Rance Rizzutto

“Hey Rance…where are you performing?” you might ask.

Right now I’m performing for very select groups. Meaning, you have to be following my foursquare posts like a (st)hawk(er) to see which open mics I’m doing, you have to belong to a company that has hired a show for their company event, or you have to be a middle schooler renting out a theater for your end-of-year trip to Chicago. That’s the long way of saying all my shows have been open mics or private events. Thus the lack of advertising in that events listing over there to the right.

Very soon you will be able to see more of me in a public capacity.

Deanna and I are participating in this year’s The Dual Duel two person improv contest 9pm Sundays at ComedySportz.

The Beatbox will be doing a 6-week run midnight Saturdays at iO Chicago starting June 26th. Hip-hop improv!

And I’m working my way into the stand-up scene in Chicago. Stay tuned!

I feel like I’m trying to get things rollin’ for when I get back…which is just under two months away.

One thing we’ve set up while we’re out here is a series of workshops with Laughtrack theater in Honolulu. They’re pretty stoked (does anyone say stoked anymore?) about having people from the mainland available as a resource to their improvisors, and we’re super pumped to be that resource.

I started off the series last Saturday with my Improv Rehab class. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. I love this workshop because it always melts brains no matter what the level of the improvisor.

Hopefully everyone had as much fun as they seemed to be having.

If you’re in Hawaii and want to take classes, contact info@laughtracktheater.com. I think there is still room in the morning classes.

In the show I’m currently doing for one company on another company’s form of mass-transportation I’m in a scene with Deanna. I’m a guy preparing for a date with her…she is a blow-up doll. All she has to do is lay on some chairs, pretend to get inflated, hold the standard blow-up doll pose, then deflate. Easy, right?

This scene is usually a heavy hitter because of the ridiculousness of it all. For one gentleman sitting far back stage right it was the funniest thing he had seen in a long, long time. His laugh was…well…IS impossible to describe accurately in text. Let’s just say it was a funny laugh.

When his laugh was mixed in with everyone else’s at the “reveal” that Deanna is a blow-up doll, not so bad. When the laughter has died down as people wait to see what the next beat will be and all you can hear from the stage is that one guy’s laugh. Well…that is enough to make a blow-up doll start to giggle.

Deanna broke. And a few seconds later, so did I. Holding that pose seems easy enough until you realize that it means they can’t move the whole time. Watching the fight between trying to hold that pose while actually laughing was what pushed me over the edge.

In other news, whales are jumping like crazy today in Hilo. The moms are teaching their young how to breach. I clocked it at about six breaches a minute…for real.

This is the fourth time Deanna and I have worked out on the cruise ships. We’ll have logged over 16 months of cruise time by the time we get back to Chicago. If we have learned one thing about this lifestyle it is “Saved money spends fast.” Meaning, when we get back to Chicago there will be something that takes away the money we saved up. Whether it is car repair, first and last month’s rent on a new apartment…or more likely in this case, a new bed.

Luckily we are using our time wisely and getting ready to have the ball rolling before we get back so that we’re actually getting into the swing of things when we return.

One thing that we’re looking forward to doing is performing our two-person, award winning show The R&D Project present: Silent Treatment. “How can I find out more?” you are probably asking.

http://www.rnd-project.com is now up and running. We’ll be working on it as we cruise so check back often.

I’m in Hawaii until April. If you are in an improv group and need coaching, or if you need headshots…find me!

I had a fun set tonight! Thanks to everyone who came out. I think Charlie and Mary win for “most favorite audience members.”

I don’t know if I’ll get an opportunity to perform stand-up again before I head to Hawaii. But, I should be in Saturday’s Del Tones show at iO. More details tomorrow!

I recently got some software that was supposed to take my audio recording and transcribe it for me. I had to read a 15 minute passage to calibrate it and it took a while to set up. After all of that I transcribed a 3-minute set from an open mic last night. It didn’t quite get it right. See for yourself:

“It is a tale they are while you heard of the vagina as humans and I’ve been reading the newspaper and Internet stuff about news and watching TV about news and there are some things out here a most importantly is terminated back to stay children from 0 to 2 years old Soviet zero-year-old one-year old and your again and actually I do to their development the second just calls are okay and that is also okay Oregon over 30 when you are away is Rance Zarin 1103 for zero by the it a different name is it’s a little more common than some others I people know over in the Sherlock also also use your own five never ever met anyone who show off that is going out the Sherlock indicating 109 me and your mom mom when I was working at either not mean that there was no should Sherlock into who we are and is coming people are up against high fructose corn syrup and ice is killing I think that the Native Americans news refers in his words and when I had only that is why strangers come into our lands for their terrible eventually I oh and did I get those old haircuts no or yes I am looking for a kid missiles the kids are a lot and bangs are probably not whether I was growing up out we had to do yourselves a newer girl you had easily brushed if you were the one you had mom thinks she can cut hair I’ve got one or so it seems a little popular styles now like it if I were a 10-year-old today I witnessed so much was much how many were speaking as a review of their like to do it I is here a bit lazy leaves in the morning I care about printers yet although the blaze his he will now examine how a friend who is seeking from them since then who you are you okay as is the I know there is no need to do is no real thing where we are me is.”

Halloween night was my last ComedySportz show for awhile. Soon I’ll be leaving for Hawaii. Keep an eye here for any other performances.

Fun night of improv at ComedySportz.

Favorite moment: I played a turkey and didn’t talk…and did and Oscar Winning Moment.