The Comic Mummy blog - what a work of art

Thanks to Aussie in the Orient for putting me onto this: a site that generates a lovely piece of art based on keywords in your blog.

I suspect this is the one time that the words "America awwww" will appear together. So do savour it, won't you?

My improvised song in Vegas!

Hey dudes and dudettes,

If you care to, check out the improvised solo number I performed in Vegas recently!

Just go to www.myspace.com/jennywynter, scroll down and you'll see it.

Enjoy.

Yours,
The Eternal Procrastinator.

Self-indulgent Procrastination

Thanks to temporalelbow & Mango Lick for this morsel of time-wastage. But Mango Lick did cite me as one of the four websites she visits each day, so I was chuffed (and bored) enough to respond.

BTW feel free to post your own responses either on your blogs or in my comments.

But please, not both. Let's not get crazy.

Here we go.

A) Four jobs I have had in my life

1. Waitress @ Italian cafe (unfortunately I didn't like coffee at this point in my life)
2. Attractions presenter @ Movieworld (I was one of those wacky people who ran out screaming "AAAGH! The Gremlins are taking over the cinema!")
3. Call centre operator (I'm dry-retching as I type)
4. Comedian (wacka wacka)

B) Four movies I would watch over & over

1. Edward Scissorhands (I used to press 'play', watch it, then press 'rewind' over and over and over)
2. Heathers (I was mildly unhealthily obsessed with Winona Ryder)
3. The Muppet Movie
4. The Secret Life of Johnny Depp (if it ever got made)

C) Four places I have lived

1. Toowoomba
2. Brunswick, Melbourne
3. Redfern, Sydney
4. Brisbane (all over)

D) Four TV shows I love to watch

1. Six Feet Under
2. The Office (British version)
3. Inside The Actors Studio
4. The Young Ones

E) Four places I have been on vacation

1. Byron Bay
2. Tasmania
3. Springbrook
4. Coolum (Sunshine Coast)

Now that I look at it, I think I need to start getting a little more adventurous...

F) Websites I visit daily

1. Myspace - and the dozens of friends' sites that are linked to it. What a vacuum cleaner of time.
2. Blogger
3. Pink is the New Blog
4. Vibewire.net

G) Four of my favourite foods

1. Pizza Cafe pizza
2. Spaghetti Bolognaise (made right)
3. Roast potatoes (made the way my mum makes em)
4. Cheese, cheese, cheese (as in the yummy ones: blue, St Andres...oh take me back to Melbourne)

Four bands I can listen to repeatedly
1. Dave Matthews
2. Turin Breaks
3. Pearl Jam
4. Tim Minchin

I) Four places I would rather be right now

1. Vancouver (cos I've heard it's amazing)
2. Byron Bay (cos I can never get enough)
3. Whitsunday Islands (cos it would be beachy and warm)
4. USA (cos I miss it...*sniff*)

The Good the Bad and the Downright Intolerable

The Good:

The Livewired gig went pretty well (despite my self-imposed pressure to be 'funnier' than before I left for the States) and then returned home to listen to the compilation CD given to me by my ZZZ co-host Alex Oliver: "The Best of the Frog and Peach". It made me chuckle.

The Bad:

My house, despite being cleaned from top to toe by my sister in my overseas absence, has since returned to its usual bomb-site state.

The Downright Intolerable:

I'm beginning to think I'm never going to not feel tired.

"I Want to be in America"

I turned the radio on before and this exact West Side Story tune was playing. It made me smile.

It's so funny, because as much as I loved the entire mind-blowing experience of conquering the USA solo style, the whole time my heart was back on Australian time.

"Now they're waking up."

"Now they're having lunch."

"Now they're throwing their pre-bath-time tantrums."

But now here I am, back home again and the whole time-zone thing has flipped on its head. My heart (or part of it anyway) is on American time.

"Now they're flicking on the lights in Times Square."

"Now they're spruiking their CDs on Hollywood Boulevard."

"Now they're gambling in Vegas."

Okay, so that last one is kinda time-zone irrelevant.

But the point is, while I'm elated to be back with my family and friends, I miss America.

Who'da thunk?

Back to reality

I'm still recovering from jet-lag...gee it's a killer. I thought it just meant being tired, but it's so much more.

It's not knowing where you put your keys.

It's not knowing where you put Monday.

It's not knowing where you put your brain.

So forgive the brief blogging entries - or praise the heavens for them if it suits you better.

I'm basically just catching my breath, as I have a slew of gigs coming up in the next month, including several trips to Sydney (where I'm doing some corporate improv stuff) and this Friday will be my one and only performance in Edge Improv's IMPROCK!

Come check it out - it rocks and it's got a cool poster and stuff.

And yes, that's me in the front with a bat in my mouth. Ehem.

Home again, home again, jiggedy jig

The End is Nigh

Oh boy: talk about going out with a bang. Today was quite possibly the best day of the entire trip. Holy overpriced bananas, batman.

But let’s backtrack to last night, shall we?

Beep, beep, beep.

That was me reversing.

So…I decided to take a stroll down Hollywood Boulevard in the early evening, a move which turned out to be amusing, insightful and mildly disturbing. Basically, the entire strip is just filled with hundreds of variations of the same shop - that is, filled with every Hollywood-ised souvenier you can imagine, from “Best Dad” Oscars to celebrity photographs to Street Signs. Then there’s the people – tourists, obviously, but also various street performers (one being a frozen Michael Jackson impersonator who, upon receiving a dollar in his hat, would spring to life for a few seconds of dancing to Smooth Criminal) and wannabe hip-hop musicians touting their wears and trying to sell their CDs on the streets. Combine this with the stars on the Walk of Fame (I was rather chuffed to stumble straight onto Saturday Night Live’s Gilda Radner’s), then you’ve pretty much got one long, celebrity-obsessed street.

I would imagine actual celebrities avoid it like cellulite.

I wandered back to my hotel and then ventured next door to the Comic’s Lounge, where I straight away bumped into Tom Gleeson and his bro. We ended up hanging out, chatting and having beers over a couple of hours and discuss the pros and cons of LA. Turns out that not only were we all staying at the same hotel but our flights back to Oz the following night were leaving within twenty minutes of each other – they promptly offered to give me a ride out to the airport…what a lovely couple of lads!

I forced myself to go to bed so as to avoid self-destructing the following day…

I woke up and greeted my last USA day with fatigued excitement. Steve Kaplan picked me up and drove me to a rehearsal studio in Studio City, the journey of which I spent ogling the mansions in the Hollywood Hills.

We worked together for a couple of hours – which, to cut a long story short, was incredibly useful and inspiring – and then I headed over to the famous and very VERY exclusive Magic Castle, apparently the most famous magician’s club in the world!

The second I walked in the door, I was AWESTRUCK. I wish I was allowed to take photos in there as it feels almost impossible to describe it in words. Ornate decorations, amazing things everywhere you turn…to even get into the main part of the castle you have to approach an owl and say “Open Sesame” upon which a bookcase opens to let you in. You get the picture.

What followed in the castle felt pretty much like being in one of the magical lands at the top of the Faraway tree, including:
- Partaking in the most unbelievable buffet I have ever had (I’m talking champagne, roast, pastas, salmon, prawns, blue vein cheese, salads, chocolate mousse…in other words, every amazing thing you could ever hope to ingest) which, in true excessive American style, was classified as ‘brunch’. Whatever.
- Strolling through the myriad of rooms, one of which featured Irma, the invisible piano player, playing your songs on request (she did a rowsing version of “Waltzing Matilda” for me)
- Being shown some magic card tricks by a member of the club, one card of which I was even allowed to keep as a souvenier. Awww.
- Witnessing not one, not two, but three magic shows!

The actual tricks aside, the place is just damn magical. My mind was almost blown away – I kept pinching myself through the whole thing (metaphorically, of course: I may be a glutton, but not for punishment) to make sure that it was real. What a way to spend my last day here!

I met up with musical improv genius Michael Pollock afterwards (who got me into the Castle in the first place) who then took me to check out the Sunday afternoon Second City improv shows (of which he is musical director) – it was so so cool to see not only another show format, but the Second City venue, which adjoins the famous Improv Comedy Club. My trip to the bathroom was delayed when I got distracted eyeballing the corridor of photographs of famous faces who have graced its stage: Jim Carrey, Jerry Seinfeld, Danny DeVito…I’ll stop there before I’m exposed as the hack I am.

Then…as I left, Michael handed me one of the BEST presents I think I’ve ever received in my entire life: the third draft manuscript of his upcoming book How to Write Funny Lyrics: The Comedy Songwriting Manual. Needless to say, I was completely and utterly gobsmacked: I could have cried. I was 100% going to buy a copy as soon as it got released anyway (which I believe is in a month or so) so to be handed this incredible gift by someone I consider to be an absolute genius – complete with his own notes and everything – was just beyond belief.

I decided to use my buoyant heart as a floatation device in the hotel’s roof-top pool, for one last classy LA romp. It felt cool.

In fact, the only thing cooler was then heading downstairs and having Tom Gleeson and his brother Nick pull up ready to head off to the airport…in a silver convertible.

I’ve gotta confess – I think I’ve used up so much of my ‘cool’ quota in this trip that I fear I’m destined for a life-time of klutz-ridden dagginess.

But…at least I’ll have the memories.

Love from LA

It's hard to get a good impression of LA, given that:

a) the place is so damn sprawling;
b) I've spent most of the day inside doing private coaching; and
c) I'm only here for two days!

Today in a nutshell:

- got up at 3am New York time to catch my plane. I cannot BELIEVE I'm still conscious, let alone pumping.

- met and worked with comedy guru Steve Kaplan on my stand-up and show. Three words: wow, wow and wow.

- while waiting in the lobby to meet Steve, I glimpsed a fellow guest out of the corner of my eye. "Wow," I thought, "he looks like Tom Gleeson." Next thing I know I overheard said guest talking to the concierge...in an Aussie accent. "Damn," I thought, "that IS Tom Gleeson!" (Note to non-Aussie/non-comedy fans: Tom Gleeson is amongst Australia's better known comedians). I waited til he'd finished his stuff, then "Hey!" I said. "You're Tom Gleeson!"

"Yes," he said.

"Hi," I said. "I'm Jenny, we met briefly at Jeez Louise*." *Funny womens' conference as part of Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

"Oh hi Jenny," he said. "This is my brother."

We shook hands.

I told him a bit about what I was doing over here, he told me a bit about what he was doing and asked what I was doing tonight.

"Oh," I said, "I was thinking of heading to the Comedy Store to check out some comedy."

"We're thinking of going there too for a bit, just to have a last beer."

"Right," I said. "Well maybe I'll catch you there."

We'll see.

Tomorrow's already shaping up nicely. I have managed to score a rather exclusive invite to the Magic Castle (private magician's club) and then plan to check out the Second City musical rehearsals.

And then I'm leaving on a jet plane...

Breaking up is hard to do

After falling head over heels in love with New York, it is more than hard to say goodbye: it is heart-breaking.

*sniff*

Good thing I've got a gorgeous family to pull me back.

I'm just going to post a few pics because:

a) I'm exhausted; and

b) I have to go to bed only to get up in exactly 3 hours time to catch a plane to LA where I will spend my last American weekend being coached by comedy guru Steve Kaplan, who has developed and presented comedians including Jack Black.

So here you go people.

BTW, thanks to everybody who's e-mailed and commented during this trip - I'm so sorry I haven't always been able to reply straight away, I do hope you'll understand it's cos I've been absolutely choked up with exciting fun stuff'n'all that. Looking forward to being a more responsive friend in future. :-)



Left: my Second City comedy improv class.

Awww.....in the words of Meistro Eddie Vedder:

"I miss you already! I miss you always..."











Left: Juan, Shannon and Moi, on our goodbye night out on the town.

New York - I love ya. And I'll be back.

x

My first New York hot-dog

This one's for you Rebecca.

Cheryl King, Chicago City Limits & Woodford Folk Festival

Just a quickie before bed (please refrain from innuendo):

1. Interviewed Cheryl King, an incredibly inspiring woman who after fifteen years as a stand-up comedian, successfully made the transition to full-length one-woman shows and now performs, writes, directs and produces shows - both hers and others'. At the end of our interview she even said "If you ever want to put your show on in New York, make sure you let me know!"

If there's one thing this trip has done, it's that it's made everything seem so possible.

2. Then had the pleasure of interviewing Robert Schiffman from Chicago City Limits - wow, talk about informative AND inspiring! As a performer, director, former musical director and now touring company director of the company (which, for those of you who aren't in on the improv scene, is one of the BEST improv companies in the USA and the longest running in New York) Rob was well equipped to share advice on everything from rehearsal processes to what he looks for during improv auditions.

3. Got an e-mail saying that I've been invited to perform at this year's Woodford Folk Festival. WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To top off this fabulous day, my father-in-law e-mailed me some photos of Ella's birthday lunch.

They made me smile and smile more than any comedy I've seen.

Which brings me to my final point - as amazing as this whole experience as been, I am SOOOOOOO ready to scoop up my kids and cuddle them. I don't think I'll let go for days. Until of course, they start whingeing again. Then I'm sure I'll be wishing myself back to the Land of the Free.

But for now, indulge me in my idealised vision of mummy-ness.

Cuddles, cuddles, cuddles.

Au Revoir Las Vegas

A fitting title, I thought, given that I had my last dinner in Paris last night. Las Vegas style Paris, but Paris nonetheless.

So as I sit here at the airport awaiting my flight back to New York, I ponder the highlights of the past day:

• watching not only the Second City's mainstage sketch revue, but also their Monday night improvised show, which had a really cool and free-flowing format, including a very audience interactive section at the end where they spent the last 20 minutes inviting anyone and everyone to come play on the stage;
  
  
• meeting and hanging out with some of the Second City LV cast members (see picture above), several of whom were extremely spun out and stoked to hear that a grant even EXISTED that would allow someone to carry out a trip like this (at the risk of sacrificing subtlety, thank you Brisbane City Council!);
• picking said people's brains on all things improv;
• performing our improvised musical show in Vegas! We had just short of a packed house and it absolutely WENT OFF!!!!! My personal favourite was getting the Aussie angle in there in my solo number: "Won't You Be My Koala?" Best still, I got it on video camera so when I get a chance I'll put some footage online.

Above: partners in improvised musical crime. Sheri, Moi, Shannon and Kim.

I am on such an incredible high, but unfortunately have only had 2 hours sleep - I seriously need to catch up on some winks during this flight or else face the risk of spontaneous combustion. Then again, it seems you need to employ flames, fireworks or other pyrotechnics to get a look-in in this town. So any implosions could be great for my career.

Burn, baby burn!

I'm sorry. I am deleriously tired and really not in any state to be blogging. Say it all with me, won't you?

Jenny...put the keyboard away...

A picture paints a thousand words

So here's an essay. Above: I like to call this one "Ceasar and Celine" or "Julius and the Show I'm Least Likely to EVER Fork Out Money For".

Anyway, I'm going to update you in pictures here, namely because I've seen so much stuff that I don't want to spill it all here and ruin the surprise of what I'm sure will become a significant portion of my comedy set.

Main points:

- spent almost all of last night strutting up and down the strip with my old uni-friend Ivy and her boyfriend Brad;

- saw heaps of crazy people and sights; and

- unleashed Vinka again (my newest comedy character) to meet some of the characters on the strip. And boy, did she ever. Again, I'm not going to spoil the surprises for you before I get a chance to edit it all properly.

In the meantime, enjoy a few pics:

Does anyone else see the kinda poetry in this one?

Second City - the people I've been training with and where I'm seeing a show tonight!!!

This is what happens when you gamble and the wind changes.

Viva Las Vegas!

Wow. I haven't even been here 24 hours, I haven't even seen more than my hotel, the training studio and the shuttle bus, I haven't even done a smidgeon of the stuff the place offers and ALREADY I've got stories.

Welcome to Vegas, baby.

I'm about to head off for a night on the strip with my old uni buddy, Ivy, so here again, the skill I've acquired possibly better than any this trip - the use of bullet points.

- The SECOND I got off the plane I saw a young Asian couple step straight off the walkway, plant themselves at the nearby pokie machine and start playing. The woman even let out a sigh of relief, making me wonder if there might be a market for pokie patches to ease those cravings on long flights.

- My bus driver was a charming lady who reminded me of the mum out of "Family Matters" and proceeded to give all sorts of cute bits of advice including "make sure you always carry water and a pinch of salt in case you pass out". She made me chuckle, until she told me she and her husband had moved to Vegas to wait until they'd hit the jackpot. That was nineteen years ago. And when she said "jackpot" she meant it literally - they've been waiting to win the pokies for almost two decades. Gulp.

- The training with Michael Pollock...BE STILL MY MUSICAL LOINS. I know that doesn't even make sense, but so overawed am I with the magic of working with this man that all good literary sense just goes out the window. Given that this guy wrote the book on musical improv (and I do mean that literally), I was expecting a lot. But he blew even my highest expectations out of the water. I don't even know how to express it, except that:

a) I'll be returning with SOOOO many notes, techniques and exercises it's just not funny - or maybe it is;

b) I had the pleasure of interviewing him this afternoon on camera, during which he poured his brain out with wonderful generosity; and

c) at the risk of sounding like a complete wanker, he paid me the HUGEST compliment I think I've ever received afterwards: "Jenny, you are so talented (his emphasis, not mine). I'm not in the slightest bit surprised that the government gave you a grant like this."

AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

I know that's incredibly self-indulgent of me to even write that here but honestly, if you knew how unbelievably brilliant I think this guy is (hell, he's the Musical Director of Second City) then you would know why I am compelled, no indeed required, to share my joy with you.

Tra la la la la, tra la la la la, the flowers that bloom in the spring...

Meet my NY Class at Second City

And a special shout out to Ariel - cos I said I would. And she's from Toronto. And she's as cute as a Canadian waffle.

Just look at em all - aren't they gord-geous?!?!

A couple of things I saw today

Performing in New York: check

Tonight I did my first stand-up gig ever in the US of A and it went great! I wasn't expecting much, given that pretty much the entire room was full of comedians only, 98% of whom were men, but by the end of my set the whole room was clapping along with a couple of young African-American guys actually dancing to my song.

So with Vinka having been caught on tape (and yes Leon, as you've requested I will post a photo soon - I took one tonight on Liz and Andrew's camera but alas, alack, am missing the crucial cord to upload it) and now having performed a stand-up gig in NY, I feel like two significant goals of my trip have been achieved and that a weight has been lifted. Now I can just relax and enjoy (which Liz and I did, with $3 margheritas at a nearby Mexican spot.)

Spent the rest of the night trekking over the Brooklyn Bridge (amazing views of the city) and then checked out the World Trade Centre site - very sobering.

Tomorrow is my last day of the first level of training with Second City, and once evening comes, I'm a-leaving on a jet plane to none other than...LAS VEGAS!

I do hope neon lighting is flattering.

Meanwhile, here's a little snippet off Brooklyn Bridge. If you want it.

Martin Short and I...

You know that when you start shooting a comedic mockumentary (i.e. a fake documentary) and straight up find your character face-to-face with Martin Short, things are gonna be a little downhill from there.

Yes, last night was the perfect example of preparation meeting opportunity. Straight after seeing the incredibly funny no-punches-pulled Avenue Q, Liz, Andrew and I set out ready to do some filming with my newest comedy character: a Finnish pop-star wannabe named Vinka.

As we headed towards Broadway, we noticed a queue of people waiting outside the next theatre. Ah! It slowly dawned on us: they were waiting for Martin Short to exit following his show (which, if you hadn't noticed, I'd seen the previous night). AHA!

I got into costume.

Andrew seized the camera.

We squeezed into position.

And suddenly...there he was.

My heart was pumping like a roided-up bicep...I was torn between wanting to get Martin's attention and not ruin the entire scene for all the other fans, being all altruistic and all. ;-) What happened was something like this:

Crowd: Martin, Martin, Martin!

Martin: Hey!

(Him signing autographs, cameras clicking, etc.)

Vinka: Meeester Shot! Meeester Shot! Woulda you be signing my wrist???? (Handing him an arm)

Martin: (looking slightly bemused) No!

(Him continuing to sign autographs, including a moment where one middle-aged guy handed him a program to sign, a program which, on further inspection, turned out to be for another show. Martin didn't sign it.)

Vinka: Meeester Shot! I be loving you! (to camera) Heeee'sa so beautiful. Even more beautiful in da flesh. Like leeetle tuna fish.

(His security guard thought that was funny)

(Then, after signing more autographs and getting ready to hop in the car...)

Vinka: Pllleeeease Meeester Shot! Wouldn't you pleeeease signa my wrist?

Martin: NO!!! (gets in car and drives away)

Vinka: Oh. (to camera) I think he likes me!

THE END

Some might say our conversation was short-lived, I prefer 'efficient.' One thing's for sure though - if I ever do meet him again, he will remember Vinka. Namely because she was wearing this.
I suspect he thought I was taking the piss out of him because - it occurred to me later - Vinka's accent could be mistaken for sounding a little like Martin's camp wedding planner in Father of the Bride.

After all that excitement, I de-Vinka-ised myseld. To be perfectly honest I just needed a stiff drink.

We wandered up the street and stumbled into Birdland, a tres cool (and tres expensive) jazz club where, in the spirit of Avenue Q, I tried my first Long Island Iced Tea. A-Men! We kicked back, soaked up the atmosphere and watched the jazz dudes do their jazz thing. And yes, Mango Lick, I thought of you.

We then unleashed Vinka onto the streets of Times Square, where she chatted with the locals and:

- inhaled air at a newsstand where Britney Spears bought a magazine;
- touched the hand of a cab-driver who'd driven Mayor Giuliani; and
- rubbed her buttocks on the same leathery bicycle seat where Pierce Brosnan's cheeks once sat.

Oh what a night.

Just when you thought the US flag couldn't transform into anything else...

Martin Short Rocks the World

I've never been a huge fan, but when I saw the ad for his new show - a combination of stand-up, characters and musical numbers - it was like handing me an enormous cone of double choc-chip fudge icecream and shoving it down my throat.

It had to be done.

Man, oh man. The show rocked my entire world. I'm so full of thoughts, ideas and song lyrics that I need a Mylanta.

Thanks to Kym, my newest mate from Second City class (yes that's right kids, Mummy's made a friend), this afternoon I also discovered:

- the Hershey's chocolate store;
- Times Square McDonalds (this place is AMAZING - the walls are completely covered in the most incredible NY mural. Maccas has just gone up a notch in my book. A small notch, but a notch nonetheless);
- the most unbelievably enormous store packed to the rafters with sheet music and even Broadway karaoke CDs; and
- how to navigate the subway!

The training is really amazing - I'm sorry I can't be more detailed than that but there'll be plenty of time for that once I've had a chance to digest it. But you might be happy to know that I've also managed to hook up a few more cool interviews (including interviewing my improv teacher today) and finally - tomorrow I'm doing more training, more training, then Liz and Andrew are arriving to hang out for a few days, and tomorrow night...

Avenue Q.

Meaning...I need to go to bed. Right now.

5 Things You Didn't Know about the Empire State Building

1. King Kong's corpse has apparently been moved.

2. It is a marketing frenzy - from the moment you enter the queue to the second you get back out the door, you're being spruiked, photographed and postered in pamphlets in an attempt to spend, spend, spend! For a moment I thought I'd stepped into an infomercial.

3. Neither Tom Hanks nor Meg Ryan were anywhere in sight.

4. The only comforting thing about waking up to the fact that you are spending a disturbing amount of time trying to photograph yourself properly on top of the building (though in my defence, my camera wasn't digging the lighting) is the fact that almost everybody else is doing the same.

5. One of the key points mentioned in the pamphlet (and by one of the spruikers) is being able to see the spot where the Titanic would have docked. For some reason I found that rather hilarious. I'm thinking of launching my own tour, highlighting spots where I would have given my 1999 Oscar speech, had life not gotten in the way.

Ah America. I do love you

Broadway, sweet Broadway

So my first Broadway show went off with a bang. Not literally, but I'm in the mood for cliches.

"Bridge and Tunnel" turned out to be an absolute blitzer of a show - basically a collection of character monologues written and performed by Sarah Jones (who, as well as showcasing her phenomenal ear for accents, achieves the unbelievable in that she is the ONLY American I've ever seen who can actually master the Australian accent). This show has received rave reviews, and it's not hard to see why. I don't think I've seen such a brilliant character actor - it was funny, it was sad, it was completely committed and just such an incredible thing to see such a talented actor transform herself completely within seconds, from one person to the next.

It was her last show, too - as she received her bouquet of roses and her standing ovation, she thanked the crowd. I was surprised to hear that she had a British accent, until about halfway through her speech she stopped and went: "Just a moment. I don't actually talk like this," and then continued in proper New York speak. Everybody cracked up laughing - she obviously gets so much joy out of her talent, something which (as well as the obvious 'being a brilliant performer' thing) I found deeply inspiring.

Oh listen to me, I'm like a broken record: "I'm so inspired." "It was so inspiring." "I'm starting a new website: imsoinspired.com" Somebody shut me up already!

Then afterwards I did make it to Upright Citizens Brigade (the Artistic Director of which I will be interviewing next week, you'll be happy to know!) to check out their famous "Assscat!" show. The queue was unbelievable - while back in good old Brissie we struggle to fill venues, here people line up for HOURS to get tickets to these shows!!! And again, it quickly became clear as to why.

How to sum up an improvised show in words? Hmmmm....here goes:

- it was long-form improv (meaning not just short and punchy 'gamey' scenes) and kinda like The Harold (for those improvisers there amongst you) but with a slightly different structure. I'll have to explain it to those of you who care when I get back!

- the performers didn't seem to use a whole range of characters (with perhaps one exception) but rather the focus seemed to be very much on a natural approach to acting and letting the story take the focus.

What a crummy summary. (On a side note, have you noticed how much American slang I'm picking up? Dangedy ho, I'm gettin' good! Meet Jenny - the latest victim of globalisation!)

Anyway, and then today was my first day of training with Second City!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I won't bore you with details (have I EVER?!) so in short:

- my group is already getting along fantastically;
- my fears of being confronted by a batch of over-eager and dominating Saturday Night Live wannabes have been quickly allayed (though there was a game of pass the clap that started to get a little heated...; and
- the teachers are cool. One of them even looks like Sandra Bernhardt. What a bonus.

Tonight - I'm still undecided what to do. Thus I'm procrastinating on my blog.

What a schmuck.

The Breath Before the Plunge (albeit posted a few days late...)

Note: this entry is simply posted in the spirit of updating you on every painstaking detail of the journey - it was written on Friday and thus is a little out of order. Don't worry - if things get too out of hand I shall contact security and have it removed from the premises.

So I’m writing this on the train to New London, where I am to spend the weekend with my sister-in-law Liz’s extended family!

I’m really looking forward to having some down-time (though I’m sure socially it will be pretty tiring) but just to have some head-space and digestion room from the improv and comedy stuff for a bit will be sweeter than maple syrup on a stack of blueberry pancakes.

Last night I went to Improv Asylum again, saw Bird Flu Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, their current mainstage show (again!) and afterwards managed to score an interview with one of their funniest (i.e. my taste) actors – he was very forthcoming with info on improv and how to direct it, and also gave me some great advice on the best shows to see in New York! I then chatted for a bit to Dana, their lovely Sales Manager – after picking her brain for a bit I commented how inspiring it was to see an improv venue in action that operates full-time and gets consistently great crowds! I feel so inspired about coming up with a vision of doing that in Australia – we’re not really ready for it yet, but it’s great to have a really tangible peek at what that could look like in a few years and then start working out the smaller steps to get there.

I then saw this amazing 2-woman late night comedy show called “Two Girls for Five Bucks” – wow. It really inspired me in terms of show format (my mind was reeling just from the way they segue into the next section of their show, not to mention the clever combo of monologues, sketch and just them talking about their lives) but most of all: the girls’ commitment to their performance. They were just so focused, so ‘on’ – it was, as they say, ‘all killer, no filler.’

And best of all, these girls were honest. Not only did their candid life confessions leave you feeling like one of their girlfriends, but their sketches got to truths about single life that were just so cringingly painful they were almost hard to watch. But they managed to tread that fine line between cruelty and comedy thanks to impeccable timing.

Girly. Edgy. And not trying to please anyone.

I dig. Or is that ‘dug’?

And now…excuse me while I go spend the next two days exhaling.

Back in the Big Apple

I wrote a huge blog entry for y'all on the train ride to New London, but still haven't had a chance to hook my poor little wireless-impaired lappie up to the net - so here I am, at a ridiculously overpriced internet cafe wasting time explaining my dilemma. Oh dear.

So...I guess the point I'm trying to make is that a) this is not that blog entry and b)I will post it and fill in the gaps in my adventure at some later point. Just think of this technique as a stylistic choice, with me being the Quentin Tarantino of blogging and everybody's happy.

Ooh, I love it when I feel post-modern.

To be honest I was feeling a little scared about returning to New York. Not in a 'terrified for my safety' kind of way, just in a 'I've only just gotten into my comfort zone in Boston and now here I am breaking it again' kind of way. But I emerged from the 2+ hour train-ride happy, namely because:

a) I sat next to the most talkative American I've ever met - she was actually a pretty cool character study. A Californian twenty-something self-confessed techno geek who dropped pearlers into our 'conversation' (if by conversation you mean a monologue with the occasional obligatory response on my part) like:

"I hate flying, they check all through your bags. I come on here, and nobody knows WHAT I've got in there!" Chuckle.

Picture me smiling and then having a sit-com like dramatic dawning realisation of what her words could potentially mean.

She also said "So..." at the end of almost every sentence. I'm estimating that between New London and New York, she squeezed in about 12,683. You've gotta love efficiency.

And, the only time not spent verbalising was spent playing with her cyber-dog on her Nintendo - a kind of mini video of a computerised dog that, she informed me with pride, she'd taught to 'sit', 'roll over', 'beg' and apparently react to some sort of command that involved her blowing onto the screen, then giggling. I didn't dare ask. The entire contraption struck me as completely bizarre, until I realised how super convenient that was: you could feel all the cool things about having a pet - the obedience, the visuals, the cuteness - without any of the bad stuff (the smell, the cleaning up, the having to resist the compulsion to lock them in a cupboard when they're naughty).

There has gotta be a market for a cyber-baby.

Alas, I digress. The second reason I emerged happy from my train-ride was because:

b) I jumped straight into a cab that has, according to the cabby, transported such luminaries as Matt Damon and Whoopi Goldberg!

At that I subtly rubbed my arms all over the seats in an attempt to soak up cool germs. I even licked the seatbelts. Then he went on to mention his other passengers...

Mariah Carey.

I stopped licking.

Monica Lewinsky.

I dry-retched.

So that's New York for you baby. It's all the way from crappy to cool and everything in between.

(Not really, but damn it does sound good, doesn't it?)

I'm now going to continue my stroll around uber-cool Soho, and then head off this afternoon to my very first BROADWAY SHOW!!!!!!!!! I'm seeing "Bridge and Tunnel" which is apparently a tres cool one-woman show featuring a heap of different characters. I can't wait. Then, going on the hot tip from Jeremy from Improv Asylum (who I interviewed the other night) I'm going to try and check out the Upright Citizens' Brigade's Sunday night improv show.

*sigh*

A woman's work is never done.

End of Chapter One

I simply cannot BELIEVE that:

a) the Boston leg of my trip is already at an end; and
b) I can’t think of a more clever way to say that.

The great side is that Daena and I have managed to achieve every goal we set for this week (and many more) including:

- fleshing out a very loose structure for my full-length show (allowing flexibility to incorporate other lightning-bolts of inspiration that may strike throughout the rest of my time here and of course, to keep developing it upon my return);
- teaching me the nitty gritty of solo improv – techniques, skills and approaches – which I can then bring back with me to share with the local crew;
- coaching me through some of my bad performance habits and exploiting my strengths like my own personal sweat shop workers.

After training was finally over for today, I sat Daena down and interviewed her on-camera about all of this, which will be fantastic in terms of showing it to interested improvisers and comedians when I get back. I mean, it’s one thing for me to pass on the knowledge and skills I’ve learned, but for everybody to hear this great stuff directly from Daena – wow. Please don’t thank me…after the spoiled little brat I’m becoming living la vida loca it’s the least I can do.

Okay, no. Thank me.

In other news, I have been deriving super-size servings of enjoyment from the wonder that needs no punchline: American television. So much so that I actually went to the ‘store’ yesterday to buy me some blank video tapes! From Nancy Grace (think Today Tonight run by an intense Southern woman) to Mad Money (think…ummmm…the stock market on steroids?) I’m taping as much wild and wacky stuff as I can (believe me it’s not hard to find) and am planning on getting it all transferred to DVD before I come home.

Oh, and I found the most amazing place – Tower Records – which had the most mouth-watering selection of comedy DVDs I’ve ever seen in my life. Seriously, my heart actually palpitated, so much so that I can still feel a bruise on my left valve. I bought a very restrained four (Sarah Silverman, Bill Hicks, The Best of American Improv and The First 5 Years of Saturday Night Live) and then spent the rest of yesterday trying to avoid the impulse to stick a fork in a toaster as penance for being so self-indulgent.

I feel a little sad leaving Boston – the couple I’ve been staying with have been so beautifully hospitable, filling my tummy with home-made brownies and even introducing me to a rather amusing documentary Robin Williams made about dolphins – but my distress at leaving the town of life-size doll-houses is eased by the knowledge that I now have two days ahead of chilling out with family in New London. I’m thinking of this as the breath before the underwater plunge into crazy New York (where I’m checking out my very first Broadway show on Sunday afternoon – Bridge and Tunnel, a one-woman character comedy show which has been getting quite a rap over here) and then the assault on the senses and sensibilities that is Las Vegas.

Let me make the picture clearer: from Monday onwards, I will not only be hanging for two weeks in three of the most buzzing places the States has to offer, but will be training EVERY SINGLE DAY until I leave.

What can I say that can’t be said so much better in song…

She works hard for the money!
So hard for her honey!
She works hard for the money
And I don’t know the rest of the words!
Oooooooohhhhh!!!!!

Hi from Harvard

In a nutshell

Okay, so I have barely the time or the energy to blog in all the glorious detail I would like, so here's the latest in a nutshell:

- Caught my first improv show in the States the other night, by the brilliant Improv Asylum. This was amazing because it was tight, the format sparked off some interesting ideas, and just the fact that a city can support an actual professional venue dedicated solely to improv was enough to make me slobber. In fact I'm still slobbering. So much that I just swim to training every day. It's embarrassing. After a chat with the manager, it looks like I might be able to nail down the couple who started the whole company for an on-camera interview. I won't nail them hard, just little taps...enough to draw blood maybe.

- Training with Daena is as unbelievably productive as it is exhausting. How to sum her up? She is half therapist and half 'improvisational trailblazer'. (I got that expression from one of her reviews, isn't it cool?) The thing is I was expecting the mental and physical exhaustion, but not the emotional exhaustion. It's like the most intensive acting class I've ever done in my life, but already I am seeing the benefits of these little break-throughs. It's hard to describe in writing, but...ummm.....it's......really great'n'stuff. Moving along.

- Have discovered the best sandwiches in the entire world at Darwins Ltd (which I hunted down at the suggestion of Rachel Hills) and where, you might be interested to know, I am typing this blog entry. How very Harvard of me.

- Am calming down a little from the initial shock of being in a foreign culture i.e. am no longer in the "oh my goodness look at that!" "Now look at that!" "Wow did you hear that!" frame of mind and am actually able to have a little bit of headspace to focus more on the creative stuff of what I'm doing.

- I'm chilling around Harvard Square this afternoon (and I mean, literally chilling: Americans seem to like their air-conditioning to be able to freeze meat, in some attempt to compensate for the heatwave outside...I believe it's near 40 degrees outside, though I'd hardly know as I'm busy trying to battle the chillblanes.)

- Am missing the kids, but less than I thought. I think now the creative stuff is getting more meaty it's taking my mind off it - plus I've been having pretty regular conversations with Tim and Ella (who continually cracks me up with her "BURP!" proclamations...now that I think about it perhaps this could be ringing a bell as an early sign of Tourettes) The hardest thing is not being able to connect with Caleb, seeing as the phone is kinda weird to him and his verbal capacity is pretty limited. If only I had a web-cam damn it. Still, the other day when I called he was mid serious tantrum, which was a pleasant reality check.

So yeah, that's it thus far. Two more days with Daena, then three days with Liz's family in New London, then will be bracing myself for two weeks in two of the most buzzing and sensory-assaulting places in the world: New York and Las Vegas. AAGH!