Sunday, May 25, 2008

It's OK; Call Me a Basker

Is someone that basks in nostalgia known as a nostalgia basker? I don't think that basker is an appropriate noun, but right now I don't care much.

Who doesn't get a little bit nostalgic when times change and we move on in life?

Maybe Kevin Sorbo, but certainly not for any one reason.

I've been working this summer doing some door-to-door sales in order to try and pay for law school in the fall, and any down time I have is rare. We're working long, rigorous days and when i do have a moment or two, I try to spend it with my wife Kelsi. off and on for the last few weeks, however, I've been playing with Adobe CS3, and to get some things down, I work on Comic Frenzy media: posters, websites, and the like.

In some of the latest ideas I've had for a CF poster, I Facebook-stalked some of our older troupe members and began to reminisce about the good ole' days of my college-level improv comedy. Doing mediocre-at-best-designs gives me outlet, but also binds me to CF memories.

I'm done with my undergraduate work, and thereby done with Comic Frenzy.

Comic Frenzy has been many people's improv troupe of choice (in terms of participation) since early 2002. We've become friends, performed for mothers and high-schoolers, and even created theme song (see JD Taylor).

For six years Comic Frenzy has had a prominent place in my consciousness: eclipsing school, food and water, and even old videos of Whoopi Goldberg screen tests.

Often I think that after law school I'll open up an improv comedy club and run my law office out of it (see Ed ). But I catch myself thinking that I won't find actors suitable for the brand of comedy people would laugh at, and eventually attach themselves to. Because Comic Frenzy, to me, is more than just putting on a good show; we sought connections with our audiences. With most comedy, people found the laughter in embarrassing situations without being embarrassed themselves.

I hope that people who know us can sense that for an hour and a half on a weekend's show (and sometimes 15 hours of preparation during a week) , we seek to relieve--albeit momentarily--
whatever troubles they might bring with them to the show.

If people could leave our shows without thoughts of their own problems, we felt success.

And though I'm only a short time removed from being able to perform as a member of Comic Frenzy, I miss it as though it's been much longer. And with an indeterminate time in which a passion of the past 10 years has no more outlet for me, I reminisce.

Void of James Blunt.