And here I am writing about a trip to Colorado again.
As I mentioned last week, dutiful and kind reader, I traveled to Denver for the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Conference. This was my second trip to Colorado this month. And here I am, once again, sitting in the Denver airport, waiting for my flight, and writing about traveling to the centennial state. Why is Colorado called the centennial state? Who cares.
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“I did something bad, Mr. Johnson. Something really bad,” I said with a crazed look in my eye.
I stood on stage in front of a crowd at Rise in Denver.
Rise is an improv theatre run by the estimable Nick Armstrong and Josh Nichols. And here I need you to know that the only reason I linked to Nick’s IMDb page above was to make it seem like I know a celebrity. In fact, when Nick and Josh were sitting and talking with us before the show – they were very kind and welcoming – I confessed to Nick that I always point him during his appearances in The Office and Parks and Rec. I told him that I do this to make sure that people know that may as well have been me. But, in all seriousness, I met Nick and Josh through my work in Happy Valley Improv. They were welcoming during my short visit to Rise. They showed me their theatre. Chatted with us before the show. I love learning about how folks make improv theaters work. It is such a tricky thing to get right. If you are ever in Denver, go check them out. It’s a fantastic space.
Rise has a community jam on Thursday nights, so my friend Ben and I put our names in the hat. We went up with the individual jam and, later, we got a little time in the group jam. Ben is one of my favorite people to do improv with.
“Tell me what you did, Timmy,” Ben’s character Mr. Johnson replied with terror in his eyes.
An unhinged scene about Timmy’s attempt to prepare a Shakespearean monologue for his teacher Mr. Johnson ensued. It culminated with Timmy talking to the skull of the school’s principal who he may or may not have murdered. “Alas, poor Yorick,” indeed. What an absolute delight to do improv with Ben. Ben’s boyfriend took pictures of our performance. Enjoy:
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Aside from a little time on stage at Rise, I connected with colleagues. I attended sessions. Ben and I led a workshop about climate change and improv on Saturday morning. I can’t pretend the week wasn’t overwhelming. AERA is always overwhelming. Still, I’m glad I went.
Traveling tires me out. Conferences tire me out. I’m looking forward to boarding the plane, putting my headphones on, and zoning out. With that, kind reader, here is a final image of my short time in Denver. These are becoming travel blogs.
Samuel Jaye Tanner 