Laughter is the Best Medicine

As some of you know, I've been in a fairly rotten mood lately.  Ohhh, my poor friends and family.  They are taking the brunt of my Storm of Crankiness.  I promise I'm usually a really cheerful person, but these past few days have been tough. Everything that's been frustrating me lately seems to be coming to a head all at the same time.  It's madness.

Anyway, last night I attended an improv show with my friend.  It was exactly what I needed, and really helped me forget about some of the madness for a while.  I came home so happy.

This is the poster for the improv show I attended last night.

Improv and I have had an on-again / off-again affair since I was in high school.  It's been almost a year since my last improv performances with a team, and even longer than that since I did a short form show.  We have a grand time together, and I miss being a part of that. I'm terribly addicted to improv.

Right now a lot of my energy is going towards finishing this film, trying to keep my home (and office) in order, and various means to pay the bills.  But I do hope to return to improv very soon.  It's the perfect mix of terrifying fun.

When I got home from the show, I started watching the first episode of the latest season of SNL, and guess who's face should be the first that I see?  Vanessa Bayer's smile came up on screen immediately.  I've become a big fan, after seeing her perform in Chicago at a number of places, including Second City.

Uhm, I also recognize that she probably has absolutely no clue who I am, but I'm still a big fan.  We met, very briefly, a number of years ago in Chicago.  She was performing with Dan Sipp, who has since become a very encouraging improv teacher / coach for me here in Raleigh.  I was in Chicago scoping out the city, visiting old friends, and watching entirely too much improv, and stayed a few extra days to watch Dan's team perform together one last time before he moved to North Carolina.  They all went out for drinks afterwords, and she was very kind in making sure I felt included.  I was a total tag-along because my travel partners (Chris Moore and Carol Machuca) had already flown back to North Carolina.  Oh, what a fun trip we had together.

See why I love improv so much?  The people are such fun.  They are some of the people I hold very dearest to my heart, no matter how eclectic and dramatic the bunch may be at times. 

Each time I walk into the club, I feel like I've returned home.  That's a very rare feeling in this world--to feel like you can walk into a building and be home.  It's not the building that matters, it's the people inside it that welcome you with a warm embrace each time--no matter how long you've been away.  I genuinely adore my ComedyWorx improvisers, and the ones I have met through that extended family.  They are a rare, delightful bunch.

Thank you for the medicine last night.  It was exactly what I needed.