Improv Mon Sep 28 2009

The Tweet Life

With social networking sites penetrating every aspect of our lives, it was only a matter of time until it got to our improv comedy as well. The Playground is currently presenting "The Tweet Life," a long-form improvisational show that utilizes an audience member's Twitter feed to help shape their show.

To choose the subjects of their show, The Playground asks twitterers (tweeters?) to follow @the_playground and @ reply "i want in on #thetweetlife." A random twitterer is selected (though presently the people following The Playground on Twitter tend to be fellow comedy folks), and prior to the show their tweets from the prior week are printed on slips of paper and given to the cast. Instead of asking for a suggestion, like in a traditional improv show, the show starts with someone reading a tweet, and throughout the show new tweets are thrown into the mix.

A show such as this could easily rest on its laurels and allow the conceit of the show to do the work, but "The Tweet Life" is serviced not only by a talented cast of performers, but the show is fortunate not to be overly reliant on the Twitter concept. Instead of recreating Tweets and replaying the minutiae of the twitterer's life, they use the tweets to inform the piece and incorporate them into a coherent whole that ties together recurring themes and characters. It's a surprisingly smart and hilarious night of comedy.

"The Tweet Life" plays Wednesday night at 8 o'clock at The Playground until October 11th, then moves to Friday nights starting October 13th. Reservations can be made at 773-871-3793 or www.the-playground.com. Tickets are $10.

— Dyan Flores / Comments (0)