Before
I’ve been co-hosting HUGE Theater’s Space Jam—an open improv showcase—since 2015. The weekly jam allows anyone over the age of 18 to sign up for unscripted performance time with a randomly selected group, and each group gets to share the stage with the host and a local performer of high renown.
But when COVID-19 shut down Minneapolis’ favorite long-form theater only hours before our regularly scheduled Space Jam, I decided it was my duty to make sure the jammers could still get their improv fix.
During
I didn’t announce it. I didn’t plan it. I just went to the Space Jam at HUGE Theater Facebook Page, and posted exactly what I would have shouted in the lobby, had nothing been canceled:
What followed was a long thread of silly one-word-stories, “acting” with GIFs, and an overall good time. There was no mention of a pandemic, or that improvising via text is out of the norm. It was just good-natured fun to shake off the bad news.
By request, I brought it back the next two weeks, but with a slight variation: I led one-way live video streams with games that promoted physical activity, and exercises for honing improv skills. With everyone locked up inside their homes, and feeling even more alone than they may have felt before the crisis, I felt it was my duty to provide some sort of togetherness. I had no idea how effective it actually was.
After
I found out not long after that the leadership at HUGE Theater nominated me as March 2020’s HUGE Hero of the Month! Even though I thought I was just doing what hosts are supposed to do, it’s a huge honor to be recognized.
HUGE Theater is my home away from home. Their community is so warm and welcoming and loving. They’ve given me training for my performance career, a stage for my ideas as a producer, and countless life lessons. They’re constantly working to better the scene, and I can tell you firsthand that it’s working.
Please consider donating to HUGE Theater during this difficult time.