Whirled News did a lucrative corporate show in a gigantic ballroom on the Navy Pier tonight. Supposedly an audience of about 700.
Sometimes you find yourself thinking, "These are the kind of shows we want to be doing. 700 people! This signifies success!"
The reality is, though, that intimate is always better. Especially since... there are always sound problems. Everywhere. It kind of boggles my mind. Maybe six wireless mics is beyond modern technology. It's hard enough to make a show work when there's a massive dance floor between you and the audience, but when the sound swings back and forth between startling feedback and so soft no one can hear... that makes it tough to put on a good show.
But we did some solid funny scenes, and when the audio was working the audience seemed into it. (According to Brady, my mic was the only one working 100% the whole time, so you know they got their money's worth)
Before the show we were told that the audience was unhappy that the charter bus had dropped them off too far away and they had to walk the entire length of the pier to get to the ballroom. "Maybe you can use that in the show."
Me: [whispering, about to go on stage] Should we place bets on who will be the first person to do a bus joke in the show?
Young: It's not going to be me. I know that.
Ten minutes into the show, Young charges into a scene proclaiming, "Mom, Dad, I was framed! There's no way I would drive a bus full of people to the Navy Pier but then drop them off too early and make them walk a mile to their ballroom event. I wouldn't do that!"
Huge roar of laughter. Massive.
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Here's Glynn's similar recap of the night from his blog:
"The improv group I perform with, 'Whirled News Tonight', had a corporate gig at the famous Grand Ballroom of Chicago's Famous Navy Pier. The show was set up through the spouse of a castmate and paid rather well for a couple hours of sitting around eating catered pulled-pork followed 45 minutes of actual performance. Artistically, though? Not the most satisfying.
"The Grand Ballroom is immense. Over 18,000 square feet with an 80' domed ceiling and panoramic view of Lake Michigan. It's a beautiful space for a corporate function complete with fancypants cocktail hour and high-falootin' dinner, but not the best venue for live improvised comedy. For one thing, the lapel mics were giving feedback for the first 5 minutes or so. After that, they backed off the volume so much that a few people could hardly be heard. The fact that a video projector was showing slides of company employees behind us during most of the show didn't help either.
"More than anything, though, improv comedy feeds off the energy of the crowd. This is great for our normal, more intimate theater space that seats around 100. But when the crowd is nearly 700 people who are separated from the stage by a dance floor and just finished a full dinner? Not the best recipe for a symbiotic performance experience. I don't want to make it sound like a disaster. Far from it. Several scenes played well, especially the one that joked about the evening's crappy charter bus service which, we heard, was dropping attendees off at a remote spot on the opposite end of the Pier.
"When this improv group is disappointed in a performance, it's usually the result of our being spoiled by the good shows and generous audiences we've been used to at our regular weekly slot. There's also just a bit of a learning curve on these corporate and road gigs as we feel our way out at new venues. But since it's paid training and there's barbecue pig in the deal? I suppose we could do a lot worse."
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