Mission: Improvable

Mission: Improvable (pronounced like "improvisation," not like "improve") is a free weekly improvisational comedy program open to the public.

• Every Saturday at 8pm during the school year
• Herter 231
• Official web site: http://www.studentvalleyproductions.com/

The Fall 2007 cast of Mission:Improvable is:

• Natalie Baseman as Hollywood
• Evan Boshi as Rook
• Sam Bosworth as Phantom
• Brennan Clark as Cardigan
• Patriac Coakley as Vaudeville
• David Collamore as Le Baron
• Carly Mandell as Titan
• Cole Orloff as Gatsby
• Patrick Parhiala as The Emperor
• Jay Petrone as Action
• Maari Suorsa as Banshee

Mission: Improvable is a proud member of Student Valley Productions, a UMass RSO.

[edit] Founding

"You are a fool to challenge me at sumo!" -Linda

Mission: IMPROVable was officially founded in the Fall of 1991 as a part of Student Valley Productions, which at that time was known mostly for experimental and student-written theater. Samantha Smith and Brian Jewell were the original organizers. Brian had been a member of The Not Ready For Bedtime Players (UMass Health Services sketch comedy group) and Samantha had done some Improv in her home town of Takoma Park, MD. They had previously helped organize an improv comedy troupe at UMass during the Spring of '91 with another student by the name of Katie Cope, but the name Mission: IMPROVable was not added until the fall when much of the original core cast joined. Lisa "Riz" Risley-Aquizap can be credited with coming up with the name during a brainstorming session held during a rehearsal in the campus center basement. The cast that year also included Kevin Nessman, Linda Carranza, and Brad Potter who each returned over the next few years. Brooke Burton, Gail Bishop and Carrie Christner became regulars in the Spring and Fall of 1992 and the Spring of 1993 (respectively). Norm Laviolette joined in the Spring of 1994.

In the early years there were no audition requirements and anyone from the five college community who wanted to join was welcome to do so. Most performers were not theater majors, and many were first time improvisers. Brian Jewell was the unofficial creative director and handled much of the group's publicity. What follows is an unofficial and very incomplete list of many of the early members not already mentioned: Craig Selzer, Michelle E. Sullivan, Phyllis Gordon, Minda Zupaniotis, Sue Barrington, Fabienne Rouzeau, Marcey Buchakjian, Dana Rossi, Sonal (?), Paul (?)

Early performances were at campus events and local coffeehouses. In 1994, the group began to perform Saturday nights at the Campus Center Hotel Restaurant at 11 P.M.. Originally, the cast began their shows by singing the Mission: Impossible theme song and storming the stage from the audience and eventually forming a tableau. Cast members wore green or purple T-Shirts with the troupe name on the front and a quote that read "This improv troupe will self-destruct in 60 seconds!" on the back.

[edit] Early Shows

"I'm sucking the good bits out of a mouse." -Sonal

In the beginning, Mission: IMPROVable shows were made up of entirely short form games. Game ideas were often stolen from troupes that visited UMass or were invented by members of the troupe. Usually a show would begin with Freeze Tag, Gripe Chorus or a piece called Art Crtitic in which Brian Jewell would do an impression of UMass Art History Professor Roskill while criticizing a series of cast-made tableaus in a style similar to Slide Show. Other frequently performed pieces included Replay Styles, Mad Libs, History Lesson, Lines From A Hat, A Day in the Life, Party Quirks, Remote Control, Worst Case Scenario, and World's Worst. Shows often ended with a piece called The Liar's Club which required the audience to ask questions of three (often bizarre) panelists. The audience would vote for their favorite panelist at the end. Some early shows included musical performances by Brad Potter and Samantha Smith.

[edit] The Fops (and after)

"...and that concludes my dramatic reading of the Starfleet Employee Handbook. And now, the Starfleet Health Plan in iambic pentameter..." -Data

In the Fall of 1993, the cast of Mission: IMPROVable formed the sketch comedy group, "The Fops" and went on to write and produce the parody Star Trip: The Next Mutilation. Star Trip, directed by Linda Carranza and produced by Samantha Smith, was based loosely on the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Encounter at Farpoint." The idea for the show came during a road trip to Toronto where members of the troupe saw a group called The Chumps do a parody of the 60's era Star Trek. Just like that show, Star Trip had a prewritten script but also had many jokes that were improvised in rehearsal, or in some cases, the night of the show. Star Trip sold out all four shows in November of 1993, and earned "runner-up" in the best comedy category in the Collegian's theater wrap-up that semester. All profits from the show went to midwest flood relief and the Western Massachusetts Food Bank. The cast of Star Trip included Kevin Nessman (Picard), Brian Jewell (Q and Wesley Crusher), Carrie Christner (Dr. Crusher), Gail Bishop (Tasha Yar), Fabienne Rouzeau (Troi), Alex Dering (Groppler Zorn), Joe McDonough (Riker), Matt Spare (Data), Felix Khalatnikov (LaForge), Dawn Ferreira (Ensign Expendable) and Justin Beatty (Worf).

In the Spring of 1994, the Fops produced the sketch comedy show Fop in the Name of Love, which included short comedy sketches such as "Door to Door Jedi" and "The Superwinners" about an inept super hero team. Though not as successful as Star Trip, Fop in the Name of Love drew strong crowds and decent reviews. Following graduation in 1994, core members, Brian Jewell, Kevin Nessman, Gail Bishop, Carrie Christner, and Norm Laviolette performed together regularly on Cape Cod as the improv/sketch troupe, Go Children Slow.

Many of the original and early members went on to perform in other groups in and around the Boston area: Brian Jewell performed with Guilty Children, Renegade Duck, and The Brian + Mal Show; Kevin Nessman with Guilty Children and Acme Improv Company; Gail Bishop with Naked Brunch and Acme Improv Company; Brooke Burton with ImprovBoston; Norm Laviolette went on to found Improv Asylum, a successful comedy club and theater in the North End of Boston.

Mission: IMPROVable had only one remaining member in the Fall of 1994. Dana Rossi kept the group going and returned it to new life over the next several semesters. Dana went on to become a founding member of Sheer Idiocy, an Improv group at RPI in upstate New York. He currently performs with World Class Indifference an improv troupe based out of Stamford, Connecticut.

[edit] Regular Shows

Mission:IMPROVable began performing weekly on Saturday nights in 1996 in the Campus Center basement. Members at that time included Director and Producer Aaron Krebs, Lloyd Alquist, Ryan Kiessling, Jason Reis, Jason Shomer, Aamir Khan, Kevin D'Ambrosio, Lori Haines, Valerie Lynch, and Jeff Durand, among others. Shows often ended with members freestyling to Will Smith's "Gettin Jiggy With It".

Six of these members left to UMass to study improvisation in Chicago, and later become a house Harold team at the former ImprovOlypic Theater (now the iO Theater) called Mission: IMPROVable. These members, including Krebs, Alquist, Kiessling, Shomer, Durand, and Reis went on to found the Mission: IMPROVable Inc. national Touring Company. D'Ambrosio is currently a faculty member at the Piven Theater in Chicago.

After this first major exodus in 1998, new members were recruited including Derrick DeMaio (Hobie), Molly Davis (Unsinkable), Jim (Pinky) Botehlo, Sarah (Turbo) Koske, Justin (Duke) McClintock, and Erik (Dr. Spooky) Volkert. Weekly Saturday night shows continued in room 163C of the Campus Center and often included a musical guest or short sketch opener at the beginning of the show. This was the first year where the use of nicknames became a part of the show. At first, it was simply because a couple members went by their nicknames, but soon the flamboyant personalities of the troupe members naturally incurred nicknames which became a part of show life. From that point on, performers were given nicknames by "troupe elders" as they were ready to perform for the first time.

[edit] The Comedy Jam

The first annual New England Improv Jam (as it was named then) took place in the Spring of 1997 and included improv troupes from colleges across New England. In 1998, it grew to include the ImprovOlympic theater's touring company as it's first professional act as well as improv troupes from a wider geographic area. In subsequent years, a separate sketch comedy jam and the Improv Jam were combined to form the Comedy Jam as it is known today, including performances by UMass performance groups including those in Student Valley Productions (Mission:IMPROVable, Casual Sketch, Toast!, Sketch 22, Improv With Attitude, 3-Hole Punch), college troupes and professional acts from all over the country.

[edit] Similar organizations

• Sketch-22
• Improv With Attitude
• Don't Make A Scene

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