February Funny Times

Copyright Nathan Boone 2014

Back in August I did a photoshoot with my friend and filmmaker Nathan Boone. He snapped some test shots while he adjusted the lighting. I had just bought us some cinnamon buns and couldn't help myself from acting a tad stupid in front of the camera. So, we didn't plan on taking comedic headshots but that was sorta the result. Thanks Nathan!

And speaking of comedy, I've got a handful of really exciting, very different improv shows lined up for February. If you're in Montreal, you should come out and get yourself some belly laughs.

Here’s the scoop:

> Sunday February 1st- MILF II (stands for Montreal Improv Lady Force.) Brought back by popular demand, this will be a high energy evening with a selection of Montreal Improv’s finest female performers. Ticket and show info here.

> Sunday February 8th- Memoir: An Improvised Autobiography. I feel very honoured to be the guest for this show, where the story of my life will be enacted by a talented team of improvisers and a director. You will laugh, you will cry, you will learn my deep, dark secrets. Ticket and show info here. 

> Sunday February 15th- 50/50 is an artful improv experiment. Half the cast will be well-prepared actors, the other half will be totally-in-the-dark improvisers. The two groups will be paired up on stage into two person scenes, the actors will stick to their scripts, the improvisers will, ah, well, improvise. Ticket and show info here. 

> Thursday February 19th- Photographic Memory. This is my very own duo with Vinny Francois. I hold it close to my heart. Together we weave improvised monologues into an over arching, satisfying story. An event page with all the details will be up this coming week.

> Friday February 20th- Threepio is a three-way competition of long-form improv. My troupe, Quest of the Dragon King has won our first two matches. We make up silly but sincere fantasy quests and botch a bunch of British accents in the process. An event page will be up soon!

  

I'll also probably performing in a Smackdown or two, which are Montreal Improv's flagship show- every Friday at 8pm.

And lastly, I'll be teaching a Level 1, Introduction to Improv class starting on Saturday February 7th. It's four weeks long, spread the word if you know someone who could use more play-time in their lives. Registration is here.

 

New Studio Space!

In October I moved into a great new apartment, I pretty much won the lottery. It's in my favourite neighbourhood in Montreal, on a quiet street, just a few steps away from the base of the mountain. I'm also only a 10-15 minute walk from all of the places I regularly hang out; Montreal Improv Theatre, the metro station, my sister's apartment, an independent cinema and a cat cafe.

The apartment is also stellar because it's got a huge, sunny room with a balcony that I've made into my studio. When I moved in, the space had been pretty neglected and was in serious need of a scrub. The old plaster walls in particular were in really poor condition.

I spent most of October traveling so I hardly had time to unpack before hitting the road. In mid-November I got help from a super team of friends and we gave the place a much needed paint job. Thanks to Susan, Justin, Eryn, Joni, Monica and Fred who spent many hours filling, sanding, scraping and painting.

Slowly but surely I've been decorating and fine-tuning the space. Friend and photographer, Jess Fildes took the following photos of the studio in early December. It's still a work in progress though, I've got some shelves to hang, more fun cushions to sew and some antiques that I picked up while in Edmonton to incorporate.

Copyright 2014 Jessica Fildes

Copyright 2014 Jessica Fildes

Copyright 2014 Jessica Fildes

Copyright 2014 Jessica Fildes

Copyright 2014 Jessica Fildes

Copyright 2014 Jessica Fildes

The rest of the apartment is coming along too, I've finished decorating my bedroom, and I'm about halfway finished with the living room and kitchen. As fun as it has been to get settled into a new place, I've been using it way too much as an excuse to procrastinate. Now that my space is functional, I'm going to put it to use! Which means, I'll have to put the rest of the decorating on the back burner until I've completed my next few big projects.