Q&A: The Little Big Show with Megan Gray
Taking over the 7:00 Thursday night slot, The Little Big show is here! This new show will feature a variety of Magnet performers from many different teams. We asked Megan Gray for deets and she gave them--in addition to some excellent object work.
What's Little Big Show all about?
What's any improv show about, really? (she says as she looks out the window wistfully, "Dreams" by The Cranberries plays in the distance) ...wait, sorry. The show is all about bringing together improvisers from different teams, different levels of experience, to improvise in different ways, in the hour-long format. Kind of like the first season of "The Real World."
Word around the water cooler is that this show is a "spiritual successor" to the Tiny Spectacular, one of the first big shows at Magnet. Care to confirm or deny?
Get this microphone out of my face! (looks to the left and right, leans in to whisper) Confirm.
The Little Big Show does a form called Club Sandwich. What is a Club Sandwich?
(goes to the highest shelf of the improv bookcase, pulls out a thick tome, blows a layer of dust from the cover, opens to page 23 and reads) The Club Sandwich is an improv form that starts with a patient, relationship based scene that might go a little longer than most opening scenes, and played realistically. That opening scene then inspires a deconstruction of ideas, which then inspires a second beat of the opening scene, more deconstruction and, then a final third beat of the opening scene. The three beats serve as the bread, where the deconstruction serves as the inside of the sandwich. The deconstruction doesn't have anything to do with the source scenes, but draws from themes, ideas and specifics from the source scene -- kind of like the monologues in The Armando Diaz Experience (Saturdays at 7:30pm).
Who's going to be performing in it?
A mix of Megawatt, Musical Megawatt and former Block Party performers. Specifically Samara Breger (Kittyhawk), Kevin Cragg (Junior Varsity), Dennis Pacheco (The Music Industry), Alex Braslavsky (Sweetheart), Rob Penty (Sexy Baby), Sarah Poirier (Big Whoop), Billy Soco (Big Whoop, Kittyhawk), Christine Chan (Kittyhawk), Tracey Gordon (Gem), Tom Sanchez (Scout), Adam Payne (Winston), Amanda Rothman (Sweetheart) and Alex Kornfeld (Sweetheart). Kind of like the improv version of the 1995 Chicago Bulls.
Why combine different "disciplines" of improv?
Why not? (she says as she looks....) Sorry, I started another wistful montage in my head. As an improv teacher, I love when there's an improv show that can be a great example for my students to see, to make them excited to do more improv, expose them to different ways to improvise and challenge them to be better. That's my goal with the show and my desire to combine different improv approaches.
What are you hoping to achieve with Little Big Show?
Fame and riches. Isn't that why we all do improv?
Get your tickets to The Little Big Show, every Thursday at 7:00pm! Only at Magnet Theater!
