Kawaii's Blog
Kitten Blog Fourteen
5/6/09
Dear Kitten Blog,
Well, last night was our last show of the semester and I can't thank
everyone enough for making the year as grand as it was! We said
goodbye to our graduating seniors with a traditional personalized
death to bridge them into the Dead Kitten Society. Sarah D., Connor,
and BJ had all been with BBQK since they were mere freshman. They've
all made considerable contributions to the troupe in their own way. We
really can't thank them enough for their time, energy, laughs, and for
the memories made. In an abridged obituary, I will tell how each
Kitten died.
Connor (aka Kal-El Kitten): after becoming Superman, Connor was
haphazardly killed by a Kyptonite Frisbee.
BJ (aka Lanky Kitten): this well-rounded multi-tasker, who has two
extra curricular activities per credit hours, was crushed by his own
workload.
Sarah D. (aka Kandid Kitten): as an active thespian and devotee of the
theatre, Sarah experienced several famous theatrical deaths.
It was a great show, and quite a way to wrap up our most successful
school year. We look ahead with our new president, Scott (aka, Kreepy
Kitten).
For the summer BBQK will be performing at freshman orientation shows,
getting married (well, some Dead Kittens are anyways), and hanging out
at Joe's house.
Congrats Bradley class of 2009!
Good luck with finals and finding a summer job!
Much love,
-Kawaii Kitty
Kitten Blog Thirteen
4/19/09
Dear Kitten Blog,
Last night's Murder Mystery Extravaganza was brilliant! Hope you all
got to see it. It was refreshing to perform in a show with a different
format, plus (and I think my troupe will agree with me) long form is
far more entertaining to do. We get to focus more on the whole picture
and really have to exercise listening, commitment, and justification
skills.
For each show you, the audience, voted who the killer was. Based on
your votes our death orders were assigned. Just like any pre-pulled
location, genre, relationship, or anything from any other show, the
performers didn't know what our status would be till we were on stage
with the show already going on. We only knew our status, we had no
other information about anyone else, and so it still was a mystery to
us who the killer was.
There were only a few things we kept constant for every show. One was
our character name. We've been practicing with these names for about
two or three weeks now. Also, BJ was always the Butler (or Butt Ler,
as he insists). Our dear Sarah Tilford, who couldn't make the show,
was always the deceased. Every time we rehearsed and during the show
our careers, personalities, roles, and relationship to Sarah changed.
Like with Party Quirks, there's always a party, host, and three random
nutty guests, however all the character dynamics change every time it
is played. This was just the same.
So here's a little recap for everyone:
8 pm show: Sarah was found dead in a Dairy Queen (audience's in-put).
The suspects were Mr. Ogglesbottom, a Wal-Mart greeter, Michael
Huffnaggler, a creepy photographer, Seann Stevens, high school
softball coach, Frank Walker, dietician to celebrities, Judy Breslin,
country club snob, and Bob Robertson, an art studio owner. Michael was the first to die
(blunt trauma to the head), followed by Frank and Bob. After many
accusations and arguing the truth came out: Mr. Ogglesbottom did it.
Judy and Seann ran off together.
11 pm show: like I said before, same character names, new personas, so
once again there was Mr. Ogglesbottom, mortician, Michael Huffnaggler,
cocaine addict priest, Seann Stevens, president of the yacht club,
Frank Walker, professional pick pocket, Judy Breslin, vet technician,
and Bob Robertson, P.I. Michael, Judy, and Bob were the first to go,
leaving Seann, Ogglesbottom, and Frank to prove their innocence. It
took time but the wise and rigid butler solved it again: Seann Stevens
was the murderer.
Oh what a good excuse to wear a wig it was! Anyways, this Thursday at
7:30 in Harper-Wyckoff BBQK will be performing for the Fellows, so
come help support a worthy organization.
Our last show is May 5th, 8 pm. Help us say goodbye to our graduating
seniors, who we'll miss very much. Happy last two weeks of school you
all!
Much love, as always,
-Kawaii Kitty
Kitten Blog Twelve
3/15/09
Dear Kitten Blog,
Happy Spring Break all! The Kittens have just returned home from their
weekend trip, and what a weekend it was.
After classes (for the suckers who have class) on Friday we all loaded
up our cars and off we went. A brief stop to the suburbs were made for
dinner, rest, and vehicle exchange. For the evening we went to Improv
Olympics to see some long form improv. Would have been nice to stay
out later, but we needed our rest for Saturday, so back to the suburbs
we went.
Saturday began with BJ's famous egg breakfast (boy knows how to
scramble!). We caught a train back to Chicago for a workshop with a
Bradley grad from Improv Olympics. After breaking us down and building
us back up, we went out for some real Chicago pizza, yumyum. For the
evening we visited the Playground Theatre to see a few more improv
shows. It's odd being in the audience position after being the
performer for so long. Our awesome networking skills went into action
and we hope to go back soon! We wrapped up the night by singing along
with St. Patrick's Day celebrators on the train ride home. Today we
all parted ways, some of us working, some traveling, and some just
visiting home.
Our next show's March 28th, see you then!
Much love,
-Kawaii Kitty
Kitten Blog Eleven
2/18/09
Dear Kitten Blog,
Oh boy, oh boy! This weekend's our 1st show of the semester and I'm
excited! The name, I can has improv show?, of course comes from
icanhascheezburger.com. Good stuff in there.
Anyways since last time we spoke BBQK visited Richwoods High School
here in Peoria to perform for their Snowball event. Wasn't that nice
of us? Yes, nothing like doing three improv shows at 8:30 am for a
bunch of sleep deprived high schoolers on a Monday morning. It was a
lot of fun, even if we had to mind our language and subject matters
more. Plus, the students gave us warm fuzzies. That's actually the
ultimate test of audience appreciation.
Tonight as usual is some open rehearsal, and other than that just some
behind the scenes work for our show on Saturday. Hope to see you at 8
or 11 pm!
Lots of love,
-Kawaii Kitty
Kitten Blog Ten
2/8/09
Dear Kitten Blog,
I'm really going to try to update this thing more (really!), so I'll
probably start sharing random Kitten facts with you. For instance,
what's with the names? Well, part once someone is initiated in the
Troupe, they must pick a name, and it's supposed to start with a 'k'
sound, so even if the word really begins with a C, a K will take it's
place. The whole name thing is kind of funny, because it's not like we
call each other by our Kitten names, they're just there. Anyways, I
did a quick poll of how everyone chose their name, so here it goes:
Chris A-W, aka, KRASH KITTEN: Chris describes himself as reckless and
while perfoming improv tends to jump into situations without thinking.
Also, if you've ever seen him perform he's constantly tumbling,
falling down, leaping in the air, and flying.
Joe C, aka MR. KITTY KITTY: This name is a tribute to Eric Cartman's
cat's name.
Marlon W, aka KROOOONER KITTEN: Quite simply, Marlon never stops
singing. Ever. It's his way of getting through the day. I appreciate
his upbeat tunes, however, I am not around him all day long.
Sarah T, aka KLATTER KITTEN: Sarah self-describes her laugh as
"obnoxious and usually disruptive", much like the sound of rummaging
through a bunch of clatter. Of course, if you've met Sarah you would
agree that her laugh fills your heart with lots of joy and pleasure,
unless you're attempting to nap.
Scott O'D, aka KREEPY KITTEN: If you haven't been crippled by Scott's
kreepy stare, you just haven't really experienced the Barbeque
Kittens.
BJ E, aka LANKY KITTY: um, I'm just going to directly quote BJ here,
"My name is Lanky Kitty, because I hail from the Dukedom of Lank. I am
actually the first peasant to escape from this terrible land. It took
many years of planning and building trust with the Duke himself. I
have now made it my goal in life to rid the world of the terrible Duke
of Lank, so that someday I might take is throne and rule like a nice
guy."
Actually, he's just damn lanky.
Sarah D, aka KANDID KITTEN: By wearing her heart on her sleeve and
being a real honest person, Sarah finds herself to be a "frank" or
"kandid" person.
Connor D, aka KAL-EL KITTEN: You see, Connor worships Superman.
Apparently this is a reference. Being a respectable Batman fan, I
don't understand this reference.
Devon R, aka KATTY KITTY: On her way to be a crazy cat lady when she
ages, Devon has accepted her fate and made it her kitten name.
Chris P, aka KWANDARY KITTEN: A fan of meta-cognition, Chris felt this
would describe him best.
And lastly,
Sari, aka KAWAII KITTY: Kawaii translates to "super cute" in Japanese.
The context of what is cute differs in Japan then it does in America,
often used to describe a Japanese street fashion Sari attempts to
imitate from time to time.
There's no explanation for why some people are kitty instead of
kitten, though I hope no founding member gets offended by this. If I
forgot anyone, it's because they never got back to me, and now are
being kicked out of the troupe, haha, just kidding.
JOIN US ON WEDNESDAYS, and at our next show, Saturday, February 21st @
8 & 11 pm in Neumiller!
Much love,
-Kawaii Kitty
Kitten Blog Nine
2/3/09
Dear Kitten Blog,
No, you have not been forgotten, BBQK just didn't meet for a month!
I'm going to cut to the chase and post our shows for this semester
(because you can't find them anywhere else on this site):
Saturday, February 21st - 8 & 11pm
Saturday, March 28th - 8 & 11pm
Saturday, April 18th - 8 & 11pm
Tuesday, May 5th - just 8 pm
in Neumiller Hall.
So what's new with Kitten? Well we've been working hard for you,
trying new games, singing new songs, working with new people,
experimenting with some self-made improv formats. We take comedy very
seriously, ironically.
I'm not going to tell you any more detail, you're just going to have
to see it for yourself!
And what's not new, but just as exhilarating? Wednesday open
rehearsals, of course! Yes, anyone can still join us Wednesdays at
10:30 pm in Geisert Cafeteria to play improv games with us.
Also: we are very excited to be performing at Heitz's hall council
this Sunday at 10 pm!
All right friends, hope your semester's working out for you. Have a lovely day,
Love, as usual,
-Kawaii Kitty
Kitten Blog Eight
12/2/08
Dear Kitten Blog,
Well wouldn't you know it, I haven't written in here in exactly a
month! To be fair, not much happened, so you didn't miss anything.
BUT now, it's all happening! It's all coming together! Tuesday,
December 9th at 8 p.m. we will be giving our official last show of the
semester in Neumiller Hall! Our oldest member, Nir Chezrony, will be
giving his final performance. And as usual, when it's a Kitten's last
performance they will be killed and added to the Dead Kitten Society.
So come, see the Death of Nir Chezrony.
BUT if that's not a good enough reason to make it, you will receive
FREE MILK AND COOKIES if you mention this blog! Yes, it's true. Just
tell our stage manager Devon that you saw the offer on my blog, and
after the show she will personally pour you a glass of milk and give
you freshly purchased packaged cookies, possibly warm if we keep them
by a heat vent.
BUT if you still can't get enough of us (and who can blame you?) we
will also be performing for SAO's Late Night Bradley the same night!
(I know I said last show, but that is our last official show, you
see). Some time around 11 pm or midnight we will be performing in the
Markin Center. More details later.
Also, we found our musician, so STOP CALLING US (we get about 10
phone calls a week, you see). Also, we are no longer giving out
autographs. And, we are booked solid through March between all the
children's birthday parties, 50th wedding anniversary dinners, and
Bar/Bat Mitzvah gigs.
All right kids, stay warm, stop wearing Ugg boots, and get ready for finals!
Much love, as always
-Kawaii Kitty
ps-
Wednesdays, 10:30 pm, Gesiert caf, open rehearsal, you and 10 of your
best friends = welcome!
Kitten Blog Seven
11/2/08
Greetings bored web surfers!
These past two weeks have be quite tiring for BBQK. We've had two show
weekends in a row, and next weekend we are going to be performing at
Dance-a-thon.
As usual, a big thanks to who made it out, a bigger thanks to those
who wore their Halloween costume, and I would like to give the biggest
thanks to the dead kittens who still make it out to every show and
lend a hand (or paw?).
Anyways, I personally enjoyed our costume contest last night. We saw
the Queen of Hearts and March Hare (I have a soft spot of Alice in
Wonderland), a surfer, House (from that doctor TV show, not Extreme
Makeover), Chris Adams-Wenger, masquerade ball dancer, pilot, Raggedy
Ann, and some others but they slipped my mind.
Like I said before, next weekend BBQK is performing at Dance a thon
at 3 am, so set your alarm clocks.
ALSO- we have some video footage from our shows posted on Google
video, so look for the link to that in our multimedia page.
Anyway, I've got 150 years of Western Civ to memorize, so until then,
reset your clocks, if you haven't already, vote on Tuesday, eat your
vegetables, and join us Wednesdays at 10:30 pm in Geisert's basement
for open rehearsals.
Much love,
-Kawaii Kitty
Kitten Blog Six
10/27/08
Hello friends!
I just wanted to thank everyone for coming to our show this weekend.
Both fun and sno cones were had by all.
There are two shows next weekend as well, same place (Neumiller) same
times (8 & 11pm). This time with more Scott O'Dell.
And, because it is Halloween weekend, you are welcome to wear your
costume! A contest of some sort is being schemed up. Participation not
necessary.
So what goes into these shows? What work can possibly go into an
improvised performance? While there's not a lot of behind the scene
action going on during the show, before the show we're pretty busy. So
here's a little checklist of what we're up to:
Two or more weeks before show:
-try out new games
-work on weak spots
-prep newbies
-order merchandise
-get new ideas (for anything/everything)
-go to parties at BJ's house
-general open rehearsals
-work with musician
Week before show:
-make/hang flyers
-promote everywhere
-make show format, mix in new/old games
-facebook invites
-bbqk newsletter
-make programs, copy programs
Day of show:
-meet at call time
-eat pizza (nourishment)
-warm up
-sound/light/camera check
-set up ticket booth
-clean up performance area
-pray to improv gods
-fold programs
-come up with opening
And there is probably a few other things in there, but I can't give
away all of our secrets (they're very shameful, you see).
That's all for now! We're still rehearsing in Geisert's basement at
10:30 pm on Wednesdays, you're still welcome to join us.
Good luck with your life and such,
-Kawaii Kitty
Kitten Blog Five
10/9/08
Well I do believe it's been a while. There's an unfinished midterm paper due for me in seven hours, and what better way to fire up my mad writing skills like blogging about my dear Kittens?
While it may seem like we've been idle these past three weeks we've been busy working up for our upcoming shows. Shameless self-promotion: October 25th and November 1st, 8 and 11 pm, Neumiller Hall. It took lots of effort, but we made a few phone calls, pulled a few strings, took a guy out, BUT because we love you SO much, we will be serving SNO CONES at our next show! If that's not convincing enough, we'll promise to have Marlon take off his shirt again.
Otherwise, it's still business as usual with us. We still meet Wednesdays at 10:30 pm in Geisert's basement for open rehearsal, you're always welcome (bring friends), and we're still looking for a musician...
Congrats to our Kommie and Kranky Kitties!
Happy Fall Break everyone!
and stay in school kids! Lie to your teachers, but stay in school!
Much love,
-Kawaii Kitty
Kitten Blog Four
9/18/08
Hiya! Tonight's open rehearsal was much fun. Once we learned all about objectives and did some warm ups, we were good to go. To start one of my favorite games, Exclusion, was put into play. A very unforgettable moment was watching Wolverine drink beer. Next was Mission Impossible and we ended the night with some Leftovers. Favorite quote from the evening:
- "Why would you say that?"
- "I'm a compulsive liar"
- "Then what are you?"
- "...Not a compulsive liar..."
Oh you guys.
So next Wednesday the Kittens will be performing at Habitat for Humanity's Shackathon at 9 pm to 10 pm in Olin Quad. Even if you're not participating in the event feel free to come on out, and of course, donate to the cause. Plus, it's right before the next open rehearsal, so you may as well use it as another excuse to procrastinate on reading that chapter.
Oh, almost forgot! If you or anyone you know plays a musical instrument (preferably piano or guitar) and you feel like you could improvise some songs with us, you should send us an email. We would greatly appreciate your talent.
Also: BBQK PICS!
Pictures, go see if you can find yourself. If you can tell me which picture has the hidden bbqk symbol in it I'll give you free admission to the next show.
-Kawaii Kitty
Kitten Blog Three
9/7/08
Last night's two shows were amazing! Thank you so much to everyone who came and gave support. Honestly, we weren't expecting a huge turnout, so both sold out shows were a delightful surprise. During the first show I honestly thought maybe 50 or 60 people were there, but at the end our lovely stage manager Devon ran up and excitedly told us over 175 people made up the audience! If that wasn't good enough, the next show had an audience size of over 200. So again, a huge thanks to everyone for all the support. I hope you enjoyed watching as much as we enjoyed performing.
I know I'm constantly saying this, but if you'd like to come play with us, learn some improv skills, or just want to see more, you (and all 20 of your closest friends) are more than welcome to come out with us Wednesday nights for open rehearsal. 10:30 pm by the Hartmann Center, or Geisert cafeteria if the weather is bad. And bring cupcakes. Not required, but it helps us see what a good person you must be.
That's all for now, I suppose. Good luck with the upcoming week,
-Kawaii Kitty
Kitten Blog Two
9/3/08
Hello again curious BBQK fans. This week has been busy for us Kittens preparing for the first show this Saturday. Yes, it is ironic that there is so much prep work for an improvised show.
Tonight was another amusing open rehearsal. Due to weather rehearsal was held in Geisert's Cafeteria. If we're not outside the Hartmann Center, check for us in there. It was great to see so many people return from last week. Remember; anyone can come, anyone can play. And, as always, it was wonderful to see some Dead Kittens come back and play.
After some quick warm ups the group jumped into a few rounds of Mr. Know It All. Thanks to this game I am now well informed as to why Canadian's love hockey so much and how Nir gets his hair so long and silky. Following this, a few comical rounds of Superheroes was initiated. Some great heroes included BubbleButt and The TRex. Later on, the game Emotional Replay kicked off. In this Nascar Drivers with tunnel vision and cabin feverish astronauts got the audience laughing. To end the night a traditional game of Potpourri began. In case you wouldn't have guessed, dogs don't make good mops.
So that was it for this week. Don't forget to come to our show this Saturday, in Lydia's Lounge (U-Hall) at 8 and 11 pm, $2 (I know I'm repeating myself)! Also, little known but highly important fact: thanks to SAO, the 11 pm show will be FREE of charge, yes, FREE. This could be that cheap date idea you were looking for. Or you could see both shows for the price of one, whatever, it's up to you.
Well thank you to everyone who's made it out on Wednesdays so far, it's been a blast. As always, hope to see you next week (and on Saturday)! Have a good rest of the week,
-Kawaii Kitty
Kitten Blog One
8/28/08
Hello from the mind of Kawaii Kitty! As a way of keeping you up to date with all Kitten happenings, I'll be blogging about our adventures for this year, so stalk away.
This year BBQK is leaving our old performance area to be a part of Late Night Bradley. Shows will now be in Lydia's Lounge, located in University Hall. Kittens have been using this space all summer to greet our incoming freshman. Speaking of shows, our first one is September 6th (NOT the 13th) at 8 and 11 p.m.
Last night was our first open rehearsal of the year! It went really well, thank you all everyone who joined us. I couldn't believe the talent everyone brought. After a few warm up games we played a few good rounds of party quirks and story telling. We saw tube top phobias, people turn into ping-pong balls, and obsessions with The Wizard of Oz. During story telling, the audience was enchanted by tales of blood wars, zombies, and what's really beneath Joanne Glasser's hair. Zombies are always part of story telling for some reason. Lastly we ended with the critically acclaimed game of potpourri. With this we explored the possibility of Captain Iceberg, picked up a fortuneteller, and saw the world's worst wet sponge. We will be there every Wednesday at 10:30 p.m. so feel free to join us. Participation not necessary.
I'll keep you posted if something new comes up, but for now good luck with the new semester!
See you around
-Kawaii Kitty
