Hey STM fans,
Recently we sat down with the illustrious Sarah Pic of Antigravity Magazine to talk about our new sketch show Sunlight’s for Suckers, improv classes, Tuesday shows and all the other wonderful Megaphone action happening in New Orleans this fall. You can grab the article below in the October 2010 edition of Antigravity Magazine, available on news stands and online. Enjoy.
Notes from the Splash Zone: The Comedy Edition
Looking for that warm fuzzy feeling that only improv comedy can give you? You’re in luck – New Orleans-based improv comedy troupe Stupid Time Machine is bigger and better than ever after their recent move to a new weekly venue. You can now find STM every Tuesday at 8:30pm at the Factory on Oak Street, performing The Improv Chronicles –a long-form improv show where suggestions are taken from the audience, which the five players then use to put together an hour-long show. As STM member CJ Hunt describes it, “the audience has an ownership of the show because they directly contributed to it. We then do acrobatics with their contributions.” Derek Dupuy, another STM member, says he has heard the show described as “Tarantino-esque” with the different threads that all tie together. STM came together about a year ago to write a sketch comedy show, the critically acclaimed and very successful Love in the Time of Swine Flu, which recently traveled to the New York Fringe Fest. STM is hard at work on another sketch show as part of the Vampire Film Festival, called Sunlight’s for Suckers. Sunlight explores the truly pressing issues of our day, such as what would really happen if you had sex with a vampire? As Dupuy sees it, it’s not as thrilling as it may seem in the movies—vampires probably have a high rate of STDs because they are constantly drinking the blood of random strangers; they are bad at commitment because they live forever; and they are both emotionally and physically cold (as a corpse). Sunlight aims to dissect our culture’s current obsession with horror and vampires, but anyone can enjoy it, as it relies heavily on the aspects of the horror genre and urban legends that have seeped into pop culture. STM also offers improv classes as part of a collective of improv groups in New Orleans and Texas working together under the banner name of Megaphone.
As Hunt describes it, STM, its Students and the show audiences are like an extended family. “When you come to a show, it’s a community event,” he elaborates. For STM, they are not just performers who come together for a show; they are friends who care deeply about their craft. As Dupuy remarks, “At what other type of performance can you come to a fantastic show, a show that makes you not just laugh but also think, and then be invited to join in through classes after?” STM is also dedicated to making improv accessible and affordable. To that end, monthly “Improv Zero” classes are offered, which are free NSA classes for anyone in the community. After the class, there is then an “improv jam,” that again anyone can participate in. Following the jam, Megaphone all-star improvisers perform with a special guest storyteller. They describe it as one evening to “learn, play, and watch.” Stupid Time Machine performs weekly on Tuesdays at 8:30pm at the Factory, 8314 Oak Street (next door to the Maple Leaf). Admission is by roll of the die ($1-$6) or for non-gambling types (or those with gambling problems), regular admission is $5. Sunlight’s for Suckers runs on 10/28 at 9:30pm, 10/29 at 11pm and 10/30 at 7:30pm at the Shadowbox Theatre, tickets are $8 in advance at vampirefilmfestival.com or $10 at the door. More info on classes and shows can be found at stupidtimemachine.com. You can also find them on Twitter @ stmcomedy and facebook.com/stupidtimemachine. Send me press releases, vague info on shows, or theatre/performance art news or gossip! Holla at sara.pic@gmail.com. by SARA PIC SARA.PIC@GMAIL.COM
Ever wanted to take an improv class? Well now is your chance good sir/madame.
