get it right, jocko

So, since we've become a group (God, I hate the word "Troupe", but that's another rant), everyone and their blessed mother is calling us an "improv" group. It's almost 5 years on, but we still get thought of as an "improv" team by so many outside the warm comforting bath of the sketch community.

When we first started, after a show, some audience guy came up to me and said, "How much of this was improv?"

After a friendly chuckle and reaching into his gullett to remove his spleen, I explained we did not do improv, not that we have anything against it, we do scripted comedy. "Sketch", the kids call it these days.

"What fun is that?" he replied. Oy...

As we got a little more well-known, we found ourselves booked into
a fairly well-known nightclub. They assured us we'd be in their weekly house ad, and we were: "THE WAITSTAFF - IMPROV SKETCH COMEDY".

Ya can't win, sez I.

Just this week, a good friend of mine, a wonderful actor, left me a voice message, saying "I know you're busy with the improv thing..."

Please, please, I implore you, if you see me coming, and you know pissing me off is VERY DANGEROUS INDEED, have the good sense to say, "Hey, Steve, how's the sketch comedy troupe going?"

Of course, I'd prefer you'd say "group" or "team", but as long as you don't say improv, I'll retain my bile for another day.

-Lippe

www.thewaitstaff.com