Molasses Winners • 7/20/14

Molasses Winners • 7/13/14

Molasses Winners • 6/29/14

Molasses Winners • 6/22/14

Molasses Winners • 6/15/14

Molasses Winners • 6/8/14

Molasses Winners • 6/1/14

Molasses Winners • 5/25/14

Molasses Winners • 5/18/14

Molasses Winners • 5/11/14

WHAT IS MOLASSES?

5:30 pm Every Sunday at This Theater (154 W. 29th St. bet. 6th and 7th Aves)
$1 admission

Molasses is a new event at This Theater. It's a chance for NYC improvisers to experience and play in a slower, more theatrical style of improv. Inspired by the work of improv heroes like Nichols and May, TJ & Dave, or WeirDass, Molasses gives randomly-chosen performers a chance to pair up and do a long, continuous improv scene (typically 9 minutes). 10 lucky and brave improvisers will get a chance to perform, and at the end of the night, one of the five duos is chosen by the audience to come back the next time and perform in the showcase 12-minute slot, which closes the night.

How does it work?

If you want to come to Molasses to watch some of the most truthful, moving, and hilarious improv in town, just pay a dollar, sit back, and enjoy.
If you want to perform at Molasses, it's only a little more complicated. At the beginning of the night, everyone that wants to perform will sign up. From that group, 10 people will be randomly-chosen in pairs. The 5 selected pairs will each get approximately 9 minutes to perform a single, continuous scene — no tag-outs, no time dashes, no tomfoolery, just moment to moment to moment improvisation.
The audience will then vote for their favorite pair of improvisers, using whatever criteria they have in their head. The winning pair of improvisers will be invited back to the next Molasses to perform in the Showcase, which is the last performance of the night, usually given 12 minutes of stage time (this may vary depending on scheduling constraints).

Why don't you let us sign up in pairs?

That's not a bad idea. We might have a special night with just pairs of people that know each other. For the time being we're randomly-drawing people, because we'd like people to mix it up a little bit. And there's a lot to be learned by everyone involved when a veteran gets up there with a new improviser. We also don't want people to feel like they have to get a great scene partner lined up before they can attend Molasses.

So if my scene partner and I win, then we perform that very same night?

No, you come back the next Molasses and perform at the end of the show. It's important we have your contact info in case anything changes or if you aren't available to come back, for example.

What if I don't get chosen?

If you don't get picked, we'll write your name down, and if you come to the next Molasses, we'll put your name into the random drawing twice. If you don't get picked again, we'll put your name in three times the next go-round, and so on. In other words, for every consecutive Molasses that you attend that you don't get picked, you'll get an extra chance in the next drawing. Note this only applies to a consecutive string of attendance, and it doesn't guarantee that you'll get picked on any given night, although it certainly improves the odds.

Email MolassesNYC@gmail.com for more info!