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The Busy Month of August.

By hlimprovers | September 1, 2020

The busy month of August began with a show at the Bayswater Retirement Village.

With Covid back in action, it was not exactly a packed-out audience, but a very vocal one and the report back was that the residents thoroughly enjoyed the evening. They say laughter is the best medicine, and it seems it was that night.

The audience enjoyed the antics of:

Fee, Kevin, Jon, Mark, Neil and Kathy as they embraced the wearing of head mics for the first time having to take them on and off with as much decorum as possible.

You may remember in the previous blog that the Honest Liars had some workshops going on in Waihi. Well, even with level 2, the teachers turned up and were able to keep going, due to the pretty decent area to work within.

There were a great bunch of students from the young ones right through to the adults. All were keen and brimming with energy (especially the kids as well you can imagine!). Some up and coming improvers shone through over all the classes.

Then it was showtime.

The players arrived at the local kebab eatery in the heart of the town and made sure they were well replenished before heading off to the theatre.

The wonderful Kathy led the troupe emceeing the show with laughter, pizzazz and a bit of cheek thrown in to the delight of the audience. The warm-up game ‘Categories’ had the players reeling off different types of pets including chilli pepper and banana (obviously not accepted). And in the ice cream flavours out came a cabbage one which made the audience and players alike screw their faces up.

In ‘Foreign Film Dub’ Fee and Kevin spoke only French while the translators wove the story of the two love birds. It transpired that one of them (not mentioning names) “you know I like the rough stuff” as a bit of strangling was happening. However, the blue pills passed to Kevin turned out the be cyanide and the game ended… well with poison, of course, it ended although the audience would have liked it to continue as they were enjoying it so much.

‘Pocket Note’, another crowd favourite, saw Kim, Sally and Kelly throwing their keys into the pot at a wife swap. The trouble was that only Kim and Sally had wives to which Kelly was quite happy about especially when one of the ‘notes’ said “my chlamydia is acting up again” giving her the spare wife. The audience suggestions had the players tied up, losing a blue pill and social distancing along with other great lines as the scene went along.

Then Kim became Dolly from San Diego for the ‘Dating Game’ as she questioned Brett, charged with assault with a deadly animal – Jon, a cross-dresser and Kevin whose Viagra had kicked in. You can use your imagination as to how that worked out.

In between the games, some of the Waihi students (teens and adults) had the stage for two games. The first, ‘Space Jump’ Had Ethan begin in the Jurassic era followed by SJ creating a fitness centre. Sam then joined changing the scene to kids sneaking out of school by jumping out of the 2nd-floor window and when Cindy came in, she tried to get the kids to go to bed. Four wonderful scenes were created.

Following the intermission Kimi, Lucy and Katherine played the ‘Alphabet’ game. Not an easy one to play, but they nailed it. With the suggestion of a honeymoon, the three students gave it a great twist by being planners for weddings, honeymoons and funerals.

At the end of the show, Ethan and Lucy came back on stage to be the puppet masters for Kevin and Kelly who were the puppets. The game was a first date taking place at the local dump. The audience couldn’t stop laughing and even Ethan and Lucy found it hard to contain their hilarity as they moved the players around.

There was time for a celebratory drink after the show, then it was off back to Papamoa for a well-earned rest (especially those who had been also teaching).

The next show at the Jam Factory is going ahead, however, due to Level 2, seating is limited so get your tickets now so you don’t miss out.

Thanks to the players Bayswater:

Kathy
Neil
Kevin

Jon
Fee
Mark

Thanks to the players Waihi Show:

Kathy
Fee
Kevin
Jon

Kim
Sally
Brett
Kelly

Thanks to the students who perform at the Waihi Show:

Sam
S.J.
Kimi
Lucy

Ethan
Cindy
Katherine

Thanks to the teachers who were at all workshops:

Kathy
Fee
Kevin

Next show is on September 6th so save the date!

Book your tickets, have a drink and snack at Mood Lounge in The Historic Village first,
then join us for loads of laughs.

1^st Sunday of every Month
Jam Factory, Historic Village
Show Starts: 7 p.m.

If you’re interested in the Next Workshop:

Jam Factory
Saturday, October 10th 10 am – 12 noon

Standing Room Only

By hlimprovers | August 6, 2020

It was standing room only at the Jam Factory for the August show, and the players were ready!

Before the warm-up could begin, there was a small matter of getting some professional photos taken. The players arrived early enough in their best bib and tucker. And if you don’t know what that means, Google says:

One’s finest clothes, dressed up, as in the men were told to put on their best bib and tucker for the dinner dance. Although wearing either a bib (frill at the front of a man’s shirt) or a tucker (ornamental lace covering a woman’s neck and shoulders) is obsolete, the phrase survives.

In this case, it meant that the players had their Honest Liars tee on, their hair done, looking the part and no snotty noses.

The photos were taken amidst great hilarity, with the players falling about ….. literally! The images have yet to be viewed and passed before being made public, but watch out for any new banners.

An hour later, the students arrived. These fine players have nearly completed the Beginners’ workshop that has been held over the past few weeks. They were to do a ‘guest’ spot, and two games had been set for them to play within the show.

Warm-up began with basic games ideally suited to sharpening the brain and ramping up the energy. Then it was across to The Station for a drink and the last-minute preparations.

People began arriving, and it soon became clear that the house was going to be full. The troupe were not going to disappoint, and so the show started.

Scenes from a Hat was a great way to ‘introduce’ the players as they stepped forward to give small statements in response to suggestions that had been provided by the audience.

A couple more games then Pocket Note, a favourite had Kim, Melissa and Fee as gardeners spicing up their dialogue with suggestions from the audience from “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” to “hey babe, are you trashed I want to take you out”. Weaving these into the gardening scene proved to be both difficult and hilarious at the same time.

Time for the students to have a go on stage. The game some chose was Alphabet. A scene where friends were trying to organise a costume party. Each player had to begin their line with the next letter of the Alphabet which they did with only the odd hiccup of switching letters. All made for a good game.

Foreign Film Dub saw Fee and Kevin speaking in gibberish French meeting at the supermarket. At the same time, Kathy and Kim translated and took the story from the first meeting to the size of the aubergine and many more innuendoes which carried the scene along.

In the second half, the Honest Liars’ plant in the audience who was supposed to be keeping up with the photos (specifically for this blog) was laughing too much and forgot!!!

After intermission, Jon started the ball rolling with a rollicking great stand-up about his trials and tribulations going through the different customs in different countries. Then the games flowed on with the laughs abounding as the players brought their best scenes from the suggestions. Hollywood Director was set around a murder with Melissa and Kim trying to figure out what to do with the body when Kathy turned up as the nosey cop. Jon played the Director and changed the genre a couple of times making the scene a horror, sci-fi and rounding it up with it being a western which saw Kim kill off the nosey Sherriff.

The students had another spot playing the game Space Jump changing the original scene of a rock climber to a Tug of War, riding horses and a cat throwing up. Their creativity showed the advances they had made through coming to the workshops.

The final game, Press Conference, had Jon being grilled by the press because of the scandal that had occurred. Through the hints dropped by the journalists and Jon’s great responses, he soon realised that he was speaking on behalf of Fonterra over the issue of marketing mouse milk.

A rousing applause ended the show and players, students and some audience members wandered over to The Station for a celebratory drink to relax and unwind.

Thanks to all the players:

Fee
Melissa
Kevin
Kristina

Jon
Kim
Kathy

Thanks to the Students:

Wendy
Steve
Wendy K
Ryan
Vicki

Sue
Lynn
George
Claudia

Thanks to the crew:

Sally

Neil

Next show is on September 6th so save the date!

Book your tickets, have a drink at The Station first, then join us for loads of laughs.

1^st Sunday of every Month

Jam Factory, Historic Village

Show Starts: 7 p.m.

Lockdown is OVER!

By hlimprovers | June 19, 2020

Level 1 has arrived, and lockdown is over. The players are back playing hard!

Everyone let go a massive sigh of relief when the balloon went up because now the players were free to mix and mingle.

Zoom just hadn’t cut the mustard. It was good to have the technology so all members could remember what each other looked like, but the games did have a somewhat disjointed feel to them. Not to mention the ‘spontaneity’ was executed with an, ever so slight, accompanying time lag.

But at least the rust didn’t set in, and there was no need for an acid bath when the doors to the clubhouse finally opened.

There had been a pre-amble at the Jam Factory when groups of 10 were permitted to assemble, however, the social distance proved to be a bit of a hurdle as improv is very much a contact sport most of the time.

So when Auntie Cindy said kiwis could gather again without boundaries, the players were like a bunch of kids let loose in the playground. Laughter frequently erupted, and that was just in the warm-up. By the time the games began, the Honest Liars were BACK and rocking the room with wit and imagination.

The first post lockdown show was set for the first Sunday in July. Then, within a matter of a week, the requests came in for workshops and other shows to be held.

Get your laughing caps on because the Honest Liars are ready!!!!

Book tickets to show – 5th July BOOK NOW

Get more information on the FREE TASTER WORKSHOP! Saturday 11th July

Players practising was a sight to behold

NEXT SHOW: – 5th July

1st Sunday of every month.
Jam Factory, Historic Village
Show Starts: 7 p.m.

Famous On The Breeze

By hlimprovers | February 9, 2020

Three players made a name for Honest Liars on The Breeze radio station.

With an upcoming show, it was time to get out there and get people wanting more comedy and what better way to do it than a spot on the local radio station.

Kathy had managed to nail a Friday morning slot with the lovely Mark Eagle, (sadly Jolene wasn’t to be there), and appointed Melissa, Jon and Fee to be there for the interview.

Thank goodness Waitangi Day had been the day before because bright people had taken the Friday off as well which meant easy flowing traffic to get to the station by 8 a.m.

Not one to miss the chance of impressing, Melissa had arrived with a plate of muffins much to the delight of the whole crew. Naturally, the muffins were not offered to the players!

Mark was a great host, but even he couldn’t alleviate the fears the players had. Even though it was all improv, the nerves ran high as each one of them knew they had little time to ‘sell’ comedy to the audience. Give the players a live audience and a subject any day!

The usual banter was said then it was time to launch into the alphabet game. A suggestion of Doctor came from a listener and Melissa and Jon performed brilliantly with legs being amputated and drugs hidden in back pockets.

It was a success and the three left the building happy that they had done a good job.

Fee was able to take some photos so when you listen to the video below you’ll be able to see that Melissa and Jon had definitely stepped outside their comfort zone – but kudos to them

Enjoy:

Starting The New Year

By hlimprovers | January 22, 2020

Honest Liars are starting the New Year with a BANG!

The first show of 2020 is on at the Jam Factory on Sunday, February 9^th and the players are chafing at the bit to get on stage to entertain you.

Don’t forget to come with your A-game of wonderful suggestions to make give the games some spice!

BUT WAIT …. There’s more!

Honest Liars has invited to play at the Auckland Improv Festival happening in April. Here’s the link to the EVENT if you’re going to be in Auckland around this time – please come along.

This is a wonderful opportunity for the team to play with the big boys. There will be some amazing talented improvers coming from all over the world, hosting workshops and playing shows. So for the players to have a slot at this inaugural festival is a real honour. It will improve the game nights here in Tauranga – so you’ll get to benefit as well.

IN OTHER NEWS:

The players had a great Christmas party in early January. Of course, lots of games were played which involved miming.

And then there was the mandatory Karaoke in which it was all agreed that the players should stick to improv! You’ll no doubt hear singing at some point when a music game is introduced (no earplugs will be issued).

NEXT SHOW:

Save the date:

Sunday 9^th February
Jam Factory, Historic Village
Show Starts: 7 p.m.

Whoo Hoo – The First Show!

By hlimprovers | December 10, 2019

A trip around the Saturday farmer’s market was the go-to for three trusty players promoting the Honest Liars first show at The Jam Factory.

With funny hats and afro wigs, they descended upon the unsuspecting crowd loaded up with pamphlets and a few two for one tickets.

Suddenly Melissa spied a sign that could not be passed up as a classic improv moment:

LOCALLY LAID
(Of course, this was in reference to eggs- but the Honest Liars aren’t fussy when it comes to an opportunity for comedy)

At the bottom of the sign:

FREE RANGE.

In her loudest voice, she called out to Neil, “Hey, Neil, you can get laid locally here!”

That statement began a dialogue that certainly made the crowd stop and wonder what on earth was going on.

Neil yelled back “What?? Awesome- I’m in!”
Kathy jumped in and yelled out “I’ve been laid all over the world but not locally!”
The crowd started laughing and watching.
Melissa continued “It sounds HOT – it’s not in the bedroom it’s on the range! Kinky! And it’s FREE!”

This little stunt achieved its purpose – dozens of flyers were passed out, and people were very enthused about the show.

By that night, however, it was anxious times. Some of the players even having a bit of a sleepless night. Sugar-plums and fairies were not dancing in their dreams; rather there were empty chairs and unopened bottles of sparkling wine.

Storms were forecasted, but – wait – this is Tauranga, the home of ‘the weatherman is always wrong’ attitude.

Sure enough, the day dawned with the sun making a valiant attempt to push through. And what rain there was certainly didn’t dampen anyone’s spirit.

5 p.m. was the time for the players to meet at The Jam Factory. Get familiar with the stage, set out the chairs and have a proper warm-up.

Didn’t entirely go as planned though! Some players arrived earlier and started putting up the signs, others came a bit later, but soon all were there. Time to go to Subway. Time to have a couple of toilet stops. Time to set out the chairs. Time to start pouring the champers. Time to……. ran out of time!

Doors were to open at 6.30 p.m. with the show at 7 p.m. But you can always count on people trotting up early – and so they did. In fact, it wasn’t long before four became six and six became 10, and 10 became 20, and so it continued. By opening, it was a full house with only one or two random chairs empty.

Eagerly stunned at the incredible response, the players poured out onto the stage to the sounds of thunderous applause. (Applause thunderous due to Melissa warming up the audience with a game.)

The Questions game rolled into Experts with both games used as a warm-up for players and audience alike.

Then the games got into full swing with Space Jump having mid-wife Fee attempting to birth a baby and Kathy playing the slot machines and not sharing the winnings.

The Clap game had the audience in fits as Melissa was Donald Trump and Kathy was his hairpiece. This was a scene that had the potential to go on for so much longer, but the other teams kept clapping and pinching the lines as they were pearls of comedy.

Hunny Bunny, a sassy gal from Texas, arrived in the ‘studio’ for The Dating Game and she had a choice between Brett, a naked hula-hoop champion, Kay, a Tourette sufferer with an eye twitch or Fee who was constantly hot and clapped. Honey Bear did confuse Fee’s interpretation with a woman who had hot flushes and THE clap, but her perception was a winner with the audience.

Finally, the show ended, and the players took their bow to the applause of the wonderful crowd who had offered brilliant suggestions for the games. As the audience piled out of the theatre, many of them declared that they would be back and bringing friends.

The players set about packing up the chairs and straightening up as well as having the last of the champers (couldn’t let it go to waste!), then it was off to the pub for a de-brief and a sigh of relief that the first show went so well. Next show is Feb 9th 2020.

And, in case you’re wondering, half the audience came from the farmer’s market. Guess, getting laid for free worked!

Thanks to all the players – you were all brilliant:

Neil
Fee
Melissa
Kathy
Kay
Kelly O
Brett

p.s. Speaking of first shows. The intrepid emcees Melissa and Neil run an improv class for tweens and teenagers who had their very first show the next evening. A few Honest Liars went along and were heartened with the comedy genius of the ‘Little Liars’. Definitely some budding improvers to swell the Honest Liars Improv pool.

A Permanent Gig For The Honest Liars

By hlimprovers | December 7, 2019

There were celebrations all round when the Honest Liars got a permanent gig to play the fool regularly to real live audiences.

A couple of weeks ago the enterprising Kathy set up a meeting with the wonderful folk from The Incubator at the Historic Village. You see, at the Fringe Festival, Kathy had spied a space that looked like it could be a players paradise for the ever keen Honest Liars.

It had a feel about it – quirky but inviting and definitely a place where laughter could abound.

So without batting an eye, Kathy went next door into The Incubator to find out more. The space she had spotted was The Jam Factory, a place where mainly musicians would come to play for music lovers in the area.
Nothing else to do but to set up a meeting with those in the know.

It was very fortuitous that one of the people she was to meet had seen the HL performing at the festival and definitely wanted more.
So a few weeks later Kathy, Neil and Melissa headed off to see if this was going to be a good fit (and in fact even an option). It was more than could be expected. The Jam Factory wanted the players and the players wanted The Jam Factory – the deal was struck. The Honest Liars had found a home to have a permanent gig.

Now if you’re wanting to be at the very first show – doors open at 6.30 pm on Sunday 8th December 2019 and the show begins at 7 pm. This is a relaxed place – bring along a bit of food because there is an awesome space right there so you can make a great fun evening of it.

Tickets are $10 and on sale: Book Now

or rock up on the night and hope that you’ll get a seat.

Either way, the players promise to entertain you with hilarious madness and will look forward to meeting you afterwards.

For future dates check out: It’s Showtime!

Here’s the official notice:

A Night with Fireworks

By hlimprovers | November 11, 2019

The players were pretty darn nervous about whether or not they would be playing to an audience on Saturday night. The reason being that the Honest Liars’ show was clashing with a huge annual event – A night with fireworks – Guy Fawkes Fireworks!

Yes, the Fireworks Gala was on the same night. But the players need not have worried as more than enough people turned up to the Litt Park Theatre in Te Puke to have a good dose of comedy that the Honest Liars do so well.

A couple of hours before showtime, most of the players met at a private home for nibbles — a general get-together to get into the spirit of the night. Of course, much laughter and chatter went on while partaking of a glass of wine/beer that the players were allowed to have. (Or cider for the designated drivers).

From there the players then converged at the theatre. Most had not been there before, and there were oohs and ahs as they found their way past the bar, inspected the stage and then down into the green room.

Props such as wigs, hats and moustaches abounded, and naturally, Kathy just had to try on the Bishop’s Mitre as soon as she spied it. More so as Props was not to be one of the games played and she felt the twang of FOMO

There were a few rounds of games to get warmed up, the last check of the phones and it was then out on stage to a huge round of applause from the audience.

Sadly the ‘plant’ in the audience tried to get some good photos but was unable to deliver due to the stage lights being so bright. In fact, the heat that boomed out of them did make the players wonder if they should have been wearing some form of sun-screen or dark glasses! But the lights didn’t get the better of these seasoned performers as they brought forth their wit in all of the games much to the audience’s delight.

A round of World’s Worst followed by Questions, started the show and warmed both the audience and players up to what proved to be a fast-paced comedic first half. With the bar open for intermission, some of the crowd got a bit carried away and were late back to their seats. Kathy, who was emceeing the first game, quickly reminded these tardy characters that this was not an AA meeting but did refrain from sending them to the naughty corner.

The second half started with a loveable Film-Noir then flowed nicely into the rest of the games ending with one all audiences love – Emotional Symphony. Suggestions from the crowd for the games came thick and fast and were on point to produce cracking humour. Two audience members were brave enough to participate in the Change game and did exceptionally well.

By the time the show was over everyone had agreed that it had been an extremely successful night. The players went out into the foyer to meet with those who had seen the show and catch up with friends and family. It didn’t take long for the night’s performance to be put up onto Instagram by an audience member.

As for the fireworks? They could be heard very briefly around 8.30, but certainly made no impact on the show.

Needless to say, the players made use of the (still) open bar for a quick drink before heading back to the private home for a good de-brief!

Thanks to all the players – you were all brilliant:

Neil
Fee
Melissa
Kathy
Kim
Kay

Kelly O
Brett
Kelly D
Kevin
Jon

Honest Liars Improv at the Fringe Festival, Tauranga

By hlimprovers | October 28, 2019

The Fringe Festival was held at the Historic Village, Tauranga on a stunning Labour weekend Saturday.

The players arrived hyped and ready after pre-loading with games, muffins and coffee at Melissa’s. Inside the gate, the first order of business was to check out the theatre. Luckily no shows were on, and the players were able to take the time to set out the chairs in trepidation that anyone was going to show up.

Then it was separated into two gangs of marauding players to ambush the crowd with flyers or impromptu announcements.

Kathy started by standing on a veranda and asking for the crowd’s attention. She then announced that a live vasectomy demonstration would be held at 12.45 in the theatre and were there any volunteers. Fee volunteered her husband (imaginary) who, she said, had wandered off to get a coffee. Neil said he would volunteer and the guy he was standing next to would also. Obviously, the young man was assuming that the whole thing was a hoax!

The next ‘bomb’ was Melissa announcing that Jacinta Ardern was to give a demonstration on how to give birth to a Prime-Ministerial baby live on stage. This was followed by Neil who was offering Fringe cuts, this quickly developed into bikini waxing and other risque beautfy treatments.

The purpose of the announcement stunts was to intrigue the crowd and drum up an audience for the actual show.

It worked.

The players were thrilled that there was a line waiting at the door of the theatre by 12.30 and when they opened the expectant gathering piled in.

The audience was not disappointed.

The World’s Worst game had all the players stepping up with wit and off the wall wisdom.

In the Props game the players were very inventive with what they were given, including using salad spoons as Prince Charles’s ears to the delight of the crowd.

In the Late for Work game Kim had to try and figure out what the players were miming behind the boss’s back as to why she was late. The excuse that she was in a flash mob baffled her a bit, but the audience clapped and cheered when she finally got all three excuses.

The games rolled on, the laughter kept coming and the comedic impoving flowed. Some audience members had to leave but told the players at the door they didn’t want to go they were enjoying it that much. However, new ones arrived and although there were a few that came and went it was extremely encouraging to know that 95% of the audience saw the entire show. This was a feat in itself as outside the festival continued with live music, street buskers, art and an array of other things to do.

Full audience participation rounded off the show with the Emotional Symphony game. It started slow but built to a climatic conclusion that was a brilliant ending to the hugely successful performances by all players.

Not all the players could be at the debrief, but they found a table that was occupied by a sole person and politely commandeered it. Little did she know that she was now to be the Honest Liars first ‘groupie’.

Those who were there enjoyed the beautiful sun, great music, and the on-tap beer they had discovered at a very successful Fringe Festival. No doubt they’ll be there next year!

Thanks to the players who absolutely shone on-stage:

Melissa
Kelly O
Kathy
Kristina
Jon

Kim
Kevin
Kelly D
Brett
Fee

And the players who came to support

Melanie
Alex
Neil

The Players Learn At Improv Workshop

By hlimprovers | September 17, 2019

Whenever the players get the chance to attend an improv workshop, they usually leap in keen to add to their skills.

Of course, there may be one or two who are not able to make it for reasons such as swanning around Spain (not mentioning names, Kev) or commitments like children’s sports. But for those who can attend, it proves to be well worth the time.

This last week offered two opportunities for the players to up their game. At the usual Monday night an exceptional mime artist, Fergus Aitken from Wellington, happened to be in the area and so the whole evening was devoted to a workshop around mime and incorporating it into the games.

Skills taught ranged from walking with a piece of string to pushing a stuck balloon up, down and sideways. In the middle of all this, sandwiches were made from the make-believe kitchen then munched down on the delicious creation without gaining an ounce in weight. The pets that were played with fed and taught tricks were the usual cats and dogs until Melissa decided that her pet was a giraffe, (she raised the roof in her imagination).

By the time it was all over the players had gained some useful skills to be incorporated onto the stage.

The following Saturday it was time for another workshop, this time on Long Form. The players were all keen on understanding the parameters of this Improv technique, and it didn’t take long before it was game on.

By the time the morning session was finished, a complete Long Form Improv had been done with the story taken from snippets of a monologue that Melissa had given based on one word. What transpired began with the party planner trying to organise grandad’s 100-year-old birthday party to include geisha girls dressed as flappers, an Asian restaurant and a peanut flavoured cheesecake.

Needless to say, rats were discovered at the restaurant, the geisha girl demanded a historic 600% payrise for cleaning up the vomit from the cheesecake and general mayhem in hospitals and prisons ensured.

All the players had so much fun bringing this Long Form to life, and by the end of the day, another skill set was added to the repertoire to be played again and again to gain experience.

There is always room for improvement and workshops, even for seasoned players, are a must.

Thanks go to Fergus, Jon and Kathy for the skills they taught.

NEXT WORKSHOP: TBA

NEXT SHOW: SATURDAY 1st FEB

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