Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Teachers Lounge Mafia at The Granary Upstairs - November 5th!


Farmington – Questionable research and dubious studies indicate that intense laughing fits several weeks in advance of Thanksgiving improves poultry and gravy digestion. Teachers Lounge Mafia intend to verify these important findings with a late-night edition of mature-rated improv comedy at The Granary Upstairs in Farmington at 9:00 p.m. on Friday, November 5th.

In addition to some fast-paced games to warm up the evening, Teachers Lounge Mafia will deliver its Facebook-inspired long form, “Clickable.” The stage becomes the screen as audiences click through character after character, scene after scene, story after story. The audience controls the action as the performers make everything up on the fly. The group has been performing around the state in recent months and hopes to bring some new crowd-participation games and material to western Maine audiences. And for returning audiences, there are guaranteed to be some crowd pleasers as well.

Teachers Lounge Mafia most recently appeared on stage at the University of Maine at Farmington alongside Portland’s Running with Scissors. They also performed at a number of private functions and as part of the first annual Portland Improv Festival. In coming months, the group will continue its regular appearances at Wicked Gelato in Farmington and celebrate its third year of existence December 3rd and 4th with “Stale Milk and Sour Cookies III,” two irreverent nights of comedy at UMF’s Lincoln Auditorium with proceeds going to benefit Ataxia Telangiectasia research.

The western Maine troupe consists of local comic actors Jeff Bailey, Natalie Bean, Alex Kreitzman, Gavin Pickering, Emily Pottle, Dan Ryder, and Kyla Wheeler, several of whom have appeared onstage as members of area comic groups Lawn Chair Pirates and Curtain Raisers. Taking inspiration from Saturday Night Live, Upright Citizens Brigade, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, The State, the writings of Franklin W. Dixon and Sappho as well as their own twisted comic stylings, Teachers Lounge Mafia hope to bring something different to the foothills – and still be allowed to live here. 


This late night, mature audience comedy event at The Granary Upstairs runs for one night only, Friday, November 5th, at 9:00 p.m. Tickets are only $5 and may be purchased at the door or reserved by contacting Teachers Lounge Mafia at (207) 578-0357 or teachersloungemafiaimprov@gmail.com. The group can also be found on Facebook and at http://www.teachersloungemafia.blogspot.com.