee, CSz KC is producing the most shows and pulling in the most revenue, but for some reason there's growing animosity from Chudnow and Goldman (who was retaining Dick's services during the transfer of ownership). Don't misunderstand, there was animosity before, but like any good improv scene, it was now heightened. A mini power struggle ensues within the CLA (Comedy League of America, which was just the group comprising all the CSz franchises). Many franchise owners wanted nothing to do with the new Chudnow/Goldman regime and basically ceded from the CLA and formed the NCT (National Comedy Theater). Then came the chest pounding, cursing of the fates, and gnashing of teeth. There's more to be said about that whole fiasco, but I'll rejoin the tale already in progress by leaving you with this: the straw that broke the Clancy's back came in the form of a "cease and desist" letter. The claim of the letter? Clancy was charged with failing to "hire, train, and retain quality performers".

Thumbing his nose at the cease and desist, ComedySportz changed it's name to Comedy City (or more aptly, it was the Comedy Sports show at Comedy City) so audiences would associate with the location and not the show. Notice the clever? Yeah. Despite all that crap things still appeared bright and promising. With all of the sell-outs and the desire and opportunity to get out from under another lease, Clancy opted for purchasing his very own building. Thus begins the slow downward spiral.

2000-present: The Roller Coaster
In August of 2000, with the success of the previous years bolstering him, Clancy moved the business "just east of the City Market" to its current location on Charlotte. The thought wasn't bad. Comedy City now had its largest location to date; a spacious 225 seat theater, a ginormous bar area that could also accompany buffets or catered events, multiple meeting areas which have since become the black box theater and the party room, a kitchen still cranking out concession style food, a green room, a "notes' room, and plenty of office space. One problem, the crowds didn't follow the move. Now we have a confluence of events occurring; 9-11 happens, the economy tanks, disposable income disappears as jobs dry up, and CC moves to a neighborhood that many feel is a bad one. The general public doesn't like poorly lit areas with no foot traffic. Even though the Delaware location had jack for parking, it was still accessible within a block or two and the streets were always well lit. Typically, there were people about at most hours and audiences felt safe. It continues to be a struggle to this day. In an effort to build a bigger audience, Clancy, fresh from a trip to Chicago co-opts a show from The Neo Futurists (Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind) and Monkeys With Hand Grenades is born. Audiences responded well and Monkeys turns a floundering 10PM time slot into a near sell out each month. The Upright Citizens Brigade national touring group gets booked for 2 near-sold out performances and the seeds of Too Much Duck become planted."

Pete finished off this story in 2007, since then Monkeys and Duck has been cancelled, as has many shows. There are now only 3 improv shows a week, 1-5 private shows, and the end is said to be looming. A great history, a great tale, and of course, a sad ending soon to be. The nostalgia is there, but the motivation and the audience is not. We here at Kansas City Improv wish that everything could just go back to the good times, but sadly times must change. Hopefully for the better.