It’s the final Friday of the month. You enter Studio A from Adams Street – it’s part of the Valentine Theatre complex. The black box theater has several rows of stacking chairs and bistro tables. The stage is just slightly elevated off the theater floor. Doors open at 7:30pm and the show starts at 8:30pm. There’s a cash bar. Get ready to laugh: you’re at The Monthly, an improv comedy show presented by Glass City Improv.
The Monthly has tickled Toledo audiences since 2018 and features veterans of Glass City Improv’s training program, as well as its founders, which include Diana DePasquale, Erin Kanary and Nick Morgan. Each month’s ensemble is different – the featured players are usually named in advance of the performance.
A Run in Studio A
Glass City Improv began as an offshoot of the Toledo Rep and in 2018 began its run in Studio A, part of the Valentine Theatre. Several times a year, registration opens for a series of workshops. Classes fill up quickly once registration opens. Classes are rated by experience beginning with Level 1, an introductory class for folks with very little experience with improvisation. Level 2 includes some more complex forms of improvisation, and Level 3 focuses on long-form improvisation, where actors develop scenes from audience suggestions. There is also an introductory sketch writing workshop. Each series of classes ends with a performer showcase so participants can demonstrate what they’ve learned in front of an audience.
Currently, The Monthly sells out each month. The group reaches out into the community, performing at Bellwether, the Toledo Club, Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Botanical Gardens and Black Swamp Players Theatre in Bowling Green.
No better feeling than getting laughs
According to co-founder Nick Morgan, even if the idea of improv classes sounds intimidating, you should consider signing up anyway. “We pitch classes at the end of our monthly show and encourage people to go sign up. If [that] sounds exciting, perfect. That’s a great reason to sign up. But if it sounds terrifying, that’s an even better reason. You’ll get even more out of it and you’ll be proud of yourself (when participating in the classes). You’ll meet a cross-section of people from the area that you otherwise would never have crossed paths with.”
“You bond with those people you do your first class with . . . everybody is incredibly nervous and scared. And then there’s just an adrenaline rush or sense of relief once you get through your first class that you did it and it wasn’t as scary as you thought it would be. In fact it’s a lot more fun. You are doing one of two things in class: . . . you may be the one getting laughs and there’s no better feeling than that. (Or) you’re the one sitting and watching your classmates and laughing.”
“We hear from students how much they look forward to coming to the class each week. How much fun they have and sort of the therapeutic nature of just being there for a couple of hours. The class experience is uplifting and becomes a highlight of peoples’ week and we hear that a lot,” Morgan added, continuing, “I think it helps people discover some things about themselves that they’re capable of that maybe they didn’t know.”
The Monthly is staged the final Friday of (almost) every month. Tickets are $10 and go on sale 2 weeks prior to the show. Studio A, 410 Adams St. glasscityimprov.com.
