PSEUDO RANDOM NOISE...NOT YOUR MAMA'S IMPROV TROUPE!

My second Improv "home" reunited me with old friends, and remarkable new ones!

One of the joys of participating in community theatre is getting to meet and work with some of the most bright and creative people in town.

While there are some actors who are only comfortable with a script that can be memorized, the sheer brilliance of those who can leave the page behind and bring life to an improvised scene is astounding.

This didn’t hit home with me until Arts Off Broadway, a community theatre based in Escondido, offered a class in improv comedy at the California Center for the Arts. Little did I know at the time that these few hours on the weekends in late 2010 and early 2011 would lead to a love for the art form that continues to this day.

I first met John Kelly performing in the wildly funny musical “Urinetown” in 2009. His performance as the lead Caldwell B. Cladwell was magnificent, and I found him to be engaging off the stage as well. We would cross paths occasionally over the months that followed, but it wouldn’t be until that first improv class at AOB that I’d be seeing him regularly.

From my Journal, December 11, 2010:

Saturday. After a few hours of catching up with emails at KUSI, I headed to Escondido for an Improvisation Workshop led by John Kelly.

It went four and a half hours without a break, but the time zipped by quickly. A basic lecture at the beginning about the art of improv was filled with important knowledge and a lot of great tips. Then came the exercises and games, which were good fun. Lenka and Dubrovka were there, as were Darby Schnoebelen and her mom Diane.

Some of the exercises involved props, some were more wordplay. I was surprised how much fun it was, and how it came rather easily to me. I’ve been a fan of John’s since “Urinetown” and was happy to connect with him again.

I continued with the class and enjoyed the variety of improv activities over the ensuing months.

April 2, 2011:

After the AOB Board meeting I stayed for this afternoon’s Improv workshop with John Kelly. It wasn’t as riotous as the earlier sessions, but enjoyable nonetheless. I discovered the difference between being funny and being clever. I was proud of myself for some of the cleverer lines I came up with that weren’t necessarily funny (they elicited “ahhhs” but not necessarily laughs…some of what I thought to be the funniest but not necessarily clever didn’t always resonate with the others.

Classes ended that Spring. John Kelly would save my butt later in the year when he took a role in AOB’s production of the musical “Kismet” which (being a Tony-winner from another generation) didn’t attract enough of the young actors who had been there for the company’s more popular titles like “Hairspray” and “Sweeney Todd.”

I was able to see John after “Kismet,” most often when I would drive to Temecula on the occasional weekend that he was moderating an improv show at the Merc with a cast that included some of my friends from AOB days. I loved the moments when I was able to join them on stage as a volunteer from the audience, but it didn’t occur to me that I could be a regular performer until I discovered National Comedy Theatre in San Diego in early 2018.

I started taking classes at NCT and moved my way up to being a regular performer on one of their House Teams in 2022. Read about that adventure (including the night I separated my shoulder on stage after doing a somersault in a circus-themed sketch) here: LIFE IS JUST IMPROV, AFTER ALL! - by Doug Friedman

As I wound down my participation with NCT, I decided to audition with John to be a member of his improv troupe in Temecula, which was coming back to life after the lockdowns due to the Covid epidemic.

April 13, 2024:

Saturday. Up to Temecula this afternoon to audition for John Kelly’s growing improv company, PseudoRandomNoise, which I had gone to see at the Merc before everything shut down in 2020. John is planning to build the company with the goal of spreading out to different venues as far south as San Diego, north to LA and east to Palm Springs, with multiple shows monthly. It was good to see John again --- such a great guy --- I should know if I’m in by early next week.

It was great seeing John again after some years, and I did get the invitation to join the troupe. There would be six weeks of rehearsals before the class of newcomers would be incorporated into performances.

July 10, 2024:

Headed up to Temecula for the first week of training with John Kelly before joining his PRN (PseudoRandomNoise) improv troupe. It was a small group tonight…John’s daughter Alex who I’ve known since she was a little girl (she’s all grown up now!) and new players Tony, Collene, and JoAnna. Basic stuff and a few fun exercises. There was an emphasis on scenework, starting with the basics…much of which I’d known from NCT. Other than the rush hour drive to get there, I expect to enjoy many more evenings of improv in Temecula.

Over the six weeks of class I was thoroughly enjoying it. In my journal entries over the rest of July and August, I remarked about the great exercises (“many of the ‘mechanics,’ as John calls them, are similar to those used at NCT. Those I’m not familiar with have been fun to learn.”) but particularly about the excellent players I was working with (“there seem to be no weak links in this group…John did a great job screening applicants”).

Our training ended and performances started up again at the Merc. On September 27 I drove to Temecula to sit in the audience and enjoy PseudoRandomNoise’s first performance in more than four years, looking forward to when I’d get my first call to be on stage. With roughly four of 20 in the troupe on stage in each performance and only two performances per month, I figured it would be a few months before I’d get that call.

So I was quite surprised when I returned for my second visit to watch a PRN show from the audience (after missing October due to my travels in Europe) and got a startling piece of news.

November 8, 2024:

This evening I made the drive up to Temecula to see my friends from PseudoRandomNoise in tonight’s improv show at the Merc. I got a surprise after buying my $20 ticket and entering the theatre when Toni Kelly told me that one of the four of tonight’s cast had called out sick. And like that, I was given my first chance to perform on stage with my PRN team.

John Kelly welcomed me as the team was warming up upstairs. In the blink of an eye I was on stage along with Alex, Preston and JoAnna, with John emceeing. There were more than 20 seated in the cabaret-style seats at the Merc. I felt pretty relaxed, actually, after the initial surprise that I’d be performing at all. It was a “competitive” program tonight, with the four of us judged by audience applause (the amazingly high-energy Preston “won” with five points, with Alex, Joanna and I tied for second with three).

It was a lot of fun. Most of the “games” or scenes were new to me, but I had no problem getting into them. The setup is much different than improv at NCT, where I’m winding down my participation after two and a half years on a House Team. On House Team nights at NCT there are usually 15 or 16 players with only three or four opportunities to jump up on stage. Tonight I was on stage for the full two hours, performing a full one-third if not more of that time, and genuinely feeling like a featured player. It was wonderful.

A great night, very satisfying, and I’m thrilled to have found a new Improv home!

I’ve performed regularly since then and am enjoying every moment. From my first class at NCT in 2018 to my most recent at PRN in 2025, I am grateful and happy to have discovered Improv.

Here I am with Diane Schnoebelen, JoAnna Brown and Cheryl Cameron (above) at a recent PRN performance at The Merc.

At the time of this writing, PRN does not offer improv classes for the public, but National Comedy Theatre in San Diego does offer a significant number of classes for adults, teens, seniors, and even young people on the autism spectrum. I encourage everyone to look into them at www.nationalcomedytheatre.com. Everyone has to start somewhere, and their Level 1 classes for adults surprise those “Nervous Nellies” who never thought they’d be comfortable on a stage. The camaraderie among your fellow classmates will be a real joy to experience.

Currently PRN performs at The Merc in Old Town Temecula on the second and fourth Fridays of each month, with additional shows and venues added regularly. You can enjoy their first longform improv show at the much larger Old Town Theatre on May 16 & 17, 2025. Tickets and information are on their website at www.pseudorandomnoise.com

I hope to see you there!

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