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The Hottest Comedy Troupe Since "The State"
Allegory Story for the Week of June 7, 2009
Lloyd Ahlquist of M.i.
Photos courtesy of M.i. and Lloyd Ahlquist
Every few years a new comedy phenomenon becomes part of the cultural lexicon. In the 1970s, it was the cast of the brand new show, "Saturday Night Live. "In the '80s, The Groundlings and Second City saw many of its stars rise to national fame. The 1990s introduced audiences to "The State"-- a group that took over MTV and dominated the world of humor with its irreverent outlook on life. Now as the millennial decade nears its end, audiences are seeking a new funny. For these hungry people, meet Mission IMPROVable. M.i. is "the nation's most touring-est improv group ever!" One of M.i.'s founding members is Lloyd Ahlquist . The 32-year-old has helped spearhead the myriad changes propelling M.i. into greater success. Through his efforts, the group recently joined forces with the former Westside Eclectic Theater in Santa Monica, CA (where he was the General Manager), to form the Westside Comedy Theater (where he's the current General Manager and Artistic Director). Here, M.i., has found a permanent home base in Southern California--a far cry from its humble beginnings in New England. "M.i. was originally six guys who met doing improv at UMASS Amherst," explains Ahlquist. "We started a weekly improv show in the campus center and it's going on there still. After performing together for a few years, and meeting our mentor Liz Allen, we decided to move to Chicago as a group to study and perform improv. We all packed into a van and moved into a 4-bedroom house and the rest is history."
Each of M.i.'s dynamic performers brings something unique to the table: Aaron Krebs is the slickster, Sean Monahan is the organized one, Sean Casey is the writer, Ryan Kiessling is the big one, Colin Sweeney is the intense Texan who's also good at construction, Chris Gorbos is the witty wise-ass and Ahlquist is the little one in the middle of it all. Still, despite his cushy spot within the M.i. equation, Ahlquist still takes great pains to find balance among his multitude of duties. "One of the biggest challenges I face as a performer at this particular time is balancing the manager Lloyd and the performer Lloyd," he admits. "It's always tough to wear more than one hat but I'm getting a bit better at it. The other is making my smile more refreshingly white for fancy commercial auditions." Ah, a man with priorities... If wondering what to expect from an M.i. show, the answer to that question best lies in the list of influences that shaped Ahlquist's tone and form on stage. "My comedy heroes as a kid were Bill Cosby, Eddie Murphy, all the folks form the original cast of 'In Living Color,' Steven Wright and then of course when I moved to Chicago all the improvisers and performers I met at Improv Olympic and Second City," he says. Now that he has hit his stride at the Westside Comedy Theater, Ahlquist isn't stopping with his own troupe; he's got designs on placing his stamp of success on others whom he feels can benefit from his hard work and tutelage. "There are a bunch of folks on my comedy radar right now. Improv wise I'm coaching a new team called Team X. They perform on Mondays here at the WCT at 10 PM. they're really young but have a ton of promise. Another improv team I've been working with for a long time is U.S.S. Rock 'n' Roll and they are amazing." Rest assured, if you aren't down with M.i. (yet) you will be. So get ready. ¤
Mission IMPROVable throws down at M.i.'s Westside Comedy Theater. For more information, visitwestsidecomedy.com
Each of M.i.'s dynamic performers brings something unique to the table: Aaron Krebs is the slickster, Sean Monahan is the organized one, Sean Casey is the writer, Ryan Kiessling is the big one, Colin Sweeney is the intense Texan who's also good at construction, Chris Gorbos is the witty wise-ass and Ahlquist is the little one in the middle of it all. Still, despite his cushy spot within the M.i. equation, Ahlquist still takes great pains to find balance among his multitude of duties.
