On Saturday Oct. 7, while most students were enjoying their first visit home of school year, Theatre Fairfield’s improv troupe, “On The Spot,” traveled to New York City to catch a show at one of the Big Apple’s best, The Magnet Theatre.
The Magnet was formed in March 2005, by Armando Diaz, Ed Herbstman, Shannon Manning and Alex Marino. Diaz is one of the living legends in the improv world and The Magnet is a testament to that distinction.
The headlining show on Oct. 7 was one of the city’s premier troupes, “The Tiny Spectacular.” Billed as a show featuring faculty (and Second City Alumni) from The Magnet, Tiny Spectacular truly represents the best of what New York City improv has to offer.
With a relatively small-core cast, various guest players join each week, all looking for a chance to have fun and improvise with each other. The most notable “regular” guest is former Saturday Night Live and major motion picture star Mike Myers, who plays with “Tiny Spectacular” every few weeks.
The cast that night consisted of Rachel Hamilton, Abby Sher, Miriam Tolan, Jean Villepique, James Easton and Jason Matzoukas. The cast is a mix of teachers, well-known improvisers and comedic personalities, sometimes appearing on “The Daily Show,” “The Office,” “The Upright Citizen’s Brigade” and various VH1 programs.
No Myers that night. No matter though, the troupe could not have been funnier.
With an audience suggestion of “Pharaoh,” the troupe took off on a 45-minute free form improvisational journey. The interconnectedness of the six members was mind boggling. If you think the guys on “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” are impressive, the gang in Tiny Spectacular would make your head explode.
While weaving from one hilarious scene to another, the troupe had the audience crying, screaming and stomach-cramping from laughter. Without exaggerating, these guys are funny enough to make you throw up. Each improviser brought a unique and equally amusing energy to the stage to create an extravaganza of laugh-a-minute fun.
As Eberle told the cast of On The Spot after the show, “You’ll always hear that the way to learn improv is to do it, but it’s also really important to get out there and see the best.”
Tiny Spectacular is just that, the best.
Leave a Reply