Too Far To Be Peripheral

For those of you who’ve wondered, there’s a reason Alexis and I have been MIA with our writing for the past couple of weeks - work is taking me to Brooklyn (like, early this morning for permanent) and Alexis has started a new job as well. And, so, Periphadelphia ends here. As much as I’m going to miss Philly (please believe I will, I almost started crying at work on Tuesday when I said goodbye to the guy who delivers our shipments every week. And we’ve never remembered each others names.), I can’t write about it if I’m not here. So that’s that, unless one of you is interested in taking over. If you are, let us know.

For the record, Tritone’s Cheshire Pierogies were the best Pencopal and I found and you should always make time in your week for The Rotunda. And, um, if you happen to be looking for an apartment in West Philly, for the love of God, let me know. I’ve got a bi-level one bedroom with your name all over it.

Learning About Rare Bird Show

Starting tonight, the Philly Improv Fest is upon us. Philly’s got a great improv scene, which always seems to be growing. To get some insider perspective on this, as well as to learn a bit more about one of Philly’s most prominent groups, I recently had the chance to interview Matt Holmes of Rare Bird Show. Read on to find out what he had to say, and make sure to check Rare Bird Show out during the festival!

For any readers who aren’t up on their improv knowledge, can you briefly describe exactly what they could expect to see at one of Rare Bird Show’s shows?

It’s improv comedy, which means that everything is made up on the spot on stage. We haven’t planned out any of the jokes or characters; you’re watching the creative process happen.

You might think of Whose Line Is It, Anyway? games when you hear improv; our show is kind of different. We’re still taking something that the audience yells out as the inspiration for what we do, but instead of having a bunch of games that already have a structure to them, we take just one suggestion for the whole show and do about a half-hour of scenes from it. It’s called longform improv (instead of short-form improv). It ends up looking like a bunch of sketches that play off of each other or sometimes like an improvised play. We can get deep and smart and serious, but it’s definitely a comedy show, and you’ll be laughing.

And is there anything in particular you think they should know about the Philly Improv Festival?

This is the third year for Philly’s improv festival; it’s the biggest yet. It’s all improv comedy, and it’s this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday with blocks of shows starting at 7, 8:30, and 10. Each block is $10 and the shows are at Mum Puppettheatre in Old City. There are amazing, hilarious groups from Philly, Chicago, LA, NYC, and much more. Tickets can be purchased ahead of time at www.phif.org or at the door.

Having been around for over four years, has there been much change in the make up of Rare Bird Show?

We started as four, and one of our co-founders made a few moves and is now in Chapel Hill, North Carolina (another growing improv community). For most of our existence, it’s been the three of us and we’ve really gotten to know each other really well. You have to have a lot of trust when you’re on stage without a script.

Your shows are dependent on audience suggestions to get things going - have you ever encountered audiences that were reluctant to get involved?

We engage the audience and get them into it. It’s a very interactive experience. Every show is different, because of the suggestion and because it’s improv, but also based on the feel of the audience.

Having PHIF around for multiple years seems like a pretty big deal, and it seems like the entire Philly Improv scene is pretty thriving right now. What are your thoughts on the scene at the moment?

It’s really growing and getting very impressive. Chicago, New York, and a few other cities are the top-tier improv locales, but Philadelphia is moving up there. Philly has several weekly shows, there are classes and workshops you can take through www.phillyimprovtheater.com, there’s a lot of great improv comedy happening from Philly’s groups (www.phillyimprov.com), and we get some of the best out-of-town groups in to perform and teach. Rare Bird Show has a few shows coming up next month with Bassprov, who were voted Chicago’s best improv group and whose members are both teachers at Second City.

Was Rare Bird Show involved in PHIF last year?

Rare Bird Show has been honored to perform in every Philadelphia Improv Festival so far.

Will Travel For ‘Rogies… Maybe

A little while ago, Illadates went to Port Richmond. At one point in the episode, Audrey commented that sometimes they go on their dates and feel like they’ve gone to an entirely different city. Pencopal and I recently took a note from that episode and went to check out the pierogies at Syrenka. They don’t serve alcohol, but we figured we’d grab a drink afterwards at a nearby bar.

Sometimes, what I think I’m going to do is very different what I find myself doing. And sometimes, when I hear someone say that a certain neighborhood makes them feel like they’ve left Philly, I should remember that there’s plenty to do in the neighborhoods I frequent in Philly. And stay put.

Pencopal and I realized we were in Port Richmond approximately one tenth of a second after going “Wait, it was a pretty fall night, why is it suddenly gray everywhere?” And we realized we weren’t going to be getting a drink after dinner as soon as we saw that the bars closest to Syrenka’s didn’t have windows.

As we entered the restaurant, there was one man inside, finishing up his meal. We placed our order at the counter (two orders of potato and cheese pierogies, fried - and the “fried” is important or you’re getting boiled mush. I saw it with my own eyes on someone else’s table. Just say no.), and sat down underneath a picture of a local airline having a dinner there. In the mid-90s. Across from us, there was a picture of Robin Williams getting his grub on at least ten years ago, as well.

The gentleman who had been eating when we arrived left, and, for a while, we were the only people there. Then a couple came in, and for about $30 (I’m an eavesdropper) got two plates of boiled pierogies, and two plates filled with kielbasa, roasted chicken, mashed potatoes and something green. Then they sat behind us, and commenced to making our ‘rogie hunt their spectator sport for the evening - ie, we ate and barely talked, they watched us and didn’t talk. They did look away when I went in search of ketchup (it was in the fridge, behind the register, which I didn’t really feel comfortable going to myself, but the woman who was working had been MIA for a good fifteen minutes at that point). The employee did return to the dining room eventually. At which point she sat at a table next to our adoring public, and openly watched us as well. I always knew we were stunners, but I didn’t realize we were ogle-worthy as we scarfed fried dough and taters. Learn something new everyday.

Food summary: we left as soon as we were finished. The pierogies looked terrifying boiled. They were good fried but came in a huge puddle of butter. There may have been onions inside them, but there were none on top - those you must request, they cost a few cents extra. They were served with a rich sour cream, think almost cream cheese-y, and ketchup can be found in the fridge that I’m still not sure I was allowed to access.

Syrenka gets 3.5 out of 5 for the quality of the pierogies. The absence of Strongbow knocks them down to a 3. And Abbaye gets a big giant thank you for providing us with a happy place to drink ourselves back to happiness.

Syrenka Restaurant
3173 Richmond St.

Next up: Warsaw Cafe

Vote To Protect Women

Today, everyone may or may not head to the polls, as the mayoral race was decided the second Nutter won the Democratic primary. But there are other public officials up for election tomorrow - Judge Teresa Carr Deni is up for re-election. If you don’t know who she is, Judge Deni has drawn considerable attention in the past months for her decision to prosecute defendants on trial who gang-raped a sex worker not for rape or sexual assault but for “theft of services.”

That’s right - a woman was held a gunpoint and forced to have sex with the man holding the gun as well as a group of other men, and the rapists were charged with “theft of services.” She defended her decision by saying that prosecuting the case as a rape trial would “minimize true rape cases.”

Sex positive, sex worker, and Women of Color blogs have been covering this extensively, and many devoted yesterday to blogging in support of the rape victim. And in opposition to Deni’s re-election. Rape is rape, no matter who it happens to. So when you reach the polls today, remember this. And get Deni out of office.

Tonight, Just Pretend It’s Dry Out

It’s raining and probably going to stay kinda gross and kinda gray all day and night. This is the type of weather that would normally make me go “what up jammies and couch?” Except when it’s the last Thursday of the month. That date means the weather is inconsequential. That date means The Gathering. And if you ever needed a reason to go to The Gathering (were ciphers, graffiti walls, and breaking circles not enough for you), tonight, the featured performer is Jawnzap7 of Burndown All Stars. I’ve already professed my musical love for Burndown on here, and I’ll tell you now that I first heard Jawnzap7 when he entered a couple songs in the Philly Sound Clash at the beginning of the year. I spent the better part of February with his Myspace page open and the songs on repeat (his CD hadn’t dropped yet). That means you should have heard him by now, and if you haven’t, you need to get yourself to The Rotunda tonight.

The Gathering
The Rotunda
40th and Walnut Streets
9PM
Admission is free