"Last night's show was a blast. It's so fun to find a small 'bit' as an improviser and to play it hard. At one point in the show, I endowed Stefan's character, who was my character's son, as not having any arms. This was in the first act. That song was chosen and so in the second act, Stefan played this one-armed Italian boy. We found so much fun with that simple and casual endowment. It was a blast! It just reminds me that in improvsation, as in life, you never know what small moves are going to make big differences later on."
Debbie Rabbai says...
Sometimes people say "So Debbie, how do you make up those songs that you sing at the Triad?"
Well, Inspiration can be an elusive little needle in a haystack!
However, I always look forward to my moment onstage when I put my hand into the fishbowl and pull out what can become a memorable, hilarious or brain twister of a song. It's always exciting to me. Kind of like Christmas morning when you're a kid and you get to finally open those well wrapped cool shaped presents with your name on them. My favorite types of song titles are ones that evoke emotion or a mood. I always find that inspiring.
Some of the more challenging song titles for me are ones that have a famous person's name in them or a current event. I feel like life is inundated with news stories about the latest scandal or budget issue or crime and seeing it on a song slip just makes me feel like I have to recall what the facts of the event actually are and then somehow find a way to do it justice and add an interesting or humorous spin to it. Hopefully...
I hope to see you this Friday night at the show and I hope that whatever song title I pick will inspire something fantastic. Maybe the song slip I pick will be written by YOU!
Well, Inspiration can be an elusive little needle in a haystack!
However, I always look forward to my moment onstage when I put my hand into the fishbowl and pull out what can become a memorable, hilarious or brain twister of a song. It's always exciting to me. Kind of like Christmas morning when you're a kid and you get to finally open those well wrapped cool shaped presents with your name on them. My favorite types of song titles are ones that evoke emotion or a mood. I always find that inspiring.
Some of the more challenging song titles for me are ones that have a famous person's name in them or a current event. I feel like life is inundated with news stories about the latest scandal or budget issue or crime and seeing it on a song slip just makes me feel like I have to recall what the facts of the event actually are and then somehow find a way to do it justice and add an interesting or humorous spin to it. Hopefully...
I hope to see you this Friday night at the show and I hope that whatever song title I pick will inspire something fantastic. Maybe the song slip I pick will be written by YOU!
Robert Z
Get out of my head! Actors and improvisers use this mantra to remind themselves to stop thinking and just 'be in the moment.' In this instance, I am referring to the catchy, hook-y, burned-in-the-brain details of songs we create while improvising our show. I LOVE singing, and I LOVE improvising songs, but darned if those songs don't keep replaying over and over in my head long after the curtain comes down. Maybe it's the spontaneity of it all. Maybe it's the odd titles, or often clever lyrics, the melodies... maybe it's everything. In fact, I can still remember the chorus and melody of the FIRST song I ever improvised, and that was *unintelligible mumbling* years ago. I guess there are much worse things than walking around humming a tune for days after leaving the theater. Maybe you should give it a try.
Christine Turner writes...
It’s great to be back at the Triad. I love columns that bookend the stage there. They make me feel Greek, and since I live in Astoria, Greekiness is a plus. Friday night was fun! Who knew that Debbie Rabbai could do such an awesome Yoko Ono impression? Rob Schiffmann is a dead ringer for Sean Lennon. And who really is the fifth Beatle?
