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COMEDY CENTRAL GIVES HARSH THE THUMBS UP!
click here to read the Comedy Central review
Now Showing in New York City:
Tragic Improv presents Epione
Directed by John Montague
Laugh if you dare!
Epione performs at The Del Close Marathon!
When: Saturday, August 9th at 9 AM (not a misprint)
Where: Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre
307 W. 26th St. (at 8th Ave.)
Trains: C,E to 23rd St.
Cost: 25$ for festival pass
for more info: (212) 366-9176
Epione is:
Helen Abell
Gil Browdy
Darnell Holguin
Alexa Kryzaniwsky
Thomas Poarch
Kelly Reeves
Cathy Simpson
Brendan Wahlers
Chriss Williams
On June 25th, Epione invaded the V Train!
The Plan: Create believable improvised scenarios on a subway car.
The Goal: Unsuspecting riders will not know they are in the midst of a performance.
The Preparation: For the past month, each member of Epione prepared a character for the performance. While all dialogue and blocking was improvised, characters and costumes were carefully constructed.
The Characters:
Cathy Simpson: Religious Fanatic
Brendan Wahlers: Homeless Guy
Thomas Poarch: Old acquaitance of homeless guy, now a successful business man.
Alexa Kryzaniwsky: Ukrainian Singer
Helen Abell: Shy, wholesome girl
Darnell Holguin: Latino gangster who flirts with shy, wholesome girl.
Chriss Williams: Crazy Domineering Wife
Gil Browdy: Wimpy Cowering Husband of crazy wife
The Audience:
In addition to the unsuspecting riders, we invited about 15 audience members to ride and watch. They were instructed to behave like average subway riders.
The Outcome: Total Success!
"So from my experience, it was really interesting playing with
sterotypes and watching how people would react to us. Darnell and I
started getting into character in the holding car and were playing
around with our characters; one guy couldn't stop watching us and
wasn't sure what was going on. Then Darnell walked over to the map to
look at it and the woman that was sitting there grabbed her purse,
pulled it in close to her and pulled her jacket closed. The real
kicker was when we were in the performance car. One guy was annoyed by
us and moved away. Several people clapped after we kissed. And another
person got off the train when we did and told us that he was
monitoring my body language and if I looked at all threatened, he was
going to jump on Darnell. Oh yeah, that guy was a real Women's Self
Defense Coach. Also, apparently when i left the car, some of the
passengers were telling Darnell that i just moved cars and that he
should chase after me. It was a blast"
Helen Abell
"I thought the scene with Helen & Darnell was really authentic, and
the way Darnell responded was great. There was a lot of energy there.
Also Thomas' scene with Brendan was very compelling."
Audience Member
"In the beginning I was focused on the actors, but as I immersed myself in the experince, I became more interested in the raw reactions of the passersby. It was a rad experience, fucking awesome!"
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