TIM (The Improvised Musical) has been my Thursday night for the past 3 years. If I don't have another show going on, you can find me at ComedySportz Milwaukee, hanging out with the only musical improvisers in the city of Milwaukee.
TIM was invited to participate in the New York Musical Improv Festival at the Magnet Theatre in New York City. We were one of four groups featured in the Initial Public Offering (IPO) series, which is for up-and-coming Musical Impov groups from around the North America continent. Apparently, about one hundred groups applied for these slots, and we got one!
We did a bit of fundraising to get there. We had a raffle, an IndieGoGo, and a special performance that featured Cabaret-style solos. Eventually, we were able to rise above the initial goal we set.
The Festival was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, I was unable to see any other performances outside of the 3 other groups in our set. Considering the amount of talent that was featured in the IPO, I can only imagine that the featured groups were astounding! TIM was well received. We had a lot of loud laughter and cheers. We had a couple of twists and turns in our story. We did what we did best -- we focused on the relationships, told a story, and had the beautiful TIMBand there to lead us and back us up. There was some great chorus work as well. The group's energy radiated to uplift the individual members of the group, propelling everyone to do a great show.
As I told the group: I know that many of our members had moments of clarity and awe as we were walking around the streets of NY, about to perform in the NYMIF. As one of our members said: we got to perform in the theatre district of NYC on a Friday night! This trip reminded me of how good we are, and it makes me want to continue to strive to be the best version of TIM we can be. We've come a long way, but the road ahead is even longer.
I am excited for the possibilities that await us. The NYMIF opened the door to many connections around the US and Canada. Who knows....maybe TIM will be able to visit a city near you!