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The last message from a fan was in 2012. Most are using
our facebook page now for comments. So message submission has been
turned off, but the guestbook remains for your perusal. Enjoy the
historical records. |
Name: rachel dunn. Sent: Sat October 06 2001 04:01 PM bryce....darling....whoever you are..... having known ely for 3 years, i feel qualified to make statements on her improv ability. ely graduated last year (with a degree in theatre arts) from the college that i currently attend. at this school, there is a highly trained, extremely funny improv troupe called HICS (highland improv companies). ely was with this troupe for four years, since her freshman year. she was one of the highlights of the groupe. extremely witty, funny, her timing is incredible, and ely has her own special brand of humour. in any situation, more specifically, a NEW situation, there is going to be a certain degree of adjustment required. considering that ely was with HICS for so long, she came to know her other group members timing, personality, sense of humour, skill level, all the things which tie in to making improv comedy work. they met almost every sunday, like clockwork, to rehearse with each other, whether they had a performance coming up or not. ely truly was one of the backbones of this group. now, she has moved on to a group which has established themselves prominently in knoxville already. they don't necessarily NEED ely to help them promote themselves. but they (the collective members of the group) saw a talent in ely that could help their group. since she has performed in only two shows, i do not believe that your comments were made based on entirely accurate knowledge. give her a damn chance, man. if you do, i guarantee you that she will delight you, once she feels as comfortable in her surroundings as she can. oh. and as for the "i abhorred her 'barbie...'" comment....do you absolutely LOVE everything the other guys do every single time? i'm going to bet probably not. that's why it's called IMPROV comedy. sometimes, half of the humour is that it's utterly awful and stupid. ever watched "who's line is it anyway?" not everything THEY do is funny, either. i don't want you to think i'm saying this just because ely is one of my best friends, even though she is. being in theatre myself, i like to think of myself as being very objective when it comes to my friends and their work. so, in closing....if i read another comment like this about ely again, the next time i'm in knoxville, i WILL have to hurt you. love to you, ely!! ....and currie....and brad....;-) rachel dunn. Name: Brad C. Hodson Sent: Fri October 05 2001 08:59 PM What kind of name is Bryce, anyway? Who actually names their kid that, knowing the public ridicule and severe beatings that will await them? Sounds like the brand name of a detergent. Name: Paul Simmons Sent: Fri October 05 2001 03:58 AM Here comes my 2 cents. Bryce, thank you for your patronage, your input and your dedication. We appreciate those that come to the show and participate. I reguritate the observations of my fellow members: Ely has only done two shows, it is a challenge to come in to an established group and mesh in to the established group mind, every new members first 4-8 shows are an adjustment period, some things don't work, I received positive comments and made them myself regarding Ely's performances on both nights and you can always approach one of us and make a comment regarding a show as opposed to placing the message in the guestbook. If you would like to make a comment to us and don't want it for public review then email us or select the "Private message:" feature checkbox in the guestbook. This will hide your message from the rest of the world and only allow 'Steiners to read it. Also you can simply drop us an email at info@EinsteinSimplified.com or any one of our individual email addresses. To let you know, we do listen to comments. Once we have listened to them we will either take them to heart, disregard them or twist them to our own benefit and use them against the perpetrator of such slander. Finally, Ely is in, she's great and that's that. -Paul Name: Wes again again Sent: Fri October 05 2001 03:36 AM Shit! I just noticed I misspelled Bryce's name too. Gotta love returning to work after having the Hershey Squirts for 2 days. -WH ps: I know, too much information. Name: Wes again Sent: Fri October 05 2001 03:34 AM Yes, "critize" is a word dammit! -WH Name: Wes Sent: Fri October 05 2001 03:31 AM Dear Bryce- Back off man. Give her a chance. Thanks for your input, but we've been doing this long enough to know who needs to be on our stage and who doesn't. We did not ask Ely to join us because we felt we needed to add a female to the group. Einstein Simplified is not an Equal Opportunity Employer per se. If we think you're funny, and we want a new member, then you're in. We base the opinions on various auditions/practices with the potential new members. But we don't sit around twiddling our thumbs saying, "You know what guys? I think we need a woman in the group. Maybe a couple of black guys and a Western Ukrainian too. Who knows? Let's start looking for a rabid one-legged titmouse too. That would be great!" Although I feel people would pay to see a rabid one-legged titmouse, that doesn't mean we would let said rabid one-legged titmouse join us on stage if we did not think he/she/it were funny. And that's my point... we could care less what sex, color, religion, or species potential members are... they just have to be FUNNY. You've said that you have been coming to the shows for a while. Well, then you should know that we all have our 'off' nights. Hell, some of us have 'off' months. So my advice. Give her a chance. Keep coming to the show. Watch her grow. If you still can't handle her, then leave. Remember the key to our show is that it is FREE. We have no obligation to make every single audience member happy, though that is our goal. Since we are a free venue, we experiment and try new things (as can be atested to last Tuesday night's show with 5 new games). Einstein Simplified will continue to do just that too. We are not some huge troupe like Second City. We are not seen nationwide like "Whose Line". So that affords us the chance to branch out, accept new members and play new games. Once again, I appreciate your input Bryce. But being up on that stage is not the easiest thing in the world. Especially if you are a new member. It is a whole helluva-lot easier to critize then it is to be funny. So back off. Continue coming to the show. And tip the waitresses at P.Sullivan's and us. Buy a shirt. Be patient. Enjoy the show. Fornicate with emus. Shout out witty suggestions. And keep your harsh criticism to yourself, or address one of us after the show. A public forum, such as our lovely board here, is no place to whine and bitch/ pick on any member of the group. Except maybe Bill, because we know he never looks at this thing. Enough of my rant. I must try to look busy before my bosses catch on. Congrats to Brad for getting a legit email address. I give this one about 2.25 weeks before my messages start getting returned "user-unknown". -WH Name: Todd Covert Sent: Fri October 05 2001 03:09 AM Bryce, I appreciate that you are invested enough in our group to come to our shows, visit our websight, and feel strongly enough to post a message. However, I think your criticisms might be better served by privately e-mailing one of us rather than publicly attacking Ely. As Steve points out, it is very very difficult to step into an established group and doubly difficult to be the only female member of that group. Ely has done fine work for her first two shows. Believe me, it takes several weeks to adjust to the fast pace of the show when actually on stage and even longer to catch the rhythms of the other members. Let's face it. Bill still moves at some bizarre 11/7 time while the rest of us are in 4/4. Ely is a good addition to the group and will be fine. Name: Steve Denton Sent: Thu October 04 2001 12:50 PM Wow Bryce, lay off Ely. You may think it's easy to come in to an established group and take right off but you would be wrong. Ely is doing fine, and will grow even more. If you come to the shows as often as you say you do,then you will recall how long it took Brad to come out and play scene games with the rest of the group. Thanks for your input, but we decide who stays and who goes in our group. The scenes you say you abhored, got many compliments from more open minded audience members. Remember the old saying, If you don't have anything nice to say, then keep your mouth shut. Name: Brad C. Hodson Sent: Tue October 02 2001 06:27 PM Well, Bryce, we appreciate your patronage but it IS a little mean, 'kay? I just wanted to tell you guys that VOCHANCHYN@AOL.COM will be my e-mail address, and should be permanent. My friend Daniel has "given" it to me, so I thank him. Peace out, my peeps. Name: Bryce Sent: Tue October 02 2001 06:19 PM Okay, allow me to start by saying I have been coming to your shows for awhile. It's a great way to pass time and relieve stess from school. I'm a big fan. Your past two shows, however, have left a dry taste in my mouth. I believe this is because of the new addition to your troupe, Ellie. I hate to sound abrasive, yet I do wish to offer constructive criticism. Not only does she keep her head low and her back toward us the audience, she also mumbles and giggles incessantly during every scene. I also sense some type of animosity towards others in the group (namely Josh and Brad, it seems). Also, she distracts from the flow of energy in the show when she comes on stage. Granted, she is new. But I recall when Josh and Brad began (not being around long enough to witness any others' first shows)and, while they had many things they needed to improve (and have, mostly) I just don't feel that she's going to work. Particualr games stand out, like the game where an audience member has only three things that he/she can say. Why did she ask the audience member her name? Or in song styles-she just sang notes that didn't add to the scene. And last week, I abhored her "Barbie-Doll" during party quirks and her Archangel in First In/Last Out. I simply feel that, in struggling to find a female improvist, that you have accepted someone simply because they are female and NOT because they are talented. I hope I am wrong and that she begins to work, but if not I must say that I warned you. Otherwise, keep up the good work and I will see you guys in a couple of weeks. Bryce Number of entries: 854 Thank you for reading our guestbook. We hope you enjoyed the historical records. |