Showing posts with label improv comedy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label improv comedy. Show all posts

Saturday, November 2, 2024

Top tips for arranging your work from home setup 

By Natalie Hunter

 

The year is 2020. You didn’t think it’d come to this. You thought surely your micromanager boss who constantly breathes down your neck would rather wear ten masks then let you work from home. And he probably would, but it’s out of his hands now. Dr. Fauci and Andrew “Lov Gov” Cuomo have said your office is unsafe and you’ll be working from home for an indefinite amount of time. No awkward water cooler chatter or having to pick out the bottom half of your outfit? You could get used to this. But your coffee table and an egg chair isn’t going to cut it as a workspace. Here’s how to turn your living/eating/sleeping space into your work space as well. 

 

Ultimate appearance enhancer


Now that you’ll be doing all of your communication through Zoom, you’ll want to look your best. Filters are a dangerous game because with one slip of the finger, you could turn yourself into a fish rather than enhancing your features. Instead, invest in a ring light. Since they’re all the rage, they may be hard to get your hands on for some time. In the meantime, order a donut from Dunkin Donuts on Grubhub and attach a flashlight.

 

Key to a healthy lifestyle


Working from home means less walking from the subway or parking lot to your office. That’s ok. Now you can do two of life’s most pleasurable activities at the same time — working and working out. That’s right. With an under-the-desk treadmill, you can now squeeze in a brisk jog while typing out expense reports. No one will ever notice how winded you sound while taking phone calls and they certainly won’t think you’re up to anything inappropriate. For the overachievers, you can take your desk side fitness to the next level by investing in a human hamster wheel.


Source of Nutrition

One aspect of the office you may find yourself missing is the vending machine. Fear not! You can recreate the glorious sensation of watching your favorite snack be dispensed to you. Get yourself and automatic cat feeder for your at-home desk. You can set it up to release chips, jellybeans or whatever your favorite treat is on the hour and one will be there to watch you shamefully shove your face in it. Plus, you won’t need to get up and decrease productivity! Yay!

 

Pet-friendly set-up


Your cat may be upset that you snagged its automatic feeder. That’s ok. You can make up for it. Once you start doing 5 zoom calls a day, your cat will realize that pulling focus by meowing, crawling across the keyboard and “accidentally” hitting the unmute button during these calls will be the best way to be disruptive. So why not embrace it? Get your cat a pedestal so it can be the center of attention during every zoom call. Maybe your boss will be distracted by the cuteness of your cat and forget about that presentation that was due?

Congrats! Your at-home cubicle is ready to go! How long will you be here for? Who knows? So get comfy!




So helpful, right?! These gems of wisdom must surely have prepared you for IRTE's REMOTE!



Fridays and Saturdays 
November 8, 9, 15, 16, 22 & 23
December 6 & 7, 2024
8:00-9:30pm


The Producers Club, 358 West 44th Street
Between 9th & 10th Ave
New York, NY


Tickets: $20 on-line, $25 cash only at the door

Friday, November 3, 2023

A Simple Pumpkin Pie Recipe for Thanksgiving

IRTE cast member Natalie (the Recipe) Hunter shares a very easy-to make and uncomplicated Thanksgiving Recipe she found in Stuart Marfa's Real Simple Woman's Healthy Day Magazine.

Pumpkin Pie Recipe

The air is crisp, the leaves are falling. Ah, yes, my friends. It’s that time of year again. Autumn.

This time of year always reminds me of when my husband went off to war. The day was November 10th. Thanksgiving was around the corner and his favorite dish I would prepare is my pumpkin pie.

So I cooked one up the night before he was meant to leave for the war after he had fallen asleep. Admittedly, I couldn’t remember what time his flight was but I knew it was in the wee hours of the morning. I didn’t want to wake him up so instead I would get up every hour on the hour to pop the pumpkin pie back in the oven to keep it warm and keep the pumpkin scent going.

With each hour that passed by, I grew wearier. So much so that I mistakenly put my cat sitting beside the delectable dessert into the oven. I had nodded off in front of the oven and woke up to the sound of my cat desperately yowling and clawing at the door.

I grabbed my oven mitts and pulled out my slightly singed cat, Reginald, out of the oven. Somehow my husband had slept through the commotion but my five children came stampeding down the stairs.

Once assuring everything was ok, Little Timmy noticed my frazzled state and suggested I have some of my special mommy juice. It was the smartest thing he had said all year. I popped the pie back in the oven, sent my little ones to bed and drank a few bottles of wine to calm my nerves.


I awoke on the couch to my husband coming down the stairs. I asked him what time it was and he informed me that it was 6:45 AM of the following day. He explained to me that I had been passed out on the couch all day but luckily, I had gotten the date wrong and he was actually leaving today. 

He also notified me that he had woken up to the smell of burning ambrosia and the sound of the fire alarm, which I had somehow slept through. I apologized profusely and offered to make him a new pumpkin pie. But he explained that he had eaten the burnt pie and that he had liked it better that way. He told me it was the best ambrosia I ever made.

Before he left for the war, I kissed him on the cheek as our five children ran to his feet and wrapped their little bodies around his legs. They begged him not to leave but he told them he had an important duty to fulfill.

Miraculously, he was only gone a fortnight and made it home for Thanksgiving. He said he completed his militaristic responsibilities but may be drafted again any day now. I was just relieved he found an opportunity to do something meaningful and wasn’t cheating on me again.

Anyway, here’s the new and improved recipe for my world-famous pumpkin pie.


Pumpkin Pie

2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk 

3 bottles of wine

1 resilient cat 

3 cups tears


Leave in oven for 28 hours. Ignore smoke alarm.


What's cooking at IRTE this November? Find out at...



Fridays and Saturdays. 
November 10, 11, 17 & 18,
December 1, 2, 8 & 9, 2023

8:00-9:30pm

The Producers Club, 358 West 44th Street
Between 9th & 10th Ave
New York, NY

Tickets: $20 on-line, $25 cash only at the door





Wednesday, July 15, 2015

THIS GUY! MOVIE GUIDE


I’VE SEEN ‘CALAMITY!’ AND IT’S AWESOME!!!
By Tyler Kevin

THIS GUY!

Hey guys! I know I promised you I’d share the trailer for IRTE’s latest show, ‘Calamity!’ as soon as I got my hands on it, but I’ve been - uh - indisposed for the last week or so. Turns out what’s legal in Colorado is supposed to stay in Colorado. Thanks for the heads-up, dudes!
 
Anyway, as you can see by the change in my header, I’ve struck out on my own and am no longer with those guys at “That Guy” Movie Guide.

It’s great to be C.E.O.!!
 
Bu-uh -- I DO have the ‘Calamity!’ trailer, along with some other great goodies from the fine folks at IRTE!
 
So strap in and get ready for some action. You’re gonna need to because the latest production out of IRTE’s fun factory is a knock-down, drag-out, no-holds-barred BLOCKBUSTER extravaganza!
 
That’s right - these guys (and gals!) have really outdone themselves. There was a freakin’ hurricane on that stage this past Saturday night. A hurricane of CATS! And there’s no tellin’ what’s gonna happen next time. YOU. GET. TO. DECIDE!!!
 


 
I know it sounds crazy that no one knows what they’re gonna be up against until seconds before the show starts, but - hey! - that’s what these guys (and gals!) do!
 
Not only that, they had as their very special musical guest none other than Carla Ulbrich, one of the stars whose music appears on the ‘Calamity!’ soundtrack, and she’s just as funny and talented as the rest of that crazy bunch. She had me and the rest of the audience in stitches with her song about one particular word that starts with the letter ‘f’!

I don’t want to give too much away - and I can’t because they make that sh*t up! - but you just gotta trust me on this and get your butts in those seats for the wild ride that is IRTE’s ‘Calamity!’
 
You’ve got just 2 more chances to do just that. And you can’t go wrong with the musical guests they’ve got lined up for their next 2 shows. On July 18, you’ll get to see the luminous Tym Moss. And at their final performance on July 25, the ever daring and spectacular Mr. David Jay will tear up the stage! (What’s left of it!)
 
So put your thinking caps on, get your ass in gear to the Producer’s Club, and tell this band of action heroes (and villains and love interests) what disaster we need them to save the world from!
 
 
“Calamity!” runs 2 more Saturdays in July at
 
July 18 and 25 -- 358 W 44th Street, New York, NY
 
Here’s some links -- the goodies that I promised you. Check ‘em out!!

https://youtu.be/yZSKqbaFXlg -- Calamity! movie trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrs2ngrd5dk  -- Radio Show on Youtube - entire show (2 hrs)
http://yotina.podomatic.com/entry/2015-07-13T12_49_27-07_00  --  Hustlin’ Awesome Show clip on PodOmatic
http://carlau.com  --  Carla Ulbrich’s website
http://tymmoss.com  --  Tym Moss’s website
https://www.facebook.com/MrDavidJay  --  Mr. David Jay’s Facebook page

Until next time. Take it from me, Tyler Kevin, and This Guy! Movie Guide!!

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

“THAT GUY” MOVIE GUIDE

IRTE’S LATEST PRODUCTION IS CALLED ‘CALAMITY!’
AND IT’S AN ACTION MOVIE!!!
          
By Tyler Kevin
 
IRTE, the studio that struck improvisation gold this year with their throwback to the 80’s sitcom, “Wow Wee! Adventures of a Little Girl Robot,” and their lost-at-sea descent into chaos, “Adrift,” are at it again. This time imagine smashing together “Adrift” and “Wow Wee!”  and then throw in a dash of last year’s secret agent romp, “The League of Extraordinary Blondes” and you’ve got “Calamity!”
 
Opening in July, the Improvisational Repertory Theatre Ensemble (yeah, IRTE - pronounced like ‘dirty’ without the ‘d’ - is much easier to say!), is pulling out all the stops and going full blockbuster for their final production of their 2015 season. And when we say blockbuster, we mean BLOCKBUSTER!
 
Although the news coming out so far has been very hush-hush, me and the other “That Guy” Movie Guide guys are digging up as much as we can. And even though a trailer hasn’t even surfaced yet (we promise we’ll snag that for you as soon as we can!) we CAN tell you that they’re going to switch up the cast every week and LET THE AUDIENCE DECIDE how the planet is gonna get destroyed!
 
Whoa. Wait a second. I better back it up for you.
 
First I gotta tell you that “Calamity!” is a full-on improvised blockbuster disaster movie made up and performed on the spot right before your eyes. Talk about 3-D!
 
These crazy cats at IRTE have always been into pushing the limits of improv and destroying each other (and their audience!) with all kinds of fight scenes and mayhem, but this time they’ve really outdone themselves. We’re talking totally catastrophic global annihilation - like end of the world type sh#t!
 
And they’ll be joined at these special limited-time screenings by the superstar recording artists responsible for all the killer music on the original soundtrack - Carla Ulbrich, Tym Moss, and Mr. David Jay. What else?!
 
IRTE members Curt Dixon, Nannette Deasy, Jamie Maloney, and Robert Baumgardner will all be returning. Relative newcomer, William Berg, is directing and boy are we excited to see what this talented team has pulled together for us this time! Rounding out the cast are familiar GIRTEs (Guests of IRTE) - Evie Aronson, Melissa Jourdana Cole, and Sam Katz. And joining in on the fun for his first adventure with this ragtag bunch is local favorite, Nate Betancourt. This cast is sure to save your summer if not save the world!!
 
For up to the minute news on what we’re sure will be IRTE’s biggest hit yet stay logged in with me and the other guys here at “That Guy” Movie Guide. We got your back!
 
“Calamity!” runs 3 Saturdays in July at 8 p.m. at The Producer’s Club
July 11, 18, and 25 -- 358 W 44th Street, New York, NY


Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Dear Mommy and Daddy... FURTHER Letters from the Front Line (aka "Camp")

IRTE's latest production, Camp Fitness, continues this Saturday June 13th. Dip your toes in the murky pond of adolescence. IRTE's very own Jamie Maloney has even more camp letters from his days as an idealistic youth!


Letters from Camp 1985
Jamie Maloney
13 years old
(Errors preserved)


 

June 26

 

Dear Mommy and Daddy

 
Send me some more money some gum and some bug repellent and some stamps
One of our counselors carries a doll
Send me my electronic football
Im having a good time.

 
Love Jamie

 

July 3

 
Dear Mommy and Daddy

Im writing to you again today because it’s raining and we can’t go out. The kids in my bunk did the duracell test to my flashlight and the bulb broke. The duracell test is dropping it from six feet and seeing if it breaks. I told you about my counselor getting fired well we got a new one and his name is Craig the old one’s name was Aaron. I told Papa to tell you send me a new marker. Send me some more money for when we go on trips and some stamps. 

Love Jamie

 
July 8

 

Dear Mommy and Daddy, 

Its raining and we’re inside I got the game but send me my baseball game  it’s tan and I think it’s around my book case or my computer. Send me some money and cereal or that juice mix stuff. if you send me the mix send me a cup

Love Jamie

 

July 12

Dear Mommy and Daddy, 

If you can send me anything send me salt water taffy

I got on my knees on the hydro-slide for a second but I fell off  I joined the swim team. I need some stamps. I’m getting good in sailing.

Love Jamie

 
Yesterday we went on a canoe trip and today I got stung by a bee under neath the tongue of my shoe

I need some more money for when we go on trips and things like that   I’m going to see if I can call you on my birthday

Love Jamie

P.S. I need stamps.

 

 

July 14 (13th birthday)

Dear Mommy and Daddy, 

When you come up on Sunday bring some shampoo and my combination lock. This morning when I woke up I had to go to the bathroom real bad and it was diarrea. then it couldn’t come out so I went to the infirmary. Send some stamps

Love Jamie

 

July 26

Dear Mommy and Daddy, 

to day we went to a mall and we got to go to all the stores we wanted. I am all out of stamps and I used most of my money send me some Capri Sun

I got into a fight with this kid. Not the same one I told you about but another kid in my bunk



July 31

Dear Mommy and Daddy, 

I got your letter that was dated July 22  I have been writing you letters. Color war is in its 3rd day but it’s raining so we’re inside

A kid gave these 2 cards for a pizza at canteen

GREAT DEAL!!

 

Love Jamie








Ready for more summer fun..?

Then come see IRTE in

 
Saturdays, June 6, 13 & 20, 8:00 pm
at The Producer's Club
358 W 44th St, NYC
between 8th & 9th Ave.



 

Sunday, May 31, 2015

Dear Mommy and Daddy... MORE Letters from the Front Line (aka "Camp")

IRTE's latest production, Camp Fitness, opens this Saturday June 6th. Curl up close to the campfire. IRTE's very own Jamie Maloney has more camp letters from his days as an idealistic youth!


Letters from Camp 1984-85
Jamie Maloney
12-13 years old
(Errors preserved)




Dear Momy and Daddy,
It has rained for two days and we are making rockets. The other day a kid wrote on the outside of our bunk and had to paint it over. We got into a water fight yesterday with another bunk. I got the money you sent and I want you to send me some candy. How are the cats? Don’t forget the 9 volt batteries for my game. We saw some dumb movies, war games and the outsiders. Don’t forget the batteries and candy.


Love Jamie


P.S. Say hello to Papa and grandma when they come back.



Dear Mommy and Daddy,
Ireally don’t need to use my suntan lotion. I don’t have much to say but I’m writing this letter because I’m bored. Just send about 10 dollars and some candy and gum and a game magazine or some thing like that.


Love Jamie


Dear Mommy and Daddy,

Yesterday I went down the waterfall. I didn’t get hurt. Today I got a big cut on my foot.We went to Beltzville a beach kind of thing. I got the batteries and gum. There is nothing left in the care package but I still got the 4 packs of gum you sent thanks.


Love Jamie



Dear Mommy and Daddy


I got the candy and am sharing it. I built a rocket and will launch it soon. We had 4th of July fire works. Today someone pushed me in


the lake and I got a big hole in my tonge after I bit it. Tell me when Papa and grandma come back so I can write to them. We have this big brother thing where you get a big pal or little pal. I got a big pal. his name is Mark, he works in the kitchen. It has been raining since Friday.


Love Jamie



I got the card and presents you sent me. Today was olympic day but it got rained out. Papa sent me zabars cookies.


Love Jamie


Dear Mommy and Daddy,

I need stamps. I got the magazines you sent. I

 read one of the Mads but thats ok. Thanks for the presents. I really like the stickers. Those magazines are really neat. This kid in our bunk takes everybodys stuff without asking. He takes my football game when I dont want him to. And when I tell him not to play it he does anyway.


Love Jamie




Dear Mommy and Daddy,


I don’t have much to say but I have to write.


Love Jamie




Ready for more summer fun..?

Then come see IRTE in

 
Saturdays, June 6, 13 & 20, 8:00 pm
at The Producer's Club
358 W 44th St, NYC
between 8th & 9th Ave.