Colin and Brad: Take 2!

Holly and Kelly: A lot of you have started following us just within the last few months, so if you would be so kind as to allow us to indulge in a brief trip down memory lane: So remember way back in the day when we were a bunch of young college kiddos completely stoked out of our minds because we met Colin and Brad in Richmond almost four years ago? (In case you didn't remember....this may help jog your memory).  We thought for sure that this gut-busting night of improvised hilarity would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Make that twice-in-a-lifetime.  History repeated itself last Friday night.  Well...almost.

We packed a bag and road tripped down I64 to the city of Ashland, KY, so close to both West Virginia and Ohio that you can see it.  Yes, the dynamic duo of humor were doing a show there that night, and thanks to our awesome trip-planning-guru of a dad, we scored a nice hotel literally a stone's throw away from the venue.  But not before hitting up local eatery Fat Patty's.  Man oh man, that was one glorious open-faced roast beef sandwich! And our waiter was really nice and super awesome. Once we got to the theater we had to wait a bit for the stage to open. We had to buy our tickets separately, so our seats weren't together initially. Right before the show started though, we orchestrated a plan to move a few rows back to some empty seats so that we could enjoy the show together. So we did. And it was glorious!!!!

The sign! 

It was a really funny show! If you read when we saw them in Richmond, you'll see that Holly went up on stage for a game called "Fill in." Whenever prompted, the stage goer had to fill in an incomplete sentence with a word, phrase or whatever. The results were pretty amusing. Well, this time, Kelly got called on stage for the very same game! (There is a video but Holly has it). Then they did the Sound Effects game, which if you've seen Whose Line is it Anyway, you know how that game goes. But if you haven't seen it, you can figure it out. Anyway, our section got to do Brad's sound effects! (see video below). But it was utterly hilarious; and let me tell you having had the experience it is extremely difficult to come up with something clever right on the spot, know that we have both had the experience of attempting to do so. Then like they did in Richmond, they did the "Crime" game, in which Brad (without his prior knowledge) had to guess a crime he committed, verbatim, with a little help from the audience. The crime was as follows:

He duct taped a penguin to the ceiling, lit a cloud on fire in Paducah, KY at Terry's Polar Bear Shaving & Tires & Tubes with a ping-pong paddle. Ya'll, we are not making this up. And yes they did the mousetraps game again. And yes we cringed a lot. Unfortunately, they did not stick around at the end for meet and greets like they did in Richmond, but that's ok. We still had a really awesome time, and it was great for us to road trip, laugh and enjoy each other's company. The time we get to spend together is a treat for us, and we don't ever take it for granted. God has blessed us with a good relationship in which we share a lot of interests, including lots of funnies.

We met Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood! :D What did YOU do today?

Holly: I'm still reeling from the last four hours of my life.  My head still hurts from laughing so hard!  Tonight was the night that Kelly and I have been eagerly waiting for.  Yes, tonight....WAS THE COLIN AND BRAD SHOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't know what I was expecting, but it was phenomenally better than I could have possibly imagined! I was literally laughing every five seconds, laughing so hard at some points that I thought I was either going to hyperventilate or my head was going to explode!  But shhhh, we managed to sneak in a couple of vids (which will be on tomorrow...maybe....Kelly??).

For me, though, the most memorable part of the event was that I was actually called up to go on stage and do a scene with them!!!! The audience may not have known it, but I was terrified!!  And trying not to panic, because I was looking straight at Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood!  And excited (because, hey, I was like 2 feet away from COLIN MOCHRIE AND BRAD FREAKING SHERWOOD!).  Like...they shook my hand! AAH! :D  But anyway, the game involved the audience members (me and three others) completing Colin and Brad's sentences whenever they signaled us.  According to my friends, I was the funniest one out of all of them, but, personally, I think I was horrible!  Being on stage for however long I was up there...it felt like forever...and being put on the spot was so difficult! Having said that, I applaud (and admire moreso) Colin and Brad for just being sheer comedic GENIUSES!  That's it. 
After the show Kelly and I waited in line to meet them/have them sign stuff/have our picture with them!  They are so nice!! And Colin is so adorably shy! :)  I told him that Kelly and I were twins, and he said, "Oh are you?"  AAH! :D

One of my favorite games they did was called "Crime" (I think?), and what happened is that Colin left the room and Brad had the audience shout out the randomest things in order to devise a "crime" for Colin to commit.  However, since Colin didn't know anything we were saying, Brad served as the interrogator and had Colin try to guess our sillyness, word for word.  And he did!  This is what we, the collective audience, came up with:

On November 18th, 2011, Colin Mochrie admitted to mailing a hamburger to India and peeing in the playground at nighttime, in Big Bone Lick, at Zeke's Otter Farm and Tattoo Shop, whilst leaving behind at the scene a "murse" (man purse) and Uncle Willy's Special Blend. 
No, I didn't just make that up. 

This night is going to be a hard one to top.   I'm just sayin'. 

Kelly: I still remember what I was doing when Holly told me she ordered the tickets; I was still 3,000 miles away gallivanting in beautiful Scotland. I still remember when Holly first called me and told me they were going to be in Richmond. "Kelly, are you sitting down?" "....yes, why, what's going on?" "Ok, just listen. I was looking at their website...and Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood are going to be in Richmond on November 18." *drops phone and screams*

It seemed so far away at the time when I received this call, which was in early July. And now, the fun-filled night is over. I'm so very sad that this night is indeed over, yet very glad it happened at the same time. I had....NO idea what to expect, but it was 10000000x better than what I expected. Seeing sis on stage too was definitely near the top of the list; she did so great!! I'm a proud sister! ^__^

Definitely the top part of the night came at then end when we got to meet them. Both were very friendly and were willing to put up with me trying to not act crazy. I think I scared Colin a little bit too; when I get really nervous, I just babble and talked about stupid stuff. I asked if they were both all right and were reeling from the dreaded mouse traps. I could barely watch; it made me cringe. Brad warmly told me it made them cringe too. WHY then, good sirs. WHY???? So we got our geeky fan pic, I shook their hands, put my coat on and that was it. Just like that; the night was over. This night was exactly what I needed. This night, whenever I am angry or sad or whatever, will be engrained in my mind to help me get through. This night will stick in my memory as I lay my head down momentarily to sleep. This night will stick with me throughout tomorrow as I have my...2nd MRI done and it will help me to remember the good times. Thank you, Colin and Brad, from the very bottom of my heart. Cheers!!

No picture will ever be this awesome

Holly, our friend Ray and me. Just arriving at the Center

The after show meet and greet. We were so nervous!!!

The moment you've all been waiting for!!!!!!!!

Love this.

Holly on stage with the guys!!!!!!!! 

Learning to Love Laughter: A Whose Line is it Anyway tribute

Kelly: Holly and I would like to talk about something we love very much, other than Jesus Christ, our family, friends, each other, Berea College, etc. Yep, this is another "this is why we love this" blog. But today's topic is actually regarding a television show, one of our favorite television shows to be exact. I'm not saying it IS our favorite, because MY favorite of anything changes every five seconds or so, so I'll just say it's one of our favorites. I think you get the point. Anyway, today we're talking about Whose Line is it Anyway? If you don't know what that show is, I pity you.

Our love for this improvisational comedy started.....oh, man I can't even remember. I watched it on and off in high school when I could, and at one of my friend's birthday parties we did some improv and had a great time! Holly took a drama class in high school, but she probably could tell you more than I can (I'll have her mention the gun story. Don't worry; nobody was hurt). But going on, it wasn't until this summer when Holly and I were on campus in our cozy basement room and for some reason we just wanted to start watching it again. So we did. I actually found a website (thank you Lord for stumbleupon) about a year ago that has EVERY SINGLE episode, both the US and UK versions online!!!!!!!!! Every night though this summer, we would watch 2 or 3. Some had us chuckling every now and then, while some had us on the floor in tears laughing so hard. Seriously, I LOVE COMEDY. Laughter in my opinion is the best medicine; for me it
provides distraction, relieves the stresses of nursing school and allows me to spend time with my sister. And it's contagious! One part of an episode sometimes keeps us laughing for days!!

Now though, since sis and I are so busy, we usually watch Whose Line once a week, sometimes 2 days a week. Every time though we get the same satisfaction of living just a few seconds longer. I read a study on the internet that said every time you laugh you live 2 seconds longer. I think I just added 10 years to my life since we started watching Whose Line again. And the best part? NOVEMBER!!! What's going on in November? Well, the definitely us going to Richmond (about 15 mins. away) to see a live performance from none other than Colin and Brad (2 regulars from Whose Line!) I've read NOTHING but good reviews, and I must say I am so freaking excited beyond belief! 6 weeks on Friday! November 18. Remember that day, folks. I close with this; laugh. Find something, anything, every day that makes you laugh. You will be amazed at how much better you feel. That's all. Off to bed; my butt's gotta get up at 4:00. No, not PM. Cheers!

Holly: Oh man, this is so great!  I really have nothing conducive to add to this (other than my pathetic attempt at improvisational comedy), so I will just reiterate what my dear sister said and say that I will cherish those basement room memories, and the countless times since then, for the rest of my life: growing closer as sisters and laughing at four fully-grown adults making complete goofs out of themselves and getting numerous laughs from just a couple of stressed-out college kids! And I do agree and fully support the theory that laughing really does make everything better. 

Ok, now for the story, and I promised myself that if I ever got the opportunity to meet ANYONE from Whose Line that I would share this story (so Brad and Colin, beware): My junior year of high school I did backstage work for the drama club, and one day my teacher/the director asked me if I would play a small, non-speaking role as "the killer" in the play (I wasn't even credited...no one really even knew it was me, except the cast and crew).  Of course, I enthusiastically agreed, but the only condition was that I had to fire a gun onstage.  Don't worry...it was just a starter pistol loaded with blanks.  Opening night comes around, it's a totally packed house, and the lights go down and it's my time: I tiptoe on stage in my all black and earphones (yes, it was loud), and I go to pull the trigger and I hear a "click".  Nothing happens.  I pull the trigger a few more times, but "click", "click", "click".  Not even a few seconds have passed, and, realizing the gun is not going to work for me, I yell "BANG!" as loud as I can.  The audience completely erupts in laughter and (bless their hearts) the cast continues as if the gun went off. 

All I have to say is, 1. thank God the play was a comedy, and 2. my teacher/director absolutely LOVED the "bang!", so much so that it was kept in for the next two shows! 

I am also completely stoked out of my mind for November.  Just in case you didn't already know that.  Hope you've laughed today.  :)  If not, then, watch the video below (it's Kelly and I doing what we love to do on a Friday night).  Blessings. 

Have you laughed today? :)

(video shooting courtesy of my roommate Amanda!)

Long live Improv!

Kelly: It is with a sad mind that I write this blog today. Last night, via Twitter, I read from countless Improv actors that the Game Show Network has cancelled Drew Carey's Improvaganza (a spin-off of Whose Line is it Anyway?). After one season, and now it's finished. I read more of Twitter, and to my wee anger, one actor (Jeff Davis) heard of the news by devoted fans such as ourselves. I don't know about you, but I'd be pissed! It makes me sad that the most important roles that made a TV show such as this had to find out from...us. Seems common courtesy is so hard to come by these days *long sigh.* I must say, the show will be missed. As a Whose Line fan since high school, I was so excited when I heard something similar was coming back on the air. However, I still do watch Whose Line every now and then, thanks to stumbleupon and a devoted fan that made EVERY episode available online!!! Thank you, devoted fan!

Though I am sad, I am also looking forward to my future in the improv world. Holly and I will NOT let improv die; in fact, we are planning our 22nd birthday to be very improv-centered. Though it's in April, we've already made plans and have jotted down our favorite games and started making suggestions for scenes. I know, we're crazy, but we're YOUNG and crazy. In other words, we have the free time to do so. Anyway, back to my impending excitement. I must share this story now. When I was still at home, I received a phone call from Holly, who was in England at the time. Apparently, she was curious and looked up tour times for the Colin and Brad show (two actors from Whose Line and Improvaganza who do their own tour across the US). When I pick up the phone, she tells me "you might want to sit down." So I went outside and sat down. And then she told me, THEY'RE COMING TO RICHMOND, KY! Richmond is, no joke, like 15 minutes away from Berea. I screamed. Yes, a full-on scream! Stay tuned, faithful readers, for on November 18 at 8:00 PM, we will be seated at the EKU's Center for Performing Arts in Orchestra seating. I'm still in shock when I think about it, not to mention I still owe Holly $30....working on that.

So readers, though I am sad that I cannot turn on the TV, hoping for a repeat of "Flap My Jack," but I have a gut feeling that for some reason we have  not seen the end of Improvaganza. It's just the optimist in me! :) That's all for now; classes in the afternoon await me. Cheers.

Holly: Long live Improv!!!!!!!!! What I have learned over the years from watching Whose Line and other improv shows is that improv is an art.  I personally SUCK at it and I do realize that everything done on stage, whether the Whose Line stage or the MGM Theater, is entirely made up, on the fly, just like that!  They make it look so easy, and it's a joy, a real joy, to be entertained as such.  It's brilliant, exceptionally brilliant! That's all I can say.

I was still reading the news on Twitter when my roommate came in and I proceeded to inform her that Improvaganza hadn't been picked up for a second season.  What she said sort of struck me, but at the same time, with this generation and TV, it's painfully true: she said that TV lately has been getting cancelled left and right because it's not Jersey Shore, True Life, any other pathetic "reality" shows.  I'm using "pathetic" and "reality" lightly.
So, dear Colin, Ryan, Drew, Jeff, Chip, Sean, Jonathan, Heather, Kathy, and anyone else who provided me such giddiness from Improvaganza: I wish you all the best and hope that future endeavors are soon provided. I'll miss the happiness that your pure, genius, uninhibited talent gave me.

P.S. The last link is "Flap My Jack." Enjoy :)