Make scary film. Win scary money

October 31, 7:30pm - Geva Comedy Improv is hosting the first annual FIVE MINUTES OF FEAR - a Halloween film festival open to all area filmmakers. We're inviting you to craft a 5 minute horror film, and we'll screen it before our undead audience. One lucky filmmaker will win a cash prize and have their film screened before our Zombie show on Saturday night. Full details on our website (gevacomedyimprov.org). Make sure you register to enter by October 10!

On Campaign Stickers

Hey everybody! John here. It's election time again, and you know what that means. It means people trying to sway your opinion on a who's a good leader using sticky paper. That's right, as if seeing somebody's name on enough bumpers is going to effect you when you're in the voting booth. Truth be told, I bet those stickers do more to get votes for the opposite canditate, whether it be Obama or McCain. Think about it; while seeing a name on a bumper doesn't do much to convince ya to vote for someone, seeing a name on a bumper that just cut you off is something you're gonna remember come November (which totally rhymes so it has to be true). And let's face it, everybody drives like a jerk every once in a while, even if it's accidental. The other reason not to have a candidate on your bumper is the post November blues where you now just have the name of a loser on your bumper. I still get a kick out of seeing Kerry '04 stickers on cars. So, in conclusion, please keep your presidential choice to beligerant conversation and facial tatoos, and leave your bumper sticker space free to instruct me to honk depending upon whether or not I am horny.

Godspeed,

JZ

Season Six Coming Soon

Get away from the stresses of school and work with Geva Comedy Improv.



Experience the magic again or for the first time September 12th and 13th.

GCI Announces TROPIC THUNDER Advance Screening Giveaway!

GCI has obtained a limited number of free passes to a special advance screening of:

TROPIC THUNDER

Tonight, Monday August 11th at 7:00 PM at Tinseltown 16 on Buffalo Road!

The next 5 lucky callers who contact me at (585) 232-1366 ext 3049 will receive 2 free passes each to aforementioned advance screening, courtesy of 100.5 The Drive and the Rochester Razor Sharks.

**Must be able to pick up passes at Geva Theatre Center, prior to 6:00 PM. Must also arrive early to advance screening. Seating is on a first-come, first served basis and is NOT guaranteed. The theatre is not responsible for seating over capacity. Neither is GCI. We're also not responsible if the movie blows, but I've seen some previews and I don't think that will be the case...CALL NOW!!

Local BBQ vanishes, Improvisers suspected

Troupe members from Geva Comedy Improv may have ordered, picked up, and then consumed food products from local barbecue supplier, Dinosaur BBQ, sources have told us. The incident purportedly occurred at approximately 8:45pm on Monday evening. Initial eyewitness reports give some indication of what happened.

"It went down lickety split, yo", Dinosaur BBQ patron Moira Rafnatty (pictured) told us. "I was hangin' in line to be seated, fo' real, when these two guys busted in, grabbed these wacky sacks of food and then boogied on out". When asked why she suspected the men of being improvisers, Rafnetty could only specify "Thems got the crazy-eye".

This wouldn't be the first time that Geva Comedy Improv has been implicated in the disappearance of consumables from Dinosaur BBQ. In September, 2004, local bikers confronted a man who had been seen loitering in the area. When diners became concerned, the bikers detained him until the authorities arrived. Clearly distressed, his only answer when questioned about his identity was "Yes, And pulled pork". Similar events have been reported monthly since the troupe was formed in 2002.

GCI spokesman Timothy 'T-Rizzle' Ryan was asked to comment on the situation. "The facts aren't clear, goddamn it", Ryan said. "but I must stress that improvisers are people too. When I cut them, do they not bleed?". He then proceeded to offer us a greasy wad of Kenyan 100 Shilling bills.

Ryan refused to confirm or deny reports that troupe member Nick 'Nick' DiCola (pictured) was seen leaving Geva Theatre Center (where the troupe performs) at approximately 9:45pm with a red, sauce-like stain on his otherwise unblemished shorts.

Calls to DiCola for comment were not returned. At this time, authorities are encouraging local barbecue restaurant owners to remain calm and vigilant. City officials also released the following advice for members of the public, in the event that they encounter a BBQ-laden improviser:

1) Make plenty of wild, sudden movements, so that you are not mistaken for a slab of delicious, smoked brisket.

2) If you are extremely rich or attractive, proffering up a bag of money or your phone number may distract the improviser long enough to escape.

3) If the improviser attempts to engage you in conversation, respond only with contradictions, denials and rhetorical questions. The improviser will hopefully lose interest in you.

JEFF LATOY'S MOM WINS LOLLYPOP - Penguin no longer available!

At 6:58 PM, precisely 51 minutes after the GCI LOLLYPOP GIVEAWAY was announced, friend of GCI and mother of current SUMMER IMPROV BOOTCAMP RECRUIT Jeff Latoy called the hotline to triumphantly claim her prize!

When informed the penguin lollypop originally hails to us from Washington D.C. (perhaps he is an ambassador?), Mrs. Latoy replied:

"I will treasure it always."

Ambassador Penguin Lollypop will be escorted to the Latoy residence on Tuesday, August 5th when Jeff takes full possession of the prize at a private ceremony to be held at an undisclosed location.

Congratulations to Jeff's Mom for some quick dialing! Be sure to stay tuned to our blog for more exciting giveaways sure to come over the next few weeks as we transition to a new fiscal year!

GCI ANNOUNCES LOLLYPOP GIVEAWAY!

Howdy all ye internet surfers out there...I'm currently cleaning my office at GCI headquarters and came across a red translucent lollypop in the shape of a penguin...



I am pleased to announce that I will give said delicious lollypop to the first person who calls me at (585) 232-1366 ext 3049. Supplies are limited - CALL NOW TO WIN!

T.R. Out.

* Geva Comedy Improv, it's agents, officers and assigns are not eligible to win. Penquin pictured is not actual lollypop but is merely a pictorial representation of what a penguin in an elf hat might look like if they were eating a lollypop. It is included in this post for promotional purposes only and is in no way intended to deceive participants into thinking THAT is the actual prize. Certain restrictions apply. Not valid in TN. Exact time of post 7/31/2008 6:07 PM

JZ planning to "Totally see the crap" out of upcoming movie

Hey everybody, John here. Ya know what I like in my movies? ecxitement. Normally I satisfy this craving with kung-fu movies, but I think I'm willing to make an exception for this movie:



YEEEAAHHHH!!! Boom! BAM! KA-BLAAAM!!!!! Did you see that?!?! When the burning car flew through the air!? or when the spikes came out? when those cars shot those machine guns!? Congratulations Mr. Deathrace director, you have my nine bucks. I'm truly not being sarcastic here at all. I am seeing this movie in the theater. It's gonna be rough as I plan on simultaniously blaring AC/DC and drinking whiskey out of a dented, rusty can. But hey, I like complete immersion in my movie going experience.

SEASON VI COMETH....

The lights have gone down on Season V, and we're taking a month off to catch up on our drinking, punish JZ for being so much taller than anyone else, watch The Dark Knight until we can all talk in a constant growl like Christian Bale, and generally make preparations to blow your minds out of your eye-sockets next season.

We'll be kicking off in September with a triple-header of shows, including the first of our brand-new EARLY shows. That's right - on select show weekends we're adding a 7:30pm performance so that you can get your GCI fix before hitting the bar (and so that our parents can watch the whole performance without falling asleep halfway through).

The complete season schedule:

September 12 10:30pm
September 13 7:30pm & 10:30pm
October 31 10:30pm
November 1 10:30pm
November 21 10:30pm
November 22 10:30pm
December 31 7:30pm & 10:30pm
January 16 10:30pm
January 17 7:30pm & 10:30pm
February 13 10:30pm
February 14 10:30pm
March 27 10:30pm
March 28 10:30pm
May 1 10:30pm
May 2 10:30pm
May 29 10:30pm
May 30 7:30pm & 10:30pm
June 26 10:30pm
June 27 7:30pm & 10:30pm

December 31st will once again be our NEW YEAR'S EVE spectacular, and somewhere in there we'll be cramming in a new GEVAPOCALYPSE NOW. Season VI promises to be bigger, funnier, and more likely to buy a round of drinks at the Geva bar. See you there!

BAD AIR - COMING SOON TO A NEXTSTAGE NEAR YOU!

We spent $56,000 to create a trailer for BAD AIR, our final show of Season V...

Click to play

Last night, in preparation for our airplane thriller movie, we watched the disaster movie classic, AIRPORT. The plot was pretty simple - a suicidal man plans to detonate a briefcase full of dynamite on a plane, to reap life-insurance money for his widow. When his plan fails, the bomb goes off anyway, and the plane is forced to land amid a DEADLY SNOWSTORM. For being quite straightforward the movie had a TON of setup (in 2 hours of movie only about 40 minutes actually took place in the air). We learned several important things:

1) It is impossible to live a monogamous lifestyle if you are involved in the aviation industry. Rampant affairs are the order of the day. Also, Dean Martin is a douche-bag.

2) A dynamite briefcase will only make a modest hole in a Boeing 707 - at least, one built in the 1970's. It is possible that row after row of orange-on-brown seat covers will absorb some of the blast.

3) Sweet, innocent looking old ladies can prove to be some of the most devious creatures you will ever encounter. In the movie, the (admittedly woefully shoddy) airport security of the time is made mockery of by 65-year old Helen Hayes.


If Al-Queda could harness the power of the elderly, the West would crumble quicker than a Walmart patio set.


4) TR has a disturbing affection for sweet, innocent looking old ladies. Paging Harold and Maude...

5) If you have wedged a jumbo-jet into a snow drift, there is only one solution...FULL POWER. Mother Nature is no match for the mighty Pratt & Whitney JT3D jet engine. You think your plane is going to explode into shiny splinters...that's when you have to crank it up another notch, to break free in a burst of glory and slush.

6) Lastly, the power of suggestive advertising - check out the poster for this movie - looks exciting, right? That plane, all engulfed in flames?


Shame that never happens in the movie.
That would have been neat.


I'm glad we watched the movie, and I'm sure we'll steal scenes from it shamelessly in BAD AIR - however, here's some things that would have made this movie a lot more awesome:

1) TERRORISTS
I know, there was a guy on board with a bomb, but he wasn't a real terrorist. We need some ethnically ambiguous (preferably vaguely Eastern European) nutcases with a political agenda, so that we can all feel fiercely patriotic in a quietly liberal way when they are either arrested or, better yet, violently decompressed through a cabin window.



2) SNAKES
The central tenet of the aiplane movie genre is that you can't escape from whatever problem you're having on the plane. Snakes are a thematically awesome problem to be having, because we hate snakes, we hate being on planes, snakes hate being on planes, and everybody hates getting bitten by snakes on planes.



3) ZOMBIES
Sadly, we did not have time to watch the awesomely titled FLIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. I tremble when I think of the possibilities. I propose a crossover - SNAKES VS ZOMBIES: INFLIGHT REFRESHMENT OF TERROR...

Like, whoa.

This is totally righteous.

I think the most incredible part about this page is not that they say jesus probably rode dinosaurs, but that they say "we know that dinosaurs survived the flood on Noah's Ark." How can this be possible? Anyone who saw Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World knows that it would never work. However, Dino-riding Jesus could make me a believer.

Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty

If you're one of the complete fools who missed our season revue, this video from youtube presents a pretty accurate depiction of what happened in the Sherlock Holmes segments.



Enjoy!

We could've done this.

I think we could make a pretty sweet Van Halen video. Agree or Disagree?

---------FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ---------

For the first time in the storied history of Geva Comedy Improv, we will be attempting to produce an epic reduction of the ENTIRE GEVA THEATRE CENTER SEASON, as GCI proudly presents:

GEVAPOCALYPSE NOW
May 21 – May 24, 2008
Geva Theatre’s entire season, performed by eight guys. In 90 minutes.
Partially scripted, partially improvised, entirely hilarious.
Strong language and adult content. Recommended for age 16 and up.
Tickets: $7

On the Nextstage:

Wednesday May 21st 7:30 PM

Thursday May 22nd 7:30 PM

Friday May 23rd 7:30 PM and 10:30 PM

Saturday May 24th 7:30 PM and 10:30 PM

THE STORY: In today’s frenzied and fast-paced world, who has time to lounge about the theatre basking in the glow of the most significant dramatic works of our time? Well, 11,400 Season Subscribers…but if you’re not among that group, or if you were out of town and missed your favorite play this season, the brutally efficient cast of Geva Comedy Improv has condensed, reduced, truncated, abbreviated and distilled 7 Mainstage productions and 14 Rochester TheatreFest productions into one single 90 minute performance.

From the Mainstage:
Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure
Doubt
Cabaret
A Christmas Carol
Bad Dates
The Piano Lesson
Pride and Prejudice

From the Nextstage:
Tea at Five... PUSH Physical Theatre
The Fantasticks... Frozen
I Am My Own Wife... Rapunzel
Smokey Joe’s Café... Very Truly Yours, Gilbert and Sullivan
Plaid Tidings... Side Show
All My Sons... May God Strike Me Dead...
Talking Heads... Dames at Sea


THE EXPERIENCE: A sharply witty theatrical tour-de-force that will leave you dizzy with excitement.

THE BUZZ: Critics are raving “This has the potential for greatness, it could also be a spectacular trainwreck…Live action theatrical cliff notes for the hurried patron of the arts…theater-goers will never sit through a full length performance again!”

THE FINE PRINT: Strong language and adult content. Recommended for age 16 and up.


Get your tickets at the Geva Theatre Box office, online at www.gevacomedyimprov.org or by calling 232-Geva (4382).

TR travels through time to celebrate with himself

Unable to find anyone to go grab a beer with Saturday evening, TR ingeniously created a time machine so he could travel fifteen minutes back into the past and drink a beer with himself. "Really," TR remarked later, "I am the best company, so this just made sense to do." TR conversed with his past self regarding the quality of the beer he was drinking and his impeccable sense of style. "I then warned my past self that if he doesn't build a time machine immediately and travel back to this moment, none of this will ever happen, creating a time paradox and ripping apart the space-time continuum," TR explained. "Of course, I already knew I would build the time machine, I had the idea for it before I even got there."

Paul procrastinates by uploading pictures to the blog

Enjoy some hot pics from Friday Night's STALKER. The Geva crew kicked off St. Patrick's day weekend with a gripping tale of squirrels, revenge, and personal discovery.


Shawnda consoles a grieving Liam.


Paul fulfills a lifelong fantasy.


Nick always looks great in this wig.


TR, Shawnda, and Liam watch from the side.


Brian is arrested for being violent. Why was he violent? We'll never know.


When I first saw TR grab that hook and made that long hook thing, I thought to myself, "Ah, he's going to play Captain Ahab." Playing a great white shark myself, I prepared to engage him in a naval battle. "Kick ass, I love Ahab scenes," I mused.
In this picture, TR is actually Triton, Lord of the Deep. Nick is playing his son, Francis.


We were looking at... something.


Fortunately, Newscopter 5 was there to to take all of these great pictures!

Just kidding, all of our pictures are taken by Kevin Leas. Here is a charming pic of the often photographing rarely photographed Leas celebrating St. Patrick's Day with Brian. Brian was later beaten for not wearing green on St. Patrick's Day. We take that kind of thing really seriously.

T.R. FORGETS TO SET CLOCK AHEAD, Remains wholly unaffected for entire day

By Benjamin Franklin
GCI Time Keeper/Resident Lightning Rod

Citing confusion and general uncertainty in regard to the exact date of daylight savings time, T.R. neglected to set his clock ahead early Sunday morning.

“I inquired about the time change earlier this week, but my roommate was equally uninformed. I knew it was coming up and also mentioned it to several of my colleagues but I actually thought it was next week. You can imagine my surprise when I found out that I had completely missed it!”

The realization came a full 13 hours after the appointed 2 am time shift when T.R. picked up a copy of the Democrat and Chronicle and spied a headline about switching clocks ahead one hour.

“I thought, oh great, now I can find out for certain what day I need to set my watch ahead while I loudly exclaimed; ‘Hey, when are we supposed to change our clocks anyway?’”

Several staff members at the Geva Theatre Café along with a House Manager were present onsite as the shocking revelation manifested itself.

In response to T.R.’s audible query, the House Manager (who wishes to remain anonymous) responded; “It was last night.”

Sources close to Geva revealed that the staff were concerned when they realized that T.R. had actually arrived on time to house manage a show on the Nextstage.

“It’s pretty amazing when you think you about it…here’s a guy who was walking around all day an hour behind the entire World, yet he miraculously shows up to work on time for some unknown reason - SPOOKY…”

Local authorities are still investigating, but a spokesman from the Sheriff’s office offered a likely scenario:

“At this juncture, we have reason to believe that Mr. Ryan was relying almost primarily on his cell phone clock in the hours preceding his arrival to the theatre.”

When confronted with these most recent findings, T.R. had only this to say:

“Wow, look at the time, I really have to be going now.”

GEVA COMEDY IMPROV ATTENDS OSCAR PARTY: ROCKS IT HARDCORE

This past Sunday, Geva Comedy Improv performed at the George Eastman House Academy Awards Party. Many laughs were laughed, glasses clinked and mini-quiches devoured; when the blinding flash-bulbs of the paparazzi faded, GCI brought the ruckous and carved the marble dance floor of the Conservatory into a sculpted mosaic of epic dance moves. Stay tuned for more pictures and updates from our glamorous evening with Oscar and Rochester's social elite.

Exciting Improv Workshop!

This Saturday 2/23/08 GCI will be hosting a 2-hour improv workshop at Geva Theater Center! Learn the tricks of the trade or just come to play around. Either way, it will be a good time. The workshop is being taught by Nick DiCola and Paul Nellis.

Geva Theatre Center
1:30pm
$20.