Salsation Theatre Company, NFPSalsation Theatre Company, NFP

SHOWS SHOW SHOWS!

admin — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 16:37:05 +0000

Since our CIF appearances, we’re blowing up with showcases. Swing by our calendar to see all of the showcases we are a part of!

Footage from Salsation Improv’s CIF16 Showcase

admin — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 04:30:05 +0000

Here’s a portion of our Salsation Improv CIF16 showcase!

Los Improviachis On Fox32 Chicago!

admin — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:07:56 +0000

Your favorite improvised mariachi band was on Fox32 Chicago promoting their showcases at this year’s Chicago Improv Festival! Check out the segment below!

Los Improviachis Featured On DNAInfo.Org!

admin — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 15:00:35 +0000

Los Improviachis, Salsation’s musical improv group, got love from DNAINfo.org recently! Thank you to Chloe Riley (@chloeriley84) for interviewing us and writing this great article!

Originally published at DNAInfo.org.

Mariachi Improv Group Finds Home in Bar-Prov Scene

by Chloe Riley

ALBANY PARK — Take the joy of being serenaded by a mariachi band in a taco joint and throw in five people willing to say whatever comes off the top of their heads, and you have Los Improviachis, a mariachi improv group.

The Chicago-based team operates through Salsation Theater Company, a sketch-based comedy group in Albany Park, and performs at both traditional black box theaters such as The Second City all the way to the “Bar-prov” scene.

Nelson Velazquez, the Salsation member who started the improv-ing mariachis, said the company originally focused more on improv and he wanted to bring it back to its roots.

“I thought, ‘Mariachis.’ Why hasn’t anyone done this yet?” said Velazquez, who has a background in musical theater improv.

Playing off a traditional mariachi band, the group — armed with sombreros and toy horns — goes into the audience and turns the spectators’ life choices into fodder for song.

“We totally respect that there is an art form to it that we don’t want to make fun of,” Improviachi Joy Valdez-Pappas said of the mariachi music. “We truly pay homage to it.”

According to Velazquez, it’s that perfect meld of American musical tricks combined with the culture of mariachi that makes the group a hit.

“They love when we interact with them. When we step out and sort of start acting like that mariachi that they see in a restaurant,” Valdez-Pappas said.

Frankie Benavides, who joined the group in November, said he sees influences of the blues in Mariachi.

“You could say that a mariachi is kind of like the Mexican culture’s analog to, say, a blues man because they’re this artform that reflects the good and the sad parts of life,” he said.

Many of Los Improviachis songs are based on traditional mariachi songs from the Mexican state of Jalisco, where the art of Mariachi originated.

But, of course, just as many are not.

“We’ll do rap, we’ll do rock, we’ll do blues, we’ll do ’70s,” Velazquez said. “We’ll maybe do some Prince tonight.”

“I think one time we had, like, lesbian folk music so we channeled Melissa Etheridge,” Benavides said.

The current cast of five — together since September — includes Velazquez, Megan Powell, Joy Valdez-Pappas, Benavides and Lyric Opera singer Rose Guccione.

Or, as their respective mariachi characters, Señor Vicente Foxxx, Stephanie Shaw, Corazoncito Allegria, Lorenzo de la Verga and La Viagra.

Not all the characters are firmly rooted in Hispanic culture. Stephanie Shaw, company member Powell’s character, is a white beauty pageant queen from Kentucky.

“I’m Stephanie Shaw and I took a cruise to Cozumel and never came home,” Powell said with Southern twang.

You can find Stephanie Shaw and the other Improviachis at the Chicago Improv Fest, which runs through April 7.

Los Improviachis will perform on Wednesday at Chemically Imbalanced Comedy Theater (1422 W. Irving Park Road) at 8 p.m. and Friday at 7 p.m. at the Upstairs Gallery (5219 N. Clark St.).

Salsation Bringing It’s Comedy With A Latin Flavor During CIF!

nelson — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 01:26:04 +0000

Did you know Salsation started out as an improv group named Caliente? We’re back to our roots this year and happy to say we’ve being featured three times during the Chicago Improv Festival (CIF) 2013! Here are the shows you can catch Salsation performing in.

Wednesday April 3rd

CIF Urban Showcase
featuring Word Up, Salsation Improv, & Los Improviachis
CIC Theatre
1422 W. Irving Park Rd.
Chicago, IL
8 PM show ($10)
http://chicagoimprovfestival.org/events/cif-urban-showcase/

Friday April 5th

featuring Los Improviachis

Upstairs Gallery

5219 N. Clark

Chicago, IL

Call time 6:30 PM for 7 PM show (Free/donation)

https://www.facebook.com/events/551206694899745/

Saturday April 6th

featuring Salsation Improv

Bughouse Theatre

2054 W. Irving Park

Chicago, IL

10 PM show ($5)https://www.facebook.com/events/551913274840118/

AUDITION NOTICE: Word Up! is BACK and Looking To Showcase POETS!

admin — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 04:22:42 +0000

Salsation is proud to present the return of our well-received Word Up! Poetry Slam. It’s the fifth show in the series and we’re excited to have feature new and veteran poets to the stage.

We’re holding auditions for poets to be a part of this event. If you’re a poet and think you have what it takes to win this slam, we want you! Here are the details:

Auditions are:
February 20th from 8-10 PM
Nitecap Coffee Cafe
1738 W. 18th, St.
Chicago, IL
Poets need to bring two prepared pieces running 2-3 minutes each (no memorization required for the audition).
Availability the nights of March 25th from 8-10 PM (tech night) and the night of the show March 30th @ 8 PM.
Be ready to have some fun!

If interested in participating, please send an email to Ramon Charriez at ramon@salsation.com. Please include your name, phone number, and best times to reach you.

Let Los Improviachis Make Your Valentine’s Day Special!

admin — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 18:45:29 +0000

Is there someone in your life you are muy caliente for? Someone who makes you spicy hot?

For $10 American pesos, Los Improviachis will call or email your special someone a Mariachi Valentine’s serenade sure to make them muy loco for you!

Contact us at touring@salsation.com and give us a few details for us to compose un gran canción de amor – a love song just for them! Get your request in by February 10th, 2013! In your email, include the following information:

Recipient’s first name
Recipient’s email address
The special message you would like us to convey on their behalf.

We’ll respond with a link for you to make your donation via PayPal. We’ll then deliver a personalized video to your amor on February 14th!

Puedes believe it! Los Improviachis is here for you & your love life!

Visit Salsation.org for more info.
Follow @LosImproviachis on Twitter.
Follow @SalsationCo on Twitter.

Word Up! An Interview with Charles West

tim — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 21:29:48 +0000

Charles, or Chuck as some like to call him, steps up to the mic and talks with our interviewer. Chuck is a past Word Up! champion and is looking to be the first repeat champion. His rhythmic styles are so sharp they will cut you from a mile away. Here is what he talked about.

What was your first poem/slam piece about?
The state of the world, and how people do messed up things. It was called “Worldwide Scare.” I wrote it when I was 16 during my lunch break at my internship.

When/where do you like to write, or describe your environment when you write?
I’ve written in numerous places: on the bus, in classrooms, in the car, at coffee shops. Recently I’ve been writing most of my material at home, either in my room, or the dining room.

Do you hate questions from non writers about how you write poetry or where your influences come from?
Ha ha, no, but I would wonder how they’d be able to relate to my response. Who knows?

There you go folks! Now check out his new work tonight December 8th at Gorilla Tango Theater Bucktown (1919 N. Milwaukee, Chicago, Il) at 7:30PM. Hook it up folks! You gotta see this guy. He will blow your mind.

Word Up! An Interview with Rob Hendler

tim — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 19:17:27 +0000

Word Up! welcomes back Rob Hendler from our first 2 Word Up! shows. He sat down recently with our intrepid interviewer and answered the most dangerous questions we could find.

What was your first poem/slam piece about?
My first poem that was ever sent out for mass consumption was about alienation, specifically walking down the street in downtown Chicago and feeling completely separate from other people. I have since learned to try and be a little less high school about my poetry.

When/where do you like to write, or describe your environment when you write?
I write where ever I get ideas. I carry a notebook with me. Though the places I have had the most success would be my desk at work and the Golden Nugget. Both those places are next to a steady supply of coffee.

What is your most embarrassing moment on stage performing your poetry or anything else?
After a lackluster reading at the Green Mill, Marc Smith was not very impressed so he made me get my energy up by doing a “hulk scream” repeatedly in front of the audience. Then he had me read the first stanza of the poem again with a hulk scream after each line. I am pretty sure the audience got some enjoyment at my expense.

If you could speak with the person who inspires your writing what would you say to them?
I actually got that chance recently. The slam poet who inspired me – Jon Sands, -came to read at the Green Mill and I got the chance speak to him. I told him that before I saw a Youtube video of his poetry reading on a subway train, I didn’t know what poetry performance could be. I had always just seen dry professor types behind podiums, but he brought life back to poetry.

There you go folks, Rob Hendler! Will he make a break for it this time and take the coveted championship away from our past champs? Come to Gorilla Tango Theater Bucktown (1919 N. Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL) tonight December 8th @ 7:30 PM and find out. Tickets are $10 and are going fast. You can get tickets at Salsation.org!

Word Up! An Interview with Ramon Charriez

tim — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 22:31:07 +0000

Salsation Ensemble Member Ramon Charriez is the original force behind Word Up! Ramon is the co-director and co-producer for this show and we thought, “Hell, let’s interview this guy!” He’s a mild mannered everyman by day but watch out, because when the sun goes down, this dude throws down on some slam poetry and is always on the search to find the best poets and performers all over town. Here is what he had to say.

What was your first poem/slam piece about?
About a phone conversation I never had with my first crush.

When/where do you like to write, or describe your environment when you write?
When I had a car, I would drive up North to Skokie Beach, sit on one of the white boulders and let the sounds of the waves, coupled with the siren songs of the floating seagulls overhead inspire me.

Do you hate questions from non-writers about how you write poetry or where your influences come from?
No

What is your most embarrassing moment on stage performing your poetry or anything else?
The most embarrassing moment on stage happened when I toured with a sketch comedy show based on the original Star Wars trilogy. “The Fathom Menace” was written by Jason Chin from the Improv Olympic (iO) Chicago. It parodied the movies and had a very successful run prior to Episode 1 hitting its world premiere around the world. Somehow Mr. Chin planned and executed a tour with the cast to Hollywood to perform at the Improv Olympic West. Long story short, right before hitting the stage someone slipped acid in my Red Bull and the effects hit me as I performed a scene dressed as the alien that accompanied Lando (or should I say Orlando) in the Millennium Falcon during Luke Skywalker’s rescue at the end of the Empire Strikes Back. There’s nothing like realizing your fly is open while tripping in front of a full house.

Besides yourself, who is your favorite performer?
Pablo Neruda, Pedro Pietri, Sarah Kay, Billy Bragg, Amanda Diva, Felipe Luciano, Henri Rollins, Marc K. Smith “So What!”, too many to name.

If you have three oranges and four pears and take away the color purple, what is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?
Yellow at 60 thousand miles an hour.

Do the Jimmy John commercials scare you with the way they can deliver a sandwich before you even order it?
Yes, it’s like their in my head.

How do you think they accomplish this?
A time machine made up of Simon (the electronic memory game) colorful buttons, a Speak-n-Spell, a See-N-Say, a nose twitch from Samatha the witch, a bar of soap, a red onion, a half eaten tortilla and a blessing from a curandera that has just watched a rerun of jersey shore.

If you could speak with the person who inspires your writing what would you say to them?
SHUT UP ALREADY!!! Lol:)

What would you like to say to the judges who will be determining who goes onto the candy round?
Be nice, I have a fragile bird that likes to be flicked when provoked. Just kidding. Give me your best shot!

Is there any question we didn’t ask that you would like us to ask?
How do you best describe your art? And what would you probably be doing if you didn’t have art in your life?

Folks – this is a first – someone answered all my questions! I am speechless! Luckily you can see Roman’s hard work come to life at Gorilla Tango Theater Bucktown for Word Up! IV (Saturday Dec. 8th @ 7:30 PM at Gorilla Tango Theater Bucktown, 1919 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL. Tickets available at http://gorillatango.com or http://salsation.org.). Drop some change ($10) and get rewarded with the best poetry on the planet.