This month we are very excited to be able to sit down with David Escobedo of The Improv Boost to talk everything about the comedy art form! Over the next few weeks we will talk about everything from performance to writing impro books! As an added bonus this month we have also dedicated Improv Corner to Dave as well and over the next few weeks there are some really interesting topics that are being highlighted. Today we speak to Dave about what have been some of his favourite scenes her has been a part of.

What have been some of your specifically favourite scenes you have created so far in a show and why?

Such a loaded question. There are *so* many. Not that I am the reason why they were good, but because I’ve been doing improv for almost 30 years with so many incredible people. 

I’ll just give you a couple.

One time I was part of this team and we performed in this 5-minute slot.  I think I threw the team together just for that show.  And my friend Corey Taft – one of those people I LOVE doing improv with – was doing a scene where we discovered there was a dungeon below the Oscars Award Ceremony and he played the most endearing torturer ever. As a person, Corey will ramble a little bit (I love it when he rambles).  So, his character came out to “check on everybody” and started rambling and from the side lines I said “20 Mins Later.”  And Corey continued as if he was still rambling to all the people in the dungeon but like 20mins later.  And I said it again “20 Mins Later” and Corey kept the game going. But the thing is he said “… turns out it was a ponzi scheme.”  And from the sidelines I just DIED LAUGHING.  It was soooo funny. Because he started in the middle of a sentence and to say “…turns out it was a ponzi scheme” means he had just finished explaining this boring scam and it was just the absolute perfect framing for “I was rambling about nothing.” And who’s mind goes immediately to “ponzi scheme?” Who has that reference in their mind, right on hand!?  I’m laughing just thinking about it.

Another time was in Copenhagen with my team Mind MELT. Before arriving at the festival we were told we would go up at 8:00PM. We all met at the theatre at 5:30PM checked in early, got our passes, and then we walked to get dinner. We had this AMAZING dinner at this place where the mozzarella cheese was SO FRESH it was like a bubble of liquid.  OMG.  So we walk back to the theatre – we believe – an hour early.  We walk in and my wife goes to use the bathroom. The team on stage, is good and they do one last sketch and sit down.  We’re just getting settled, and the host walks up to the stage and obviously starts vamping for time. They start saying:

“We’re just waiting for the next team.”

US: Oh, that team is not here for their time slot?  That is so unprofessional.

“It’s four people, and we just want to know if anybody is here from their team?”

US: Hey, we’re four people…

“They’re from the UK.”

US: Another team from the UK, that’s cool.

“So, I’m going to have to fill time till they get to stage….”

US: What if that was us?

Then my friend Liam yells from the audience, “Is that the team Mind MELD?”

HOST: “Yes.”

LIAM: “That’s us….”And then we ran up to the stage while one of us was still in the bathroom, so we just danced to the transition until we were all ready. To be honest the first scene was a little slow … it was fun but we all felt (I think) a little thrown off. We didn’t get a chance to warm-up, put on our costumes, or really prepare.  BUT THAT’S IMPROV!  And that set … TO THIS DAY became one of my FAVORITE sets. It was SO FUNNNY! We found this game about how our lungs have biceps and how babies have smoking habits but have to break them before they’re born.  I pulled someone on stage and they became another player in the show! A lot of that credit is to the team just trusting, “we’ll find something.” Literally, a FANTASTIC memory. 

What had happened was two things: a team had cancelled so they had moved us up 30mins, and we didn’t know that.  And secondly, the team that we had walked in to, was supposed to 30mins and barely went 10mins.

It was so fun.  What a fantastic energy.