Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, action, story, and characters are created collaboratively by the players as the improvisation unfolds in present time, without use of an already prepared, written script.
William Marsh Rice was an American businessman who bequeathed his fortune to found Rice University in Houston, Texas. Rice was murdered by his valet Charles F. Jones while sleeping. The murder was part of a plot to forge Rice's will. The instigator of the murder, attorney Albert T. Patrick, was sentenced to death.
William Melvin Hicks was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist, and musician. His material—encompassing a wide range of social issues including religion, politics, and philosophy—was controversial and often steeped in dark comedy.
Texas Monthly is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. Texas Monthly was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy and has been published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. since 1998 and is now owned by Genesis Park, LP. Texas Monthly chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the environment, industry, and education. The magazine also covers leisure topics such as music, art, dining, and travel. It is a member of the City and Regional Magazine Association (CRMA). In 2019, Texas Monthly was purchased by billionaire Randa Williams.
Idina Kim Menzel is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. A winner of one Tony Award, and a nominee for two more, Menzel is known for her powerful mezzo-soprano voice and signature belting technique. Achieving success in stage and screen, she is one of the most successful Broadway performers of her generation.
The Brave New Workshop Comedy Theater (BNW), is a sketch and improvisational comedy theater based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Brave New Workshop has been writing, performing and producing live sketch comedy and improvised performances for 61 years – longer than any other theater in the nation.
Theresa Rebeck is an American playwright, television writer, and novelist. Her work has appeared on the Broadway and Off-Broadway stage, in film, and on television. Among her awards are the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Award. In 2012, she received the Athena Film Festival Award for Excellence as a Playwright and Author of Films, Books, and Television. She is a 2009 recipient of the Alex Awards. Her works have influenced American playwrights by bringing a feminist edge in her old works.
The Comedy Workshop and the attached Comix Annex was a comedy club in Houston, Texas. Opened in 1978 It was quite popular in the 1980s and the breeding ground for a group of influential comics, once known as the Texas Outlaw Comics that included Ron Shock, Riley Barber, Bill Hicks, Jimmy Pineapple, Steve Epstein, John Farnetti, Carl LaBove and Andy Huggins. Comedian Brett Butler of Grace Under Fire fame and SNL longtime writer T. Sean Shannon honed their skills as members of the CW competitive dysfunction. In addition, Sam Kinison had his beginnings at the Workshop as well, with it being the location of where his 1993 posthumous comedy album, Live from Hell, was recorded.
Lorenzo Thomas was an American poet and critic. He was born in the Republic of Panama and grew up in New York City, where his family immigrated in 1948. In 1973, Thomas moved to Houston, Texas. Thomas had a two decade career as a professor at the University of Houston–Downtown.
Carlin Glynn is an American singer and retired actress. She is the mother of actress Mary Stuart Masterson.
Charlie Midnight is an American songwriter and record producer who has been nominated for the 1987 Grammy Award for Best R&B Song, two Golden Globes, and has been a producer and/or writer on several Grammy-winning albums, including The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album, Joni Mitchell's Turbulent Indigo, and Marlo Thomas & Friends: Thanks & Giving All Year Long. He also is a writer on the Barbra Streisand Grammy-Nominated, Platinum-Selling Partners album having co-written the Barbra Streisand and Andrea Bocelli duet "I Still Can See Your Face."
Turkey City Writer's Workshop is a peer-to-peer, professional science fiction writer's workshop in Texas. Founded in 1973 and still ongoing today, it was consciously modeled after the east coast Milford Writer's Workshop. The workshop "was a cradle of cyberpunk" where many of the practitioners of what would become cyberpunk first met.
Lewis Food Town, Inc., doing business as Food Town Grocery Stores, is a chain of grocery stores located in Greater Houston, founded in 1994. The headquarters are in South Houston. Ross Lewis founded it as he came out of retirement. He currently has over 40 years of Grocer experience.
Shelby Corcoran is a recurring fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. Portrayed by actress Idina Menzel, Shelby was introduced in the fourteenth episode of the show as the coach of Vocal Adrenaline, a rival show choir to New Directions, the show's primary musical group. Fans had lobbied for Menzel to be cast as Rachel Berry's biological mother, due to the strong physical resemblance between Menzel and Michele. After it is revealed that Shelby is, in fact, Rachel's biological mother, Shelby discloses that she had signed a contract that stated that she could not seek out her daughter until she was eighteen. She tells Rachel that instead of trying to act like mother and daughter, they should just be grateful that they have met, and maintain their distance.
Harris Lee Wittels was an American comedian. He was a writer for The Sarah Silverman Program, a writer and executive producer for Parks and Recreation, and a recurring guest on Comedy Bang! Bang!
The Houston Press was a Scripps Howard daily afternoon newspaper, founded in 1911, in Houston, Texas. Under the leadership of founding editor Paul C. Edwards (1911–16), Marcellus E. Foster, known as "Mefo" (1927–37), and George Carmack (1946–64), the newspaper developed a reputation for flashy stories about violence and sex and for exposés of political malfeasance. It ceased publication in 1964.
The Texas Outlaw Comics were a group of comedians based in Houston, Texas in the mid-1980s. Formed at the Comedy Workshop comedy club in Houston, early members included Sam Kinison, Bill Hicks, Ron Shock, Steve Epstein, Carl LaBove, Riley Barber, Dan Merryman, John Farnetti, and Jimmy Pineapple. Other members included Andy Huggins and Steven Juliano Moore. Epstein said, "We're looking for people who speak their minds, whose comedy comes from themselves–the people who aren't interested in selling out." American Scream: The Bill Hicks Story. HarperCollins, ISBN 9780380803774
Neon Boots Dancehall & Saloon is an Country and Western bar/honky tonk that was founded as the Esquire Ballroom in 1955 by Raymond Proske in Houston, Texas at 11410 Hempstead northwest of downtown Houston. In the 1970s and 1980s the club was considered the main rival to Gilley's Club across town in Pasadena.
"What a Way to Live" is a song written by country music singer Willie Nelson. He recorded the song on his second session with D Records, after moving to Houston, Texas. Produced by Bill Quinn, it was cut at Gold Star Studios in March 1960.
Disenchanted is an upcoming American live-action/animated musical fantasy romantic comedy film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and written and directed by Adam Shankman as a sequel to the 2007 film Enchanted. Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, and Idina Menzel reprise their roles from the first film, with Gabriella Baldacchino replacing Rachel Covey. They are joined by Maya Rudolph, Yvette Nicole Brown, Jayma Mays, and Oscar Nunez.
