This Wednesday 27 June, Zmack participates in Bluestocking's THE CULTURE OF CHOCOLATE event.  Free handmade chocolates will be given away for the correct answers to the following trivia questions;

Which ancient civilizations discovered the value of the cocoa plant?
a. Ethiopians
b. Chinese
c. Atlantis
d. Mayans and Aztecs

Before it was used to make chocolate, how were cocoa beans used by these civilizations?
a. cattle feed
b. artworks
c. Currency
d. mobile phones

When was Zmack established?  
a. Yesterday
b. 2009
c. 2011
d. We have not gotten around to establishing anything yet

TRUE OR FALSE: One milk chocolate bar has more protein than a banana.
a. True
b. False

CHOC REPUBLIC Opened in 2010 in this current location. Soon a second location will open in which Shanghai district?
        a. Pudong New Area
        b. Songjiang
        c. Jing’an
        d. Qinpu

What is the melting point of cocoa butter, a main component of chocolate?
a. the boiling point of water
b. human body temperature
c. the melting point of ice
d. a late August day in Shanghai

in 1615, which European country discovered the joy of drinking hot chocolate, and thus sparked the invention of what famous beverage popular today?
a. Italy - cappuccino
b. Seattle - Starbucks
c. Denmark - Chocolate Milk
d. Russia - Vodka

The Ghirardelli company sells 10 pound chocolate bars.  What object comes with the bar to assist with serving?
a. a hammer
b. a chisel
c. a silver tray
d. a very small waitress from Hooters

What country has a tradition of ‘obligation chocolate’ on Valentine’s Day, and what does that mean?
a. North Korea - it means you have to give chocolate to the Supreme Leader
b. Indonesia - it means you must send chocolate to poorer less developed parts of the country
c. Japan - it means you must give chocolate to your boss, father, and every man in your life
d. Westeros - It means you must craft a chocolate sword and present to the noble house you serve

Chocolate, exercise, and orgasms trigger the same receptors in the human brain as what illegal drug?
a. Heroin
b. Psylocibin (mushrooms)
c. Marijuana
d. Viagra

BLUESTOCKING is not only the name of our organization, but has what historical meaning which reflects upon our mission:
        a. The special stocking hung for Santa to leave gifts for the poor
        b. a term meaning an scholarly and educated lady
        c. The advance guard for the Ming Emperor wore blue trousers
        d. Eastern European bankers and financiers wore blue spats over their shoes

The botanical name of chocolate, theobramba cacao, translates into English as what phrase?
a. This is my Chocolate, keep your hands off
b. Food of the Gods
c, Bitter Black Bean Plant
d. King of Delicacies

Van Houten, the Dutch inventor of the cocoa press, developed a means of treating chocolate nibs with alkaline to reduce bitterness.  What did this process become known as?
a. Dutching
b. Houtening
c. Pressing
d. Macarena

Zmack’s style of improv comedy is best known from what popular television show?
a. Desperate Housewives
b. Whose Line Is It Anyway
c. Oprah
d. Friends

In the famous Hitchcock horror movie PSYCHO, what chocolate product is used to represent something far more terrifying?
a. The American Republican Party
b. living fog that covers the world
c. human blood
d. Budweiser beer

M&Ms were created and designed for what US government organization?
a. Congress
b. CIA
c. Food and Drug administration
d. US Army

Chocolate contains flavonoid phenolics, chemicals which reduce the risk of heart disease.  Which beverage contains the same chemicals?
a. Coca Cola
b. Red wine (30 RMB a glass tonight at Choc Republic!)
c. Bai Jiu
d. Coffee

Which country consumes the most chocolate per person per year?
a. America
b. China
c. Narnia
d. Switzerland

Just as what Curt told me, “CANDY came from nothing to be ZMACKer”, well, this is truth. I was born like any other average child in China, received very routine boring education, and haven’t done anything big or significant so far. Anything ever related to performance or theater had nothing to do with me before. But ZMACK appeared last year, and makes changes overnight, me still amateur, but I do discover the other crazy/free half of Candy on the stage.
 
Dating back to a spring April day in 2010, friend invited me to a ZMACK show, and then the guy sitting next to me, an old ZMACKer invited me to the workshop, I pleasantly accepted the invitation and went to my lifetime first workshop, damn, so die-hard at that time, I used my lame Ching-lish and tried out games with veteran like Curt, Sproffee, Jubal, TOUFA etc. It was the very starting story, and then, walk and keep walking to this far. Life hasn’t changed very much with ZMACK’s existence, still work like cheap donkeys at daytime, but whenever thinking about there is a group and stage behind me, I will smile, and tell myself “ Go, Candy, don’t be afraid ”. Gradually, I find the weird open person I did not know before.
 
ZMACK is a very precious place to achieve self-realization. Maybe this is a little bit serious, but I mean it. Although I have been pushed to perform for almost ten months, but frankly, every performance is a still big challenge for me. The challenge originates from the question how much laughter I can get this time, and how funny I can be. The answer is uncertain but worth trying. Then every performance opportunity becomes a sweet burden.
 
On average, during the performance week, we have to spend 3 nights to do two rehearsals, and one performance, so feels like, the whole week is all about impro, about ZMACK. During the rehearsals, we will go through the game list, it is easy going, and filled with expectations for more audiences this time. And the day before the show, my heart starts to beat fast, and on that specific day, goose bump come out. As the 7PM call time approaching, my heart beating even faster, and sweating, and head turning empty. On arriving at the performing venue right before the formal show, we will do group warm up to find the stage feelings. Every player will be working very hard to put up all the energy for the show, stimulating but also stressing. And the highest pressure moment comes from the 5 minutes before the show, I can hear my own heart beating, “bump, bump, bump…”. When Curt steps on to the stage, and does the opening remarks, oh my god, my legs are shaking, and hands too….the stress climax. Stress is not a pleasant feeling, but it is always accompanied. But after the first several games, when people applaud generously, the psychological burden disappeared all of a sudden, replaced by self-confidence, and pride, which will stir me to be crazier and crankier.
 
Every play will come to an end, and have to say good bye. It is a hard moment to say good bye, but also a sweet moment to say the next line, see you next time. After the show, if I feel excited, then to myself I evaluate it as a good one. But if I feel depressed and frustrated after, then I might need to work harder next time. It is like a circle for each performance, from the beginning expectation, to nervous, to panic, to almost wet the pants, and endless goose bump, to actually, not so bad, to well, I feel damn good, to lastly, thank god, I finish it without screwing it.
 
The biggest challenge in ZMACK is about to overcome the uncomfortable stress facing open untold performance, and succeed to meet up the complex feeling after show. With pain, with pressure, with pride, with self-realization, with trust, the improvised performance has become my best once-a-month date, and always fresh as first date, so I am going to just enjoy it, and love it.

Candy Tang is one of the Directors of Zmack Comedy, and a founder of 宇宙即乐团, Shanghai's first all-Chinese Improv Comedy team.  See Candy in action this Saturday, April 16th at 8:30pm in the next 'Ji Le Tuan' Show!

Next to fresh blueberries and first kisses, improvisational theater is one of the greatest things life has to offer. This may sound like hyperbole, but it’s the most true thing that anyone has ever said about anything anywhere. Improvisational theater improves social and conversational skills, creates friendships and demonstrates the fundamental importance of working with others rather than against them.  It is also great fun to watch and even more fun to do, showing the endless possibilities that form when people trust each other.

 
Basically, improv has two rules. The first rule of improv is “yes, and”. This means that no matter what another player says, an improvisational actor must say “yes” and continue the scene. Saying “no” when people offer a suggestion stops the action rather than forwarding the scene. This is just as true off stage, in meetings, during telephone calls, on dates and in all other social situations. Saying “yes” brings one into harmony with others. Saying “no” halts forward movement.

 
The second rule of improv is that everything is a gift. When performing with others on stage, no matter what someone says, whether they call you “dad” or whether they invite you to a tea party on the moon, the improvisational actor recognizes that these offerings are “gifts”. When accepted, these gifts can be used to create an interesting and novel scene, which may be funny, sad, disturbing and beautiful. Life, as we all know, is full of such “gifts” and improv is the art of using them constructively.

 
When most people think of “improv” they generally think of short 2-5 minute games where the audience gives a suggestion and the actors create a funny scene based around that suggestion. This is also known as “short-form improv”. The games tend to have a gimmick, such as ringing a bell, re-creating a movie, guessing an audience suggestion, moving backwards and forwards in time, etc. These games tend to get the audience laughing at how their suggestions are being used to create comedy.

 
In contrast to this, “long-form improv” takes an audience suggestion and develops it through free-word associations and idea generation techniques into a much longer and more fully realized one-act play. The audience may only give a single word as a suggestion, but from this suggestion, an entire world is created. Long-form improv is less focused on humor and more on creating an in-depth story with developed characters, locations, plots and subplots, conflicts and resolutions. The goal of long-form improv is not so much laughter as bringing the audience into a shared, unique world that has never existed before.

 
Like jazz music, improvisational theater is largely about trust in yourself and in your fellow performers in order to build something new together that could not be built alone. Improv is an excellent way to practice language, be it English or Chinese, and to practice team-building and trust. The lessons that are learned on stage do not end with the final bows, but are brought into reality to help one work with the many wild personalities and unexpected story-lines that daily life continues to throw our way.

 
Improv comedy greats include such names as Chevy Chase, Dan Akroyd, Martin Short, David Spade, Chris Farley, Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart and Cookie Monster. Zmack is proud to be Shanghai’s longest running improv group and to continue to hold free bi-monthly workshops open to the public where people can come and experience improv first-hand to see if they enjoy it. Those who display talent and interest may be invited to the closed rehearsals, which can lead to performing with Zmack in shows.

 
Zmack uses both Chinese and English to play games and to build scenes. As China continues to grow and develop, it is becoming more and more clear that all artistic forms have a place in modern Chinese society, and that the level of native talent is high. Zmack is proud to be a part of Shanghai’s culture and we look forward to working with the many wild personalities and unexpected story-lines that China continues to throw our way. 

David Warner is the Creative Director of Zmack, and the founder of the Chinese improv group, 宇宙即乐团, "The Universal Instant Gratification Society."  If you'd like to learn more about long-form improv theater, be sure and sign up for Zmack's Advanced Improv class, beginning this Sunday!

If you are a fan of Zmack (and who isn’t really?) then you are probably familiar with what is known as ‘short-form’ improvisational theater.  This is the stuff you enjoyed on “Whose Line is it Anyway?” or in most Zmack shows - Christopher and Curt playing Alphabet, Candy and David playing Sure Ding, or maybe Rich twisting his body as an athlete in Olympics.

These are called short-form because... well, they are short.  Usually only a few minutes long and often centered around a gimmick to the game.  We all love them, and they make a fast and funny show.

However, if you’ve watched Saturday Night Live, Kids in the Hall, Upright Citizens Brigade, and other comedy team shows, you may or may not be aware that you are watching the results of another form of improv - long form.

As the name implies, long form is longer.  Zmack fans often see a type of long form in the Zmack Original Comedy Show when we interview an audience member and play “A Day In The LIfe.”  This obviously takes longer than other games, and it’s comprised of several ‘beats’ or shorter pieces of the whole.  

There are several different long form games, each with it’s own style, but one of the most popular and famous is called the Harold.

The Harold was developed by Del Close (of Second CIty fame) with Charna Halpern.  First performed in 1967, it has been developed into many different variations based on one basic structure: three acts (or "beats"), each with three scenes and a group segment. With each beat, the three scenes return. By the end of the piece, the three scenes have converged.



Long form such as the Harold has been used to develop sketches and recurring characters for shows like Saturday Night Live and many others.  It is the primary form of improv performed by the Upright Citizen’s Brigade and IO.  Zmack has performed the Harold a number of times in Shanghai, with great success. Zmack will also perform the Harold as a feature of the Beijing Improv Festival in April.  As Zmack Creative Director David Warner puts it, “Short Form can make an audience laugh - but Long Form can make them applaud.”

Elizabeth Bacon, Zmack Hall-of-Famer, has studied the Harold in depth at IOWest in Los Angeles and now returns to Shanghai to share this with you.   In this 9-week course, you can learn the Harold and the basics of Improv, and perform in a show of your own with your classmates. If you enjoy Zmack’s improv shows and ZmackLab workshops, be sure and sign up today for Elizabeth’s 9-week class - less than ten spots remain!

Congratulations to Shanghai Repertory Theatre and the cast and crew of Twelfth Night!

This is Shakespeare set in the 30’s at the eve of WWII, and features (among other amazing performers) Zmack’s own Laurie Padgett and Creative Director David Warner.

Check out the review here - http://www.smartshanghai.com/articles/stage/stage-review-srttwelfth-night

Kudos to all!  You make us all proud!