The A List plays the Raven tonight

New shortform group THE A LIST will be performing a set at the Raven Lounge tonight, raising money for the Temple film Heroes & Fairies. An acronym for “The African-American Asian Latino Indian Superstar Theater”, the show, created by Ray Reese and billed as “cinema and celebrity based improv,” will run right about an hour. Following the show, the audience is invited to drink and hang out with the cast.

THE A LIST
SUN, NOV. 28TH @ 6PM
RAVEN LOUNGE | 1718 SANSOM ST
$10 CASH AT THE DOOR

Team 2 takes on Operation Rookie Card tonight

Some time back, we held a blind round for Troika… basically just drew names and then folks came down from the audience and did a set on the spot. It seems as though one of the trios drawn together that night had a lot of fun with it and decided to carry on with the match up. Ladies & gents…  luck of the draw brought BJ ELLIS, JESSICA SNOW and BERT ARCHER together. But playfully fun improv has kept them that way.

Now known as TEAM 2, the trio is set to debut tonight as part of the ROOKIE CARD show at the Raven Lounge. Be sure to head on down and show your support for this brand new team!

ROOKIE CARD w/ TEAM 2
MONDAY, SEPT 27TH @ 9PM
RAVEN LOUNGE 2ND FLOOR | 1718 SANSOM ST

Rookie Card and Leo Callahan at Raven Lounge

ROOKIE CARD hosts its monthly comedy show at the Raven Lounge tonight. Between this and its Center City Comedy events, the venue is making a name for itself in the local scene as a place to catch some excellent indie comedy.

Tonight the gang is joined by improv group LEO CALLAHAN, who a short while back hosted them at the Arts Parlor. It’s nice little tit-for-tat, and we all get to laugh in the process. Sounds like a pretty good deal all around.

ROOKIE CARD w/ LEO CALLAHAN
MONDAY, JULY 26TH @ 9PM
THE RAVEN LOUNGE, 1718 SANSOM ST
FREE ADMISSION

Rookie Card w/ APBT tonight

ROOKIE CARD presents It’s About To Get Biblical Bitches tonight at the Raven Lounge (where you can catch them on the fourth Monday of every month). Opening for them tonight are ANGRY PEOPLE BUILDING THINGS.

ROOKIE CARD w/ APBT
MONDAY, MAY 24TH @ 9PM
RAVEN LOUNGE | 1718 SANSOM ST

A chat with Amie and Kristen

Whether you call them the Amie & Kristen Show or the Kristen & Amie Show… the most important thing is that the two ladies onstage are Amie Roe and Kristen Schier; a pair of funny local ladies who, while well established among an assortment of improv groups, are popping up all the more recently as a two woman show.

I had the chance to chat with these ladies and pick their brains about their playing styles and the dynamics of the duo…

What would you say are some of the major differences in doing a two woman show vs a larger ensemble piece?
KS: Mostly you get to play a lot more. No time for thinking on the back line which makes the ride that much more wild.
AR: When you’re in a two-person show you’re constantly engaged. And I’m also focused on just Kristen the whole time. I become really attuned to her every move. Every nuanced thing you do becomes so important, because, with just two people, no bit of information gets lost.

What do you two do to get prepared for a show? Any special warmups or bonding, etc?
KS: Amie and I are best friends. That’s right, I said it. So we know each other pretty well.
AR: Kristen is my best friend. I took the plunge and also said that. We took a class on duo improv shows at the Magnet Theater with Armando Diaz. We had a cute little ritual of taking the bus together to New York, eating at Bagel Maven, taking class, and then riding back to Philly together. So spending that whole day together and having a 3 hour class in the middle of those days with Armando really helped us grow as friends and as a show.
KS: This is were we paid a lot of attention to what the show was, each others playing style and then we took it from there. Before a show we do some talking, some scene work and that is about it.

You are both directors of other shows, and so you have clear visions about things you want to see in improv performances. Of course we all want the audience to laugh… but what other elements do you want your show to showcase?
AR: I want to produce something that’s playful and honest.
KS: There are not a lot of groups in Philly right now doing organic transitions between scenes. So, yeah, we want to expose audiences to that stuff, if they haven’t had a chance to see it before. Really, its nothing new, its just new to the Philly stage. Also I want to show the audience a good time. Amie and I have a lot of fun up there making stuff up and we want that to be contagious.

Many duos fall into roles of straight vs wacky, etc. Do you find one of you playing a type of character/status more often?
KS: Nope. Its mostly different speeds of play that we contend with. Amie tends to play fast, and I slow both of which are great. During our show we almost switch personalities though – so surprisingly it will be Amie who slows a scene down as I find myself speeding things along.
AR: Also, Kristen tends to play the short characters and I play the slightly taller ones.

If your audience could only give a one word review of the Amie & Kristen Show, what would you hope they say after seeing a show?
AR: FUN!
KS: Congradulamatasticwowercise!

There you have it. And if you’re looking for a little congradulamatasticwowercise yourself, you can catch these ladies next Monday as they help Rookie Card ring in their one year anniversary show.

THE AMIE & KRISTEN / KRISTEN & AMIE SHOW
CELEBRATING THE ROOKIE CARD ANNIVERSARY SHOW
MONDAY, APRIL 26TH @ 9PM
RAVEN LOUNGE | 1718 SANSOM ST