Trophy Wife

DHT: The Final Show - "Forever"

posted by Kevin on Thursday July 29, 2010

Filed under: Announcements of Mild Importance, Improv

Photo by Amanda Barnes

For the past three years, we here on Trophy Wife have been fortunate to have shared our Wednesday nights with one of the best Harold teams at the iOWest: DHT. Modern myth states that DHT stands for “Dave Hill’s Team” – a temporary moniker applied to a new team coached by Dave Hill that appeared on the iOWest roster back in 2004. Both the name and the team stuck around, and after winning the 2007 Harold Competition, DHT joined us in the 9pm hour.

Despite an ever-changing cast over the years, the quality of DHT’s work, the strength of their friendships, and their respect in the community continued to grow. Nowhere was this more evident than in last night’s packed house, as many former DHT castmembers came out – both in-person and via video – to pay tribute to this franchise team and mark the end of an improv era.

So it’s with a little sadness, but great honor, that we present DHT’s final show: based off the suggestion “Forever.” Filled with insider humor, it’s nonetheless a fitting farewell to one of the finest Harold Teams iOWest has ever produced.

Enjoy.

This Week, We Rest. Next Week, We... Improvise

posted by Johnny A on Tuesday May 4, 2010

Filed under: Announcements of Mild Importance, IOWest

Despite what you hear from your iPhone calendar or that weekly ache in your trick knee, Trophy Wife will not be performing this Wednesday. Instead, the 9 o’clock hour on May 5 will feature DHT and Cakewalk battling it out in Round One of the 2010 Harold Tournament.

The Harold Tournament is why your mother told you not to get into improv. It’s a grueling five week Iditarod of mildly implausible situations, poignantly feckless characters, and deftly handled drolleries. Trophy Wife enters the tournament next week, 9 o’clock on May 12.

So enjoy watching DHT and Cakewalk further the cause of improv through competition this week. And then come on down to the IO West next week to cheer us on (and don’t forget to bring your novelty “Trophy Wife’s #1” foam fingers).

Trophy Wife 5th Anniversary Show - Wed 4/7 9pm @ iOWest

posted by Kevin on Thursday April 1, 2010

Filed under: Announcements of Mild Importance, Reasons Why We're Awesome

The lifespan of a Harold Team is like that of a dog - every year together is equivalent to about 7 real-people years. This year, Trophy Wife turns 5, making us essentially 35 years old in the real world. And not to toot our own horn, but we're still looking and feeling pretty damn good for our age.

While it's true that we don't get to the gym as much as we'd like, we're still relatively trim and can keep up with the kids - for the most part. And yes, we've discovered our fair share of gray hairs, and it seems like more and more of that hair is ending up in the drain every day. But that's nothing a little peroxide and creative combing can't fix.

Most importantly, though - and not to be crude but - we can still fuck like a goddamn stallion. Hell, we consider ourselves at our sexual peak these days. Sure, there are younger, better looking Harold Teams out there. But you're talking about the experience of seasoned professionals here. We've been at this for quite some time and everyone knows it. I mean, look at the way the girls at the office flirt with us. We know what they talk about when we leave the room. We're hip.

So join us at iO this Wednesday night as we celebrate our 5th anniversary. It'll be a night full of surprises - and if you play your cards right, we might just dry hump you in the broom closet. Because as everyone knows - the traditional 5th anniversary gift is wood.

Trophy Wife 5th Anniversary Show and Dry-Hump-a-Thon
April 7th, 2010 at 9pm
iOWest Mainstage
6366 Hollywood Blvd. Los Angeles

Farewell Tim

posted by Kevin on Thursday October 22, 2009

Filed under: Announcements of Mild Importance, Guess You Had To Be There

Last night, we said goodbye to good friend, founding member, and occasional robot Tim Jennings. Tim has been a Wife since Day One, and is now moving on to pursue other opportunities. We wish him nothing but the best of luck.

Below, you’ll find our tribute video to him, along with two of our favorite Tim video clips from years past. Enjoy.

Del Close Awards 2009

posted by Johnny A on Monday August 24, 2009

Filed under: IOWest, Announcements of Mild Importance

The IO West Theater held its annual Del Close Awards this past Friday. It’s a night where the self-congratulation is limited only by our imaginations, our fading senses of dignity, and—for the younger crowd—the fact that the bar closes at 2 am.

The Del Close Awards honor Del Close, one of the founders not only of the IO Theater and but also of long-form improv as we know it today. Award categories ranged from the sensible (Best Scripted Show, Best Coach/Director, Best Bartender) to the silly (Best Randomly Selected Student).

Kevin McShane created the look of the Del Close Awards and runs its excellent website —photos and videos are there for your viewing pleasure.

Jill Alexander was nominated for Best Portrayal of an Object. In her case, the object was a doughnut mascot that danced at a street corner to bring in customers to its doughnut shop. And it proved to be the Dancing Doughnut That Could, because Jill won. When her name was called, she took to the stage and recreated that dance routine right there for the live audience. Up to that point, we had seen smarty-pants irony, we had seen honest humility and gratitude, but we hadn’t seen Midwestern dance-team spirit until Jill took the stage.

Trophy Wife was nominated for Best Harold Team this year. But alas, it wasn’t to be. The USS Rock n Roll took home the well-deserved honors.

Trophy Wife emeritus Eric Hunicutt received a James Grace award for contributions to the IO West (he just completed a four-year tour of duty as Director of the Training Center). And our former coach Irene White also received a James Grace award. Irene was one of the founders of the IO West’s Del Close Awards. Her acceptance speech elicited tears, laughter, applause, and a few cat calls.

After the awards ceremony, the theater took advantage of the prom-like conditions (gowns, tuxedos, and the feeling that if Nick Armstrong is sexy, so aren’t we!) and had a dance party.

Keep your eyes out for award-worthy performances—IO West shows from now through July will be eligible for Del Close 2010 nominations.

Big summer movie news!

posted by Tim on Tuesday June 16, 2009

Filed under: Announcements of Mild Importance, Things We Found For You

Congratulations to our own Kevin McShane who appears as Draco Malfoy in the upcoming summer blockbuster Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

Hey, Kevin…we did it.

May Madness

posted by Johnny A on Monday May 11, 2009

Filed under: Announcements of Mild Importance, IOWest

If competitive improv is your game, have we got a hot offer for you: Tuesday night at 8, Trophy Wife goes up against Steve Holt in the first round of the IO West’s annual Harold competition.

Each group will put on a show full of sympathetic characters, memorable lines, and eureka moments. Then you—our audience, our friends, our critics, our muses—will be asked to vote on which group had the better show. The winner goes on to the next round. We all go home thoroughly entertained.

So don’t miss out—get over to the IO West tomorrow night and let’s do this!