JTS Brown

For me, the best improv I ever did was with JTS Brown. To me, it was a perfect show that incorporated short form's speed and playfulness with long form's patience and freedom. What the show rejected from both schools was form. Devoid of form, free of structure, the show was endlessly open to change. We practiced moves we never performed because once they were named, they felt "formy." I loved having to keep track of 12 people for 45 minutes, constantly asking "what the fuck is going on?" It was complete fear, hard listening and moving without hesitation. Every night, a lot of us were convinced we were the one who "fucked it up."


I was surprised when after a successful (in my mind) six month run the group was lukewarm about continuing on. I remember being shocked. Jimmy Page once said of Led Zeppelin "It would be a criminal act to break up this band." That's how I felt about JTS Brown. And while I never figured out how I fit in socially with this pack if high profile Chicago improvisors, I did relish the rookie-walk-on aspect of playing with a such a team. When it was all over, I was more confident than I'd ever been about being onstage. LESSON! You wanna get better? Play with the best.

After the dust settled and I started making my way out of Chicago, I had the opportunity to talk with most of the people who made up JTS Brown. I was shocked to hear that some people really didn't like it. They hated the fear, the not knowing, the lack of structure. All the things I loved were what was wrong with the show for them. People spent time off stage, not being involved, "just getting through the show." They were happy when the run ended. They'd signed on for different reasons than I had and reaped very different results.

I don't expect to ever have an experience like JTS Brown again. And I must say, I had nothing to do with the production or politics surrounding the show (I've found people often spare me these things, for better or worse). So, I just remember being involved in something awesome, unstoppable, and bigger than me. Finding out my experience was (for the most part) unique is just par for the course.

The fact that our formless, theater-less show is now taught at one theater as a "signature form" is par for the course as well.