June 25 – 28 2009 was the second time Girls Girls Girls Improvised Musicals went to Minneapolis to perform in the Twin Cities Improv Festival. We had such an amazing time in the city and the theater last year that we all wanted to come back, and bring some of our new members–Megan and Sarah.
On Thursday, the first afternoon we got there, we checked in to our swanky downtown hotel that was less than $100 a night. (Good find, Erin!) We walked to a nearby bar/restaurant and the party began.
I wasn’t wasted. I just really with my iPhone camera was better in low light.
After resting up at the hotel, we headed out to the Walker Art Museum for their free art night, sponsored by Target, whose headquarters are in Minneapolis. Another reason I love that town. We got a little lost (iPhone flaw #2) but eventually got to the modern art museum and reprized our photo shoot from last year.
After getting art-i-fied, we headed to the Brave New Workshop, one of the oldest comedy theater’s in the nation and the home of the Twin Cities Improv Festival. Now, June is usually a great time to get out of Austin and head north, but this year the Twin Cities weren’t as chilly as we had hoped. And the poor old theater’s AC could not keep up. So the first few nights, the shows were downright steamy. Playing comedy to a hot room is an uphill battle, but still a lot of the troupes seemed to persevere.
Friday was Mall of America Day! We rode the light rail all the way out there. First thing we headed for was the amusement park. We took this creepy yet fun photo and then hopped on a roller coaster. So fun.
As a team, we conquered H & M, then split up to do our own shopping. Since this was the 3rd time I’d been to the Mall of America in about a year, I headed up to the 3rd floor with Sarah to check out the weird stores like the bean bag furniture store or the farm toys store. We found out there’s a putt putt golf course up there too. But it was too late, we had to get back and go to the theater to watch some shows.
The local troupes are really solid in Minneapolis. There seems to be a core of about 15 players that combine in different formations to make 2 and 3 person ensembles. They are super playful, the start scenes with commitment and emotion. They can be smart and dirty and sometimes both. They are really good at fast edits and especially editing with asides. What’s exciting is a couple of Minneapolis troupes are coming to Austin for Out of Bounds Improv Fest, like Lounge-asauraus Rex, Rampleseed, and Splendid Things. All of which I highly recommend.
Saturday we slept in and then brunched at this amazing restaurant called “Hell’s Kitchen.” No, not that one from the TV show. But it was in a humongous basement, had all kinds of creepy art and decor, and had the most amazing peanut butter they made themselves. Megan and I liked it, even through our tiredness.
Saturday we walked around downtown a little bit, did some more shopping (could we get more girly?) we headed to the theater for our tech rehearsal. Butch, one of the festival producers, was there to help us with our tech. He was such a wonderful host, making sure we were well taken care of. And we got all the vitamin water our hearts desired. After tech, Andrea and I went for a run through the beautiful neighborhoods and parks near the theater. We ran by the Gay Pride Festival, which seems to always be the same weekend as TCIF, and got back in time to shower and put on our pinks and blacks for the show.
Before our show, we got to watch an amazing set by the house troupe, Brave New Workshop. Top notch improv, for sure. Here’s some of the ladies in their show clothes watching BNW.
Unfortunately we were warming up downstairs during Jill Bernard’s show, so we missed it. But I wore my nubbies in solidarity with her.
Then it was show time. And guess what our suggestion was? Gay Pride: The Musical! We had a lot of fun using the space in some creative ways. There’s like 10 different levels in the theater, so it’s great for group dance numbers.
This is a scene from Gay Pride: The Musical, where Sarah is a first timer and Kacey, the veteran lesbian, is showing her around. I did a cross as a food vendor and said, “Corn dogs…. Corn pies…”
After our 10pm show, we hit up the closing night party briefly, got some late night Greek food from a convenience store across the street, illegally put 7 people in a 6 person taxi, and rode back to the hotel for a few hours of sleep before our 4am wake up call to head to the airport.
