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Improv

Comedy Improv is Back at Black Box Theater

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The Black Box Improv Theater is back! Starting tonight (which is sold out) the laughs return to the stage with a new ownership group. Originally founded in 2012 by Justin Howard, he has turned his focus to corporate consulting.  With the Covid-19 pandemic, the theater closed its doors in March of 2020 unsure what the future held. Thankfully, in the summer of 2021, ten veteran performers and instructors pulled together to take over the space and return the theater to a viable entertainment option for the southwest Ohio region.

Kevin Carter, Garrett Geilenfeldt, James Fritchman,  Othalia Larue,  Jason VonVille,  Teri Herbstreit,  PJ Lindsay, Jonathan Sauline and Bryan Lakatos now share the tasks required to operate the theater.  Some teach, some perform, others handle legal responsibilities, accounting and marketing.  They all pitched in for a big clean up and refresh day, handling some repairs, painting and other refreshes to the space.  They’ve even applied for a liquor license- but for now it’s BYOB.

Shows that are inspired by audience suggestions will be Wed – Sun nights, after this weekends grand re-opening. They feature long form improv featuring  locally grown improvisors and we have a variety of shows ranging from hour long shows based on your personal stories to a local favorite, our improvised musicals!  Our musicals feature the former music director of Second City, Trey Stone.

Another major part of Black Box are the Improv classes.  They are a great way to improve public speaking skills, overcome shyness, meet new friends, and more! In Level 1, students learn to be comfortable and have fun on stage using the #bbimprov approach to improv comedy. They will focus on learning to actively listen and responding in a “YES AND” manner. The listening and awareness techniques you will learn can be invaluable in your personal life, or at your work.  In Level 2, students continue to learn how to be comfortable and have fun on stage using the #bbimprov approach to improv comedy. The  focus is on the rules of improv, including beats, escalation and scene edits.​ More information about classes will be posted to there website soon.

The Black Box Improv Theater

518 East 3rd Street,
Dayton, OH 45402
contact@daytonblackboximprov.com​
Shows:
Wed 8pm $5
Thurs 8pm $10
Fri & Sat 8pm $15

Doors open 30 minutes before showtime and seating is first come, first served. Theater and Stage are both handicap accessible and the showroom seats about 100.

 

 

New Improv Class Starts Sunday

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Ever though about doing improv comedy?  Well here’s your chance.  Comedian Karen Jaffe will be leading a Short Form Improv class starting this Sunday from noon -2pm.  This eight week course will end with a final public performance in late March/early April – date tba.

It is an adult class, with a minimum age requirement of 16. The ideal student is someone who wants to learn how to be “in the moment” more. You don’t need to be funny, in fact it’s mostly about learning how to listen and be on a team. According to Karen, “This class is not as much about acting like other classes can be. This is more about communication and interpersonal skills, but it happens to be really fun.”

Short Form means short fun games or exercises that last about 2 to 5 minutes, such as a group doing a collective task (like building a machine with each performer becoming one of the parts) or playing scenes with specific conditions imposed (such as starting every sentence with a particular letter). Performers are encouraged to use their  spontaneity and overcome shyness. The performers often start with a prompt, making up the story as they go along. Although they improvise, the process draws on time-honored principles—the first among them being “yes, and.” Simply put, “yes, and” means performers accept whatever their scene partners do or say as part of the reality of the scene and then build on it with their own contributions. They must be present in the moment, listening carefully, and contributing freely. These skills turn out to be particularly useful in workplaces that rely on adaptability. The television show Whose Line Is It Anyway? is short form improv.

Your instructor, Karen Jaffe, has been making people laugh since the age of six, when she punched an actor from Sesame Street LIVE in a rather sensitive area in front of a theater full of people. However, she didn’t think about making people laugh on purpose until she studied improv at The Second City Conservatory in Chicago. After Chicago, she moved back to her hometown of Dayton, Ohio and tried stand up for the first time. An unnamed number of years later, she is still doing stand up in clubs and venues all over the US and Canada, and she teaches improvisational comedy to stand up comics. Her podcast, “Everybody Dies,” is available on Facebook.

How To Attend:

Wiley’s Comedy Club
101 Pine Street in the Oregon District

8 week class, $100
Sunday 12-2, Jan 19 – March 8

Plan on showing up about 15 minutes early to register prior to the first class.

 

Los Angeles Comic Comes Home to Dayton Roots

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Dayton native back after a 16 year stint in Los Angeles

Typically we feature Food Adventure jaunts to local food joints, but today here is a story of a local comedian friend who will be feeding the crowd some comedy next weekend.  It is the “in progress” story of a man settling in from L.A. back to Dayton.  For 2 years and 2 months he has been back in the Miami Valley (not that he’s counting).  It has given him time to reflect and process where he has been, and see how he can use those skills to further develop a career in his hometown.

Matthew Barnard grew up in Centerville, Ohio and moved to Los Angeles in the late 1990’s to pursue a love of all things entertainment.  This included writing, acting, producing, directing with a heavy dose of improv and stand up comedy.   After 16 years in the city of Angels, he came back home to Dayton in 2015.  He has continued to feed his passion for comedy and entertainment, which is near and dear to his heart.

One example of  his current works is getting familiar with the comedy scene in Ohio.  Matt will be performing at Wiley’s Comedy Club on Sunday,

Matt at Wiley’s Comedy Joint

April 30 at 8 pm with lots of local comedians in an open mic format.  He has recently performed there and other comedy clubs in Cincinnati, etc.  It is really second nature for this seasoned artist.

 

MATT’S COMEDY and ENTERTAINMENT RESUME:

Matt trained in comedy at places like The Groundlings, ACME Comedy Theatre, Improv Olympic and Second City-Los Angeles.  One of his long running improv groups was “Swordfight” which included comedians who had won Oscars in Animation.  One of his comedy mentors, Peter Murrieta,  is a two time Emmy winner as a comedy writer.

Matt (right) in a scene from “Spin the Bottle” on Youtube

Matt worked for Paramount Pictures music division, Dreamworks, The Hollywood Reporter, The Celebration Theatre (the longest running gay themed play and theatre company in LA) and the Writers Guild of America.  He rubbed shoulders with many brilliant performers, some who went on to success, such as Tessa Thompson, who played the main love interest in the 2016 movie “Creed.”

 

FOND MEMORIES OF L.A.

Matt (right) in an Improv group in Hollywood

Matt always says “Comedy broke me out of my shell, expanded my perspective and made me willing to tap into any situation and never be afraid.”

He enjoyed living in LA during his late 20’s and 30’s, but as time went by, the big city can grind on anyone.  After 16 years, it was his desire to return to his roots and begin new ventures.  But coming home to the Midwest brings new challenges and new obstacles.

Being a gay man in L.A. was easy.  So many people are “out.” and it’s no big deal. to find friends and network with people in show business who have an artistic streak.

Matt Barnard on the mic

Dating can be tougher when you are not in a big city and even if you are in a metropolis, dating that leads to committed relationships can be difficult as well.  Matt used to say “it can be tough to find a great Regaytionship”.  And a new term and company was born!

Earlier this year, Matt launched Regaytionships.com, a personalized match-making service for the LGBT community.  For more info on membership, please visit Regaytionships.com or for marketing, blog, advertising, PR or other business related questions, please send an email to regaytionships@gmail.com.  Or follow them on twitter.

It was this new confidence that lead him to write, create and co-star in his own scripted web series “Spin The Bottle” which was accepted by FunnyOrDie.com and has achieved over 600,000 hits.  Another goal of Matt is to keep that series going, possibly with local filmmakers.  He would also like to move on to other acting, writing and producing projects that he has up his sleeve.

Matt Barnard

Matt may have left the capital of entertainment behind, but it’s still deeply rooted in his heart and mind.

Come see Matt and other comics April 30th at open mic night.  Eat, Drink and be Merry…

WILEYS COMEDY CLUB
101 Pine Street
Dayton OH 45402
937 224 5653

“SUNDAY COMICS”-APRIL 30th
$5 ADMISSION

Here is the food and drink menu at Wiley’s, may we suggest the Cheese Con Queso and the Pulled Pork Sliders as two “MUST EATS.”

Turn it into a Food Adventure.

 

Matt acting in his web series “Spin the Bottle”

We would be remiss if we didn’t ask Matt about his favorites…. comedy and foodwise …

Matt Barnards favorite comics:

  • Ellen DeGeneres  
  • Kathy Griffin 
  • Ross Matthews 
  • Joan Rivers
  • Margaret Cho

Now of course we must ask him about his favorite restaurants…

Matts favorite restaurants in Dayton:

  • Roost
  • Carrabas
  • China Cottage 
  • Amar India
  • His Moms Kitchen – she makes a great shepard’s pie

See you at the comedy club !!!!

Food Adventures is a local food blog run by Chef House, Hungry Jax and the Big Ragu.  We leave no plate unturned.  Original events, original weekly articles on MostMetro, an original website, and a Facebook following that will knock your socks off !  

Matt Barnard at Wileys Comedy Joint

The Black Box Improv Theater – A Taste of Chicago in DYT

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Justin Howard had a vision to offer Dayton something unique, cool, entertaining – a taste of Chi-town in the DYT. And he’s had quite a trip to get here. Introducing The Black Box Improv Theater.

After graduating from Tipp in ’01, Howard headed to Wittenburg as a football player. An injury took him out of the game and landed him with his first opportunity as a dorm R.A. One of the perks of the job is priority registration, and he decided to take advantage of it. After hearing that the most popular class is Improvisation for the Theater, he decided to give it a shot.  One class and he was hooked.

Chicago-style Improv

You know Chicago style pizza, Chicago style hot dogs, and even Chicago style grammar guides. When his wife took a job in Chicago, it was time for Howard to learn Chicago-style improv. After his intro class in college, plus some experience writing, teaching and directing, Howard wanted to continue his artistic pursuits. He plugged into iO (formally Improv Olympic) to learn about the classic Chicago-based long-form improvisation style.

Opening night cast included David Michaels, Beth Conley, Kristen Howell, and Black Box founder Justin Howard

Most people are familiar with the “Whose Line…” style of improv where funky characters, witty one-liners, and quick responses are the goals. In this “short form” improv – the scenes come alive in an almost sporty way – encouraging  winners among the cast for who can be the funniest. Long-form values the funny, but focuses on the story, so it’s more laughter based on the surprise of where the characters go and less of the shock-factor. Often there’s no story at all in short-form (just jokes); the story in long-form is woven among many characters and carries the full length of the show. Howard explains it as, “a completely improvised one act play, complete with multiple characters each with unique relationships often intertwining in ways that seem like they were written ahead of time.  This is different from short form improv where a set of rules dictate a specific scene that begins and ends before a new set of rules dictate another scene. In short, we’re going to get on stage, start improvising and about an hour later you walk out saying “there’s no way they made that up” but we did.”

“Dayton is a Blank Slate”

According to Howard, the history of innovation exists today, but Dayton is still being redefined. He believes the arts are one of the strengths of the region and he’s excited to bring his unique form of improv to Dayton. Beyond the opportunity to help re-define Dayton as an arts town, Howard was attracted to the excitement, vibe and spirit of the downtown area. He and his wife recently moved from the suburbs to a house in the Oregon District where they get to enjoy accessibility of walking to work, restaurants, and the theater. Personally, he’s excited to be downtown, but there are great business benefits, too. Now, improv will be one of those walkable downtown destinations.

Howard also noticed immediately the great support of the Dayton community.  He’s found a home at the Cannery District on Third where the owners and fellow businesses have been really supportive. He’s excited by the feeling that residents, businesses and community volunteers all seem to be invested in his success as it plays into the success of our region. Whereas the ‘new thing’ is a big deal for a short time in some communities, only to be cast aside when the next fad comes along, Howard sees Dayton as a community where long-term relationships are developed.

How to go:

Long-form improv is new to Dayton, and Howard is excited to provide entertainment and education (classes forming soon!) available now.  Tickets are $9 and can be purchased online or at the door for their 9:30 PM shows on Fridays and Saturdays.

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