After a brief blog lag (AKA a "blag," to use the technical term that we didn't just portmanteau to sound cool (we also didn't just verb the noun "portmanteau") (does this opening sentence have enough parentheticals for you?! (DOES IT?!!!?)))), we're back, baby - and we're better than ever! This weekend, check out our mainstage improv comedy cast in Riot Improv's "Your Quirky Family" on Saturday, July 6th, at 8pm - improv inspired by YOUR family drama! Grab your tickets here: https://www.theriottheater.com/full-schedule.html
Your Riot Improv mainstage cast for July 6th is: Emily, Eric, Mike G., Ted, Stuart, and Rachel. And just a head's up - next week we're bringing you a double-header! On Saturday, July 14th, catch Riot Improv's "Stories to Scenes" show (improv inspired by live Massmouth storytelling) at 8pm, and then stick around for our monthly experimental theater extravaganza, RIOT X, at 10pm. Come for the funny, stay because we stapled your feet to the floor. (Seems unfair? Hey, I don't make the rules - I just enFLOORS them, hahahahahaha!) (....?????) Anyyyyways, your RIOT X ensemble for July is Joe, Josh, Emily, Salva, Jennie, and Ryan, and you can snag tickets to our July 13th shows ALSO here: https://www.theriottheater.com/full-schedule.html See you there!
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In just TWO days, the Riot Theater Company invites you to check out TWO fantastic shows!
At 8 pm this Saturday, April 6, Riot Improv presents "Your Quirky Family," featuring mainstage cast members Kristen, Eric, Emily, Mike G., Amy, and Stuart. Then, at 10 pm, stick around for RIOT X, the Riot's late-night experimental theater show, showcasing a metric heckton of new short plays. Your Riot X ensemble for April is Joe, Josh, Kristen, and Emily (yes, the same Kristen and Emily). Buy your tickets for both or either RIGHT NOW!!!! While supplies last. The supplies are our egos. So they will probably last forever. BUT YOU NEVER KNOW! WHO?
"Stories to Scenes" is a monthly (every third Saturday!) collaboration between the storytelling organization Massmouth Inc. and Riot Improv, the Riot Theater Company's mainstage improv comedy cast. WHAT? In every show, four Massmouth storytellers tell one well-crafted stories apiece. After each tale, the improvisers take ideas, characters, and situations from the story, turn them upside-down and inside-out, and create insightful and hilarious improvised scenes. Straight from the mouth of Massmouth: "inspired by real-life tales of humor, tragedy, love, and more[, i]t's an entertaining way to spend a Saturday evening." Energizing, uplifting, and very, very funny! WHEN? Saturday, March 16, 2019 8pm WHERE? The Rozzie Square Theater 5 Basile St Roslindale, MA 02131 HOW? $15 general admish/ $10 w/ student ID WHY? Everyone's got a story to tell! Listen close. Saturday, March 16th's 8pm "Stories to Scenes" show will feature Riot Improv mainstage cast members Emily, Mike G., Amy, Eric, and Amancio. Stay tuned to this blog for more info about the three comedy shows that will follow that night at 9:30pm: Pie Hole (Kristina Smarz and Michelle Barbera), Directions... with Steve and Harry (Steve Kleinedler and Harry Gordon), and Maxitor (Jackie Arko, Rachel Klein, and Shannon Connolly)! We're keeping this blog post brief AF, because we're gearing up for what is promising to be one wild ride of a weekend. Tonight (March 8) at 10pm, Riot X makes its triumphant return, presenting 30 original 2-minute plays in just over 60 minutes. Learn more about Riot X, and grab your tickets now!
AND! AND! AND! Tomorrow night (March 9) at 8pm, you can catch the Riot Improv mainstage cast in "Your Quirky Family," our improvised showcase of scenes inspired by YOUR stories about YOUR family dynamics. See your suffering turned into art! It's gone be big. It's gonna be beautiful. We'll see you soon. Meet the faces behind the funny! The Riot is excited to debut our "Meet the Mainstage" interview series. Every week-ish, we'll be publishing conversations with our mainstage cast members. First up is an illuminating (?) chat with one of our newest acquisitions, who you can also see in Riot X's March 8th show: the perpetual-motion machine and literal working stiff: EMILY DUGGAN (pronouns: she/her or they/them) Born and raised (a triplet!) in Boston, Emily has studied, written, and practiced comedy and poetry locally and in Chicago for the last “oh God, it’s already been eight years, somehow.” They work two to six jobs at any given time, most recently as the Royal Scribe for BoardGame Empire, fundraising for Mass Poetry, and in the box office for Boston Ballet. In their free time, they write and perform with Cambridge’s Boston Poetry Slam. Emily joined Riot Improv in October 2018 and Riot X shortly thereafter. You can follow their life onstage and on-page online. HOW DID YOU BECOME INVOLVED IN IMPROV COMEDY? After being rejected from my college’s sketch troupe, Boris’ Kitchen, I auditioned on a whim for a short-form improv troupe, Bad Grammer. I almost didn’t go to the improv audition because I wanted to finish a burrito. But I picked comedic nourishment over actual nourishment. Then the sketch troupe took me the following year, so I was doing improv and writing, performing in, and directing sketch, as well as pursuing stand-up, slam poetry, straight theater, and Playback Theatre. After I graduated, I moved to Chicago to study comedy – stopped, moved back to Boston to study theater education – stopped, worked as an actor/tour guide/gallows-humorist with Ghosts & Gravestones Boston – stopped, moved back to Chicago to study writing and poetry – stopped, moved back to Boston and continued being dead for bread/a working stiff – stopped, and now I find myself here, undernourished and full of ennui. Just kidding! It’s mostly existential anxiety. Despite this, I made a pun last night. YOU REALLY DON’T KNOW HOW TO RELAX, HUH? No. Very no. WHAT WAS THE PUN? My friend was talking about a show being pitched to his network, featuring intimate footage of mothers on the day they give birth, which still needs a title. I suggested “Mater D Day,” with the tagline: “This show is an INVASION of my privacy.” It's both trilingual and historically accurate. …I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO SAY TO THAT. Then I’ll just keep talking. I am excited to be a part of the Riot Theater Company because of the talent, dedication, and élan of the other performers, combined with the fact that I am able to support the theater in marketing and writing capacities. I also recently moved to Jamaica Plain, kinda near the Roslindale border, so I feel more connected to this sector of the city. IN ADDITION TO PERFORMING WITH RIOT IMPROV AND DOING ADMIN WORK FOR THE THEATER, YOU’RE A PERFORMER AND WRITER WITH RIOT X. HOW’S THAT GOING? ALSO, WHAT IS ITS DEAL??!!?! Riot X has been fun! It’s a lot of work, and it's really fulfilling. It’s based off a long-running show from Chicago that I’m not sure I should mention by name. I used to see the show in Chicago all the time, so joining Riot X was a dream come true. The show is unpredictable and versatile and varied and no-holds-barred, and I’ve loved writing for and rehearsing it with the ensemble since last November. Definitely come see it in one of its upcoming monthly iterations, even if (especially if!) you’re dubious about experimental theater or theater generally. Showcasing thirty separate two-minute plays, it’s bound to have something for everyone. And the plays you don’t like will be over soon enough! Like life. THAT’S DARK. ARE ALL THE CAST INTERVIEWS GOING TO BE THIS WEIRD? I mean… if the shoe fits. ON THAT NOTE – AND ON THE SUBJECT OF RIOT IMPROV’S UPCOMING SHOW, “YOUR QUIRKY FAMILY,” THIS SATURDAY, MARCH 9th (8 PM) – MY LATE PATERNAL GRANDFATHER WOULD OFTEN TELL THIS JOKE: IN ANCIENT TIMES, THERE WAS A CREATURE CALLED THE FOO BIRD: AN UGLY, EVIL-LOOKING THING THAT LIVED IN A PARTICULAR VILLAGE. ONE DAY THE FOO BIRD EXCRETED ON A MAN’S HEAD. DISGUSTED, THE MAN RAN TO THE NEARBY RIVER, BUT AS SOON AS HE HAD WASHED THE UNHOLY TURD FROM HIS EAR CANAL, HE KEELED OVER AND DIED. THE NEXT DAY, A WOMAN WAS WALKING OUTSIDE, AND SHE WAS ALSO HIT BY A SYRUPY FOO BOMB. SHE TOO TRIED TO WASH IT OFF IN THE RIVER, AND SHE TOO PERISHED IN THE DOING. THE NEXT DAY, A VILLAGE WISE-MAN WAS ALSO SCATOLOGICALLY STRUCK. OF COURSE, HE WANTED TO CLEAN HIMSELF OFF, TOO, BUT, HAVING WITNESSED THE FATES OF THE TWO OTHER VILLAGERS, HE OPTED NOT TO CLEANSE THE POO PILE FROM HIS FOREHEAD – AND HE LIVED. THUS HAS IT ALWAYS BEEN SAID: “IF THE FOO SH*TS, WEAR IT.” I know. We have the same grandfather. WHAT?! WAIT… YOU’RE LISTED AS THE RIOT THEATER’S BLOGGER. HAS THIS INTERVIEW JUST BEEN YOU TALKING TO YOURSELF THE WHOLE TIME? Yes. Very yes. Portions of this interview have been condensed and edited for clarity, thank God. Want more* where this came from? Buy your tickets now for Riot Improv’s March 9th show, “Your Quirky Family,” and Riot X’s March 8th performance! *If you want LESS of it, don't worry - Emily won't appear with Riot Improv again until Saturday, March 16th, for our "Stories to Scenes" show. Put that in your calendar, haters. Tired of ninety-minute meetings where nothing seems to get done? Exhausted by the three-hour slog of most movies nowadays? Already bored of reading this paragraph? Wait, come back! It'll just be a few more minutes. This Friday, March 8, at 10 pm, Riot Theater Company keeps it short and sweet with the return of our experimental theater experience RIOT X, taking the stage for three nights this spring. Showcasing 30 original 2-minute plays written for and by the Riot X ensemble, this show is performed in a random order determined in the moment by the audience. Perfect for variety-seekers and people who are looking for something different from theater. At turns funny, dramatic, nostalgic, relevant, irrelevant, abstract, always fresh, and never illusory, Boston has never seen anything like this show! Plus, keep your eye on this page for an upcoming chat with Riot-Improv and Riot-X double-dipper and first of our Riot Theater "Meet the Mainstage" cast interviews, Emily Duggan! The clock is ticking! Learn more about Riot X, and buy your tickets now! The buck doesn't stop here. The following night, Saturday, March 9, at 8 pm, Riot Improv presents: Your Quirky Family! Over 60 minutes of scenes made up on the spot, all of them inspired by you, the audience, and your stories about all your drama with your mama. Read more about our Your Quirky Family long-form improv format, and grab your tickets for the show today!
Our March 9 show will feature Riot Improv mainstage cast members Kayla, Steve, Joe, Eric, Amancio, Stuart, and Kristen. We've all got one. That one family member whose odd behaviors, strange choices, or outright ludicrousness of character always keeps the family talking. Your cousin Blake, who works in a morgue... and takes his work home with him. Your uncle Peter, who got too drunk in the backyard and trampled Grandma Sally's begonias... and Grandma Sally. Your aunt Hilda, and her cats... so many cats. Who knew it was legal to own that many cats? Wait... IS it legal to own that many cats? We meant to say: your RENEGADE aunt Hilda, fugitive from justice, and her ferocious feline army. We've all got one. This Saturday, March 2, at 8pm, Riot Improv will pull inspiration directly from YOU, the audience, and all the weird and wonderful your stories you can tell about YOUR quirky family - in order to craft a performance that is fun, funny, and made possible only by YOU! Turn your family drama into improv comedy! Availability is limited, so buy your tickets now! WHO?
This week, the Riot Improv Mainstage Cast features: Stuart, Kristen, Mike D., Zoe, and Eric. WHAT? Riot Mainstage presents: Your Quirky Family! Over 60 minutes of improvised scenes inspired by an interview with one lucky audience member, plus additional, ongoing input from the rest! WHEN? Saturday, March 2 at 8 pm. WHERE? The Riot Theater is located at 5 Basile St, Roslindale, MA 02131. WHY?!!?? OH, GOD, WHY?!!?!??!!??? Hey - if you want to go through the (sometimes EXTREMELY quirky) roller coaster of your family dynamics alone, that's your prerogative. But why not bring us along for the ride? COMING UP NEXT Can't make Your Quirky Family on March 2? (Got other plans? A family reunion, perhaps?) Well, good news! We have another Your Quirky Family show the following Saturday, March 9, again at 8 pm! And stop by the night before to check out our late-night experimental theater troupe, Riot X, on Friday, March 8 at 10 pm. ***Please note that, when Mr. Feeley was unable to perform, pinch-hitters WINDOWSILL & ASHTRAY stepped up and saved the day! A big thanks to our folky friends for inspiring us to be better, weirder people through their music. We look forward to hosting them again for our next Songs to Scenes show on Saturday, March 30, at 8 pm - and keep your eye on this page for a forthcoming interview with the dynamic duo! WHERE? The Rozzie Square Theater, 5 Basile Street, Roslindale, MA 02131 WHEN? Saturday, February 23, 2019, 8 PM WHO? The Riot Theatre Company Mainstage featuring musician Jimmy Feeley WHAT? Witness an eclectic and hilarious mix of improv comedy and live blues music! Riot Improv is ecstatic to partner with local blues musician Jimmy Feeley for an unforgettable night of music and laughter. Songs to Scenes will draw on-the-spot inspiration from Jimmy's music, performed live, to create never-to-be-“scene”-again improv comedy! About Jimmy: Jimmy is a Berklee-School-of-Music-trained guitarist with smoky charisma and a steady blues hand. Through homage to rock‘n’roll titans like Led Zepplin and Eric Clapton, Jimmy breathes modern life into legendary sounds one strum at a time. Jimmy can be seen performing monthly at Winthrop Black Strap BBQ and all around downtown Boston! He and Dennis Bruno of Riot Improv have been self-defense instructors and practitioners at Cervizzi’s Martial Arts Academy in Winthrop for over 20 years. (You can learn more about CMAA self-defense and fitness programs.) About Songs to Scenes: Every fourth Saturday of the month, Riot Improv collaborates with local musicians to create memorable mashups of live music and improv comedy! About Riot Improv: Riot Improv is part of the Riot Theatre Company, based out of the Rozzie Square Theater in Roslindale. We perform weekly improvised comedy shows inspired by family stories, collaborating with Massmouth storytellers, and jamming with local musicians! We are a 501(c) non-profit organization committed to strengthening the Roslindale community through our fully-improvised, undeniably unique live entertainment. Find out more. |
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AuthorEmily Duggan, Riot blogger and performer with Riot Improv and Riot X, is a Boston-raised, Chicago-braised writer and actor. Their recent Google searches include "what is braising," and "why do i insist on making everyhtijng [sic] rhyme." Archives
July 2019
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