Who the heck is this schmuck in my kitchen?

Very interesting night for me. Most of it was pretty unplanned, which is kind of fascinating for me because spontaneity isn’t generally something I’m known for.

Yes, this coming from someone taking improv classes, but anyway…

So, this story starts at work. I was having a rough day, just questioning a lot about my past, and my general self-worth in terms of my career. I mean, really, if I look back to university, I’m hearing about a lot of my former classmates doing great things in our field. In comparison, what the heck am I doing with myself? And why is there so much turmoil at the moment? Anyway, I ended up staying at work for a while just talking with colleagues and discussing my options. As I did I was drinking a large amount of tea just to keep my system busy. Before I knew it, it was past 6 p.m. so I left and decided to walk my frustrations out. Somewhere along the way I decided to just walk along the subway line as far east as I could toward my place. I figured that if I get tired somewhere along the way I could just bail and go underground.

A good 70 minutes or so into my trek, I started feeling the urge to go to the bathroom. Instead of bailing, I decided to just stop at the next available Tim Hortons. I was at the one at Sherbourne and Bloor and ordered a small coffee because I didn’t want to just use the washroom without getting anything–that’s just rude, isn’t it? As I received my coffee I looked around and didn’t notice a washroom. I asked about it and I was told to head to the McDonalds down the road. Curses! I drank my coffee and headed out and saw that the McD was a good distance west. Instead of backtracking I just decided to tough it out and continue eastward.

OK, so I made it to the next subway station, at which point I was totally tempted to quit and head home. However, I saw that I was close to the Bloor Viaduct. I’d always wanted to walk across it so I skipped the station and decided to trek across. Before getting there out of the corner of my eye I saw some guy staggering in my direction. I kind of ignored him and went along my way. As I passed him I smelled that he was smoking a joint. Wow…mildly bold, right? I noticed that at both ends of the bridge there was a phone booth and a sign indicating that if anyone is distressed they should call the listed phone number. Interesting. I mean, I know that the bridge is known for being a hot spot for jumpers, but wow.

After crossing, I made it to the next station, I decided to just proceed eastward because I was rather close to the theatre where I take my improv classes. I was just curious to see what shows were playing this night. I checked the listings in the window but I wasn’t entirely gripped. However, by that point I really had to pee so I ventured inside. Since a show was starting in 5-10 minutes I decided to just buy a ticket. After relieving myself I sat down and took in the show. Playing was Macro Neato, in which advanced students take suggestions and put on a good show. Frankly, I was interested in seeing the improv principles that I was learning be put into action by people that have been doing it for a while. I was able to recognize people making offers and seeing other people running with them. I saw a couple of them struggle briefly, which was comforting to me because it showed that even after a lot of practice and stage time it’s still possible to draw blanks on occasion.

You know, I was prepared to just enjoy the show, but by chance I somehow made it onto stage. No kidding. There was one scene where there were two people working in the back of a kitchen as cooks. They were starting to rebel against their boss when the boss pointed out the angry customers that were still waiting for their food. One of the performers actually sat down next to me. I was wondering what was going on until she said that she and her husband had been waiting for their eggs for ages and were angry at the cooks. It took me a moment before I realized that I was her spouse. I didn’t say anything, but I nodded with the angry wife and tried to look frustrated, too. The cooks complained that they were better at other things. One of them suggested that they used to be in Cirque de Soleil. The performer next to me picked up on that and suggested that they perform. So the cooks went back up on stage. The performer–my wife–headed for the stage too but beckoned for me to come with her. Umm…OK. I didn’t know what else to do so I went up with her. At one point the person playing the boss yelled “Who the heck is this schmuck in my kitchen???” I just shrugged and played along with the wife. When the cooks did a move, the wife clapped and looked at me. I just clapped along furiously trying to look amazed. Aaaand, then the scene ended and I was sent back to my seat. Honestly, that was a lot of fun for me. I didn’t refuse anything that was asked of me and just went with the flow, which is pretty much a big aspect of improv, isn’t it? I enjoyed it.

In the second half of the show they were taking suggestions for movie genres. I threw out burlesque as one. That was tossed out. After a few more from others I yelled out “spaghetti western!” That almost got chosen but the emcee kept going. I finally offered “cheap disaster flick!” which the emcee took and got the ball rolling. All of the improv in that section had to be disaster films. That was fun. They did really well with that suggestion. All in all, it was a great night. After the performance, there was a chance to participate in “The Jam” which is open to anyone in terms of performing. I would have stayed, but I didn’t feel confident enough. Then again, the event was designed for all skill levels. Still, I think I wanted to just head home at that point. Maybe another time.

So yeah, that’s my night. Because of work it could have turned into a self-pity night, but I was able to forget my worries. After a good night’s sleep I can face tomorrow with new vigour.

Possibly related posts:

1. Still have it in the kitchen