Re-New The Comedy Loft

So the world is starting to open back up and we’re all going to try and restart our lives. It’s going to be different now, it’s hard to tell just how things are going to go, but it will be different. One thing that I’d like to get restarted  is  my  service projects.

I haven’t done a substantial service project in a while, and the biggest hurdle is finding something that I feel is really going to make an impact. I think this one will benefit an entire community.

During this shut-down, I spent 2 weeks shut up alone in a house and it gave me a lot of time to think. While I was there I cut together some comedy shows that we recorded At The Comedy Loft in Ogden. Utah, for the out-of-towners. The shows are fun, and they bring a lot of joy. The live shows have been put on hold like everything else, but they will resume, we’re just trying to figure out what that will look like.

The Comedy Loft is a special place to me. 5 years ago it was the place that really introduced me to world of Improv. The venue has since been my near weekly place to watch consistently good shows, long-form improv shows that are as good as I’ve seen anywhere since, short-form games, FREE workshops, sketch shows, stand-up, live music, talent showcases, and even film screenings, including some of my own. I learned a lot there and I’ve regularly performed there. The community that surrounds the place touches a lot of lives in a very positive way.

It’s a great little venue.  It’s also managed by a small group of performers who are responsible for the shows and the upkeep of the space. The upkeep of the space is the important part of this, and I’ll get to that in a second.

Although we are all performing for the love of it, it actually does pay a bit. Ticket sales are divided between the venue owners and the cast of the shows. The cast has the option to get the gas money, or donate it to the improvement of the space, and most have opted to donate their pay to the space, and we’re talking about dozens of dollars a month! What I’m saying is the money doesn’t add up to much and doesn’t add up very fast, especially when you consider 33 people in the audience is a capacity crowd.

A few years ago, as one of my service projects, I gave the stage area a little spruce up. I spackled the nicks and dings in the walls and gave it a fresh coat of paint. It was nice, but it was a purely cosmetic touch-up.

Last year during a workshop, some of the stage supports gave out and we spent a couple weeks with a considerable sag in the middle of the stage. I came in again and donated an afternoon creeping around under the stage and managed to brace it up some.
While I was under there, I got a good look at the state of the stage and could see that this too was a temporary fix.

The comedy Loft doesn’t have any sponsors. No endowments. No wealthy benefactors. We’re just a scrappy team of performers trying to bring a good show to people who could really use a laugh.

I’ve got this campaign to raise $4,500 dollars to make some improvements and renovations to The Comedy Loft. Lasting improvements that will not only benefit the current performers and audience members, but will help open the space to new kinds of performers and audiences.

First, we need a new stage. I’ve designed one that is strong, sturdy and will last for decades. It’ll be much safer and more comfortable and give us more options than we have now. That’s roughly half of the money right there.  

Next, or “While-we’re-at-it”, The walls around the stage area could use a bit of a face-lift.  A couple hundred bucks in drywall and paint.

…We’d like to add some Audio/visual elements, like a projector and screen. This would allow better film screenings and we could even do a live movie-riff  type of show. I’d like an on-stage TV. This will allow some fun new games and gimmicks, and can add a new dimension to some of the old games.  There are other exciting possibilities that could come from that as well, but one thing at a time. We can acquire the needed items to make this possible for about $1,400

We also want to be able to record the shows better, so that people who can’t come to the shows, for whatever reason, have an opportunity to laugh along with us from where ever  in the  world they may be. Looking back at the shows I’ve recorded before, I understand the challenge of getting a recording that looks good and also sounds good. No joke is going to land well if you can’t hear it, right? I already have the cameras and most of the recording equipment, so it’s just a matter of a couple hundred bucks in mounting brackets,  adapters, and assorted cables.

I know $4,500 is a lot, but I can do most of the physical work if you, the community can help me fund it.

There you have it. I’d like to get started as soon as possible because the show must go on!