I’ve finally regained my confidence on stage. In my Second City classes I’ve been performing quite well, but in our class shows I have been struggling. Tonight was a breakthrough. We performed sketches we had improvised and written in previous classes. I executed what was to date my strongest performance of my Chicago “career” with two strong sketches and a blackout scene I’m extremely proud of.

Blackouts are interesting. They are thirty second sketches with quick punchlines designed as a quick energy picker-upper. They are inserted between the longer sketches to keep the energy going throughout a show. They are also just fun to write and perform.

The sketches that I wasn’t involved with were great too. All of the sketches were rough but show great promise. Tonight I felt like a real comedian for the first time in quite some time.

We’re entering our last level of the conservatory now. We are doing a show every Monday evening starting a couple weeks from now. We’ll keep some of these sketches and write many brand new ones. You’ll certainly be hearing more about those as they develop.

I had a car. I do not any longer have a car. When began school at Georgia Tech in 2001 I purchased this car. When I moved to Chicago the car became a source of unspeakable annoyance. I had the car parked five neighborhoods away just to have a spot and I racked up parking tickets due to street cleaning days. I just sold the car.

I had a Mac. I sold it to my mother to afford the move to Chicago. I now have a mac again. A laptop. A tool to further my graphic design needs. Guess where that money came from?

Two birds with one stone.

One year ago I stepped into my new apartment in Lakeview. I was a resident of Chicago for the first time. The middle school teaching, the Second City classes, the friends, and the love were all unknown to me at the time. I was fearful but more excited than I’ve ever been about anything.

I remember when I came. I saw a show called Misled with my friend Jordan at i.O. I loved it. It had the guy who is just like Dave Foley. They did a sequel, Misled 2. I saw it last Friday and was again blown away. It reminded me of the beginning for me here.

Last night I saw Menomena in concert with the lady type friend and some other good friends. It was a fitting anniversary event considering that Menomena is my favorite band at the moment. I am filled with a sense of pure optimism and happiness at this point. This is going to be a good year if all goes my way.

Jon moves to Chicago. At first it’s all adventure and discovery. It’s shows and friends and food and drinks and parties and whatnot. Then it’s all classes and kaplan and teaching and plato and such. Then a girl comes along and it’s all the girl, the girl, and the girl. I love it, and that’s just fine with me. I’d post more about it but it’s not the sort of thing you came here to read.

You wanted to know about the improv.

The classes at The Second City continue. We did another show and will do another one in a week or two. I found myself holding back a little bit in the last show but that happens. I shall not be the star of every show I am ever in. The team played well and this pleases me.

In about a month it will be the anniversary of my leaving Atlanta. It has passed slowly and has been ever so fulfilling. I’m still crafting my career and struggling for money, but it is an easier struggle than it used to be.

On December 20 I left Chicago to Atlanta. I reunited with my two brothers and parents. The visit was long and fulfilling. On December 27 the five of us drove to Birmingham, AL, to see the extended family. During this visit I got quality time with many of my cousins and ate a ton of amazing food.

On December 30 I jumped a plane to New York city to be with my lady-type person and her friends for New Years.

So a couple interesting notes about that experience. It could be seen as “pathetic” that at 25 years of age this was my very first New Years Eve that I did not spend at my parents’ house. Ever. The truth is that my house was always where the party was. By going to New York I broke a tradition of picking up super explodey fireworks from Alabama and hosting a HUGE party for my friends. So how did my Eve go? Friends, lady-friend and I went to a bar with a dance floor and danced the night away. At 2AM she and I went outside to cool off and talk. We sat on the side of the building and had a good heart-to-heart. At that exact moment about five gallons of water fell on us. We looked up and the culprits had left.

Heck of a way to ring in the new one.

It was good times.

Standup comedians get their starts playing open mike nights at dive bars located in the obscure interstices of the city. Once they have developed their acts, they look for a larger venue where a regular gig can develop. From there they gain a name for themselves and prepare to move beyond the small scene in any way possible.

In Chicago, improv teams can follow a similar path. Bars all over this town offer 25 minute slots for improv teams to present their longform sets to half-attentive Tuesday night barhoppers. The audiences are often small and usually consist of mostly peers with their own sets. It is known as barprov, and it is reason number sixty-seven why I love this town.

Last night I went to The Union down by Halsted and Diversey to see my roomate and his team The Diary Project do their set alongside two other teams, all to an audience of no more than fifteen. The room lacked the energy associated with a large audience, but the shows were nonetheless excellent and at zero cost to yours truly.

My favorite part about the night though was that the event was the inaugural show for The Union’s experiment in barprov. With only thirty minutes until showtime, the owner walked in with a circular saw, a set of two-by-fours, and some plywood and he constructed a stage right before our very eyes. When I saw him walk in with the wood I joked to Craig, “Hey, maybe he’s going to build a stage for you really quick.” Then he did. He just built a stage. Awesome.

My first show in Chicago was a barprov show. As you might remember it went poorly. Soon, though, I’ll be doing more barprov shows in an attempt to regularly perform in the way I became accostomed to in the good ol’ days of The Basement Theatre.

Almost a foot of snow. Jonathan experiences his first snow day as a teacher. The experience may just be better than show days as a student. It may just.

Coffee, doughnuts, heat, and television have made this day fantastic.

I flew into Atlanta this evening. I’m here for a five-day t-giving stay. Jerry picked me up and I didn’t even go home. I went straight to The Local. There, I met some of my greatest friends. Dan, Dee, Curtis, Janson, and my brother Tucker were all there, along with Heather who I coincidently know from somewhere else. It was such an amazing night. Ain’t nothing like Chicago, but . . . ain’t nothing like home neither.

I’m at my house now, and I’m exhausted. I have a post I’m working on about my improv show last weekend, and that shall follow shortly.