Tonight the plan was for catching a show together at the Trident at 8:30. Since I get off work between 5 and 6 o'clock, I figured I could take in another show before the comedy improv. Plans changed after I heard from DJ. Now we were taking in two shows, after a quick bite at Illegal Pete's (mmm good).
IP's is at 15th and Pearl. We walked down to the Boulder Co-op at 19th and Pearl to see w/e, a one man dramatic piece (picture above). I really liked the way the story unfolded, and how the characters interrelated. The actor, Robert LaRonde, had an amazing grasp of kinesthetic sense as evidenced by the transformation between Miles and Cynthia. Miles' near frenetic pacing and Cynthia's tentative smile stayed with me.
Afterwards, we walked back down Pearl Street to the Trident (at 9th). Along the way a busker was performing for a small crowd, balancing something on her chin. She had a chain demarking the stage, one of the yellow plastic kinds. DJ told me about another performer he had seen, who did an amazing Zip Code trick. He had a chain outlining the continental US and asked for audience members to tell him what Zip Code they were from (preferably out of state). He would unerringly place them in the correct home towns and fill the map with the folks watching the show.
We got to the Trident with plenty of time, and we got some drinks. One of the performers we had seen on Sunday had just finished his set and was staying for the next one. I said hi and told him how much I enjoyed his show. He remembered me and DJ from the other night (most of the venues are very intimate, we're talking inches not feet from the stage at times).
The improv, Comedy a la Carte, was done by Mile Hi-Larity, a local Denver improv troupe. We had an MC and four players varying from Jeopardy to guess the activity with a twist. As always, audience participation was manditory. Occupations, outdoor activities, and favorite colors tumbled over each other vying for promenince and the chance to be chosen. One of my favorite improv activities is always Rewind, and they did a good job with a trucker piece. One I hadn't seen before was Flashback, where the action rolls for a while then the MC calls flashback and the players act out a scene that happened before the last scene. Confusing, but definitely entertaining.
Two years in a row, Kerri and I went to Impulse Theater under the Wynkoop for her birthday (after trying abortively to see something closer to home). It was always fun and we laughed so much we cried. Under the overhang at the Trident, in a place where I was pretty sure she had never been, I could feel her with me, laughing and being amazed at the speed and hilarity ensuing before me.
After the laughter subsided, and I could breathe normally again, we wandered back toward my car, parked at 14th and Canyon. After I dropped DJ off at his car, I wound my way back through Boulder, enjoying the quiet and the cool evening air, and wondering what tomorrow would bring.
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