This Is How It Starts

It all starts with a stage and maybe a couple of black chairs.
At least this is the case for so many of the comedic greats you see today,
and even more so from years past.
I was thinking about this yesterday before my class at IO as I stared at this old dirty stage and imagined all of the amazing people who have been on it before me.
If you'd like specifics just google "Improv Olympic notable alumni" and you'll get an entire list.
Because I have no idea how long any of this will last, I've forced myself to be a total dork about everything and really try to take in every little moment of it.
(Such as sitting alone in the theatre and snapping photos like the one you see above.)
I also love to soak in the stanky smell of IO when I walk in every Tuesday afternoon.
I've got this habit of walking up the stairs to the theater and drinking in the scent of stale beer
and old cigarette smoke burnt into the walls while I look at the photographs hanging of all the comedic icons from years past.
Did that sound as corny to you as it did to me? Good.

But before signing up for improv classes I was hesitant to join because I heard it was "like a cult."
Tina Fey says so herself.
Being in comedy isn't just commitment, it's a lifestyle.
I take classes two nights a week, and try to do stand up one night a week.
And I am way behind the game.
The good ones are doing it seven nights a week, numerous times a day.
And there are a lot of "good ones" in Chicago. I am consistently blown away by the talent I see,
and actually get to surround myself with at times.
I feel naive for saying this, but before moving here I had no idea that Chicago is the mecca of
comedy and improv. My fellow classmates are from all over the country.
 If you want to be an actor you move to LA, but if you want to be in comedy you move to Chicago.
And if you want to be in the Westboro Baptist Church you move to Topeka. 
Oh Topeker, I miss you. JK I don't, but I might be trying out a new stand-up set tonight all about Westboro.
I'm crossing my fingers they get wind of this and come protest me!

But anyway,
 as of yesterday I have officially finished my first year of classes at Second City.
My "undergrad" is done, from here on out I have to audition to continue moving on.
Yesterday also marked my last level two class at IO as well.
So naturally our class had to celebrate such an accomplishment.



We celebrated from 3:00 p.m. until a few of us had to move onto class at 7:00 p.m. at SC.
As we sat around in some dive bar in Wrigleyville yesterday in the middle of the afternoon drinking
 tall boy Red Stripes and playing Taboo, I looked around the room and felt this odd sense of happiness about where I was, and the incredibly funny people I was surrounded by.
Or maybe I was just getting tipsy by this point...
I've just met so many great people I wouldn't normally have,
 had it not been for the classes I've taken at Second City and IO.
Because this might come as a shock to some of you, but I'm a little bit bad at meeting new people.
I wouldn't say I'm shy, just awkward and uncomfortable.
I usually have to meet someone about five times before I'll start speaking up rather than simply
sitting back and observing.
So here's my PSA for all "quiet-ish people": don't label us stuck up immediately, we're just as uncomfortable as you are in new situations, we just choose to internalize it.

To wrap this up I should say I haven't officially joined the comedic cult just yet,
but I'm certainly not opposed to it either. I've always been a fan of rabbit blood.