Monday, August 29, 2005

 
No One Hears I.O. Drop the Ball:
Mike Myers, Andy Richter, Rachel Dratch and Amy Poehler - the leading lights of improv and sketch comedy - were improvising gamely on stage, drawn back to Sweet Home Chicago by their love of their comedic alma mater, ImprovOlympic. But due to a jaw-dropping lack of technical planning and a sound failure of catastrophic proportions, most of the sold-out Chicago Theater could hear hardly a single, made-up word.
At Saturday night's disastrous 25th anniversary show for ImprovOlympic (or I.O as it's now officially known [see my post on this]), the free-wheeling, uber-casual, intensely creative atmosphere of Chicago improv ran slap up against the perfectly reasonable expectations of people attending a big 3,500-seat downtown venue, ponying up as much as $75 a ticket, and expecting that someone, somewhere might have thought for a moment or two about their needs
(from Chicago Tribune).

Monday, August 22, 2005

 
How B-way Budgets Ads:
The rule of thumb for what a Broadway show should spend each week on advertising is about 10 percent of a production's weekly potential gross. For Wicked, which has a gross potential of more than $1.15 million each week, that would translate into more than $100,000
(from Associated Press, via Yahoo News).

Thursday, August 18, 2005

 
Schmoozarama 2005 is tonight:
Tickets are $35 at the door and include complimentary beer, wine and hors d’oeuvres from 6pm -10pm at Excalibur Nightclub.
I've been to this networking event in the past and it was fun and I met some good people, however I can't guarantee you will get $35 worth of good time and networking.

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

 
ImprovOlympic is Now Named I.O.:
Score another one for the Gnomes of Geneva pretending they are an amateur, global sports competition. From its headquarters in Switzerland, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has forced the ImprovOlympic to change its name on the brink of the theatre’s 25th anniversary celebrations. Henceforth, the Chicago ImprovOlympic officially is I.O. and the Los Angeles branch is I.O. West, according to founder Charna Halpern.
Everyone really does call us I.O., she says almost cheerily, refusing to get in a snit over a battle she knows she couldn’t win. They threatened to sue me, but they’re not going to sue me because I’m going to obey
(from PerformInk).

 
An article about a blog that's been made into a play; the internet and theatre seem to converge when weblogs become shows (from The New York Times).

Thursday, August 04, 2005

 
How to Negotiate Workshop Tonight:
Polish your negotiating skills and learn new techniques for getting the best deal possible from Michael Donaldson, the author of Negotiating For Dummies, at a special event for IFP/Chicago and Television Academy members.
Thursday, August 4, 6:30 - 8:30 pm
Renaissance Hotel
1 West Wacker, Chicago, Illinois
Phone: 312-235-0161
This is all I know about this, caveat actor (and call ahead to confirm everything).

 
For Student Film Aficionados: The 2005 University Film and Video Association Conference at Columbia College in Chicago offers a selection of screenings, readings, discussions, installations, demonstrations and the Thursday night boat cruise picnic, among its special events, from August 2 to 6.