My name is Eski. Eski is actually the alias of one of the Hinges, but that’s not important. What’s important is for me to vent the frustrations of my experiences in the land known as The Whale’s Vagina. Another bratty Hinge member by the name of Tim suggested I used a BLOG to vent.  I didn’t know what a blog was.  I know it has something to do with the computer, but I own a Commodore 64 (I don’t believe in upgrading something that still works).  Well, this is how my conversation went with that Tim guy:

Tim: Why don’t you blog your angry thoughts?
Eski: What’s a BLOG?
Tim: It’s short for WEBLOG.
Eski: What’s a WEBLOG?
Tim: It’s where you can type your thoughts on your computer.  It’s like an online diary for the world to see.
Eski: So, it’s safe for me to put my diary out on the coffee table for all my guests to read?
Tim: Not the same thing. Just create a blog account on eBlogger and post once in a while when you have some random thought you wish to share with the universe.
Eski:  Thanks, Tod.
Tim:  It’s Tim.  We’ve been performing improv together for 3 years now.
Eski: That’s too long.
Tim: What?
Eski: Nothing.  Can you put your clothes back on?  This is a Denny’s for Christ’s sake!!!

So there you have it. I will now use this blog thingy to share my ideas, frustrations, creations, patents, venereal diseases, other germs, and mostly to get some of you who would disagree with me, in a yelling match online using a lot of exclamation marks!!!!!

You may see my rants on my Friendster account as well.  So add me on there.  It’s like a social networking thing that seems pretty cool.  Not like that new crappy MySpace piece of shit they trying to push on people now.  Bunch of copycats!!!!

Xoxo XXX,

Eski

After battling what she refers to as her “creepy stalker dude,” Stefanie took up boxing. Unfortunately, a nasty shoulder injury forced her to find a new hobby. She asked herself, “What could be as scary as getting punched in the face?” Performing in front of a room full of strangers trying to make them laugh, of course. And so it was… improv became her new addiction. Stefanie has taken improv classes at the National Comedy Theatre in San Diego and has performed with the Secret City Comedy Society in Fullerton, California.

In her spare time, Stefanie likes surfing the Internet for nothing at all, occasionally voting for reality TV, and attempting to win the lottery. She still likes the Cubs.

Since becoming infected with snarkiness at an early age, Sumrall now uses this affliction to her advantage to combat phonies, hipsters, and the occasional historical reenactor. In her most neutral state, Sumrall would be considered calm, genteel, passive, and extremely well-mannered, however she is given to bouts of sarcasm and nasty letter writing…so don’t piss her off, ok?

Really though, Sumrall is seldom volatile, and can be relied on to provide sparkling conversation, mischief, and a well-grounded foundation in the absurd. She enjoys art, music, theater, and educational field trips, along with good beer, interesting people, and llamas. Sumrall also considers writing about herself in the third person sort of awkward and douche-y, so she encourages you to come see her in person, so she can tell it to you directly.

• Mispoken words
• Shaky accents
• Forgotten names

You call it a mistake? I say it’s a wonderful offer. (Just make sure to justify.)

Don’t worry, none of those happened. Though, I wouldn’t mind streaking on stage sometime. I’m talking about the two person scene in improv. Two people act out a scene and take on the personas of multiple characters in the scene. Never seen a two person scene? Check out some of the two person improv acts in San Diego if you get the chance. Chris George and Mike McFarland are one of the funniest two person acts to catch. (Tell them I sent ya).

I’m used to doing long form scenes with 6 to 8 people. This was the first time I would attempt the two person scene. Of course I was nervous, but how could anything go wrong when I was paired up with Antonio Salinas. The man known as the guy who has the most energy on stage.

Now I don’t know if it was the Vitamin B I took earlier that kicked in or the shots of Jack Daniels that loosened me up. But once we got a suggestion from the audience, we both went off. I felt like we could have done a whole one hour scene if we wanted to. The suggestion was “banana”, which caused us to create a scene with Peanut Butter Banana Carne Asada Burrito. Sounds good doesn’t it? Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.

After the show ended, I knew it wasn’t the Vitamin B nor the Jack Daniels that made my creativity go off. It was the fact that I was having a lot of fun with where the scene was going. The one thing I’ve learned from an improv instructor at Improv Olympic was that when you’re doing a scene, you have to have fun or else your scene will end up being boring.

Now that the show was done, I’ve been thinking. Should I start a Gio and Antonio show? Or as Antonio would call it, The Antonio and Gio show? I think I’ll workshop the two person scene a little bit more before I consider it.

Now what about this Peanut Butter Banana Carne Asada Burrito? Well… don’t try it with Peanut Butter……. But do add banana. It’s good.

Typically, the way the process works is that a few Hinges put their heads together to write scripts for some quick, 30-second sketches, then we get together in a bootstrapped studio to shoot them. What surprised the hell out of me was the sheer amount of comedy that miraculously sprang up outside of the scripted sketches. We thought it’d be selfish to keep all the laughs to ourselves, so behold: The Hinges Scenes That Weren’t.

WARNING: naughty language, and Tim’s nipples lie just behind the Play button. This was your warning, warning you that a warning is in effect!

What do you think? Is there some real material in there, or what?

Featured on NBC 7/39 News and twice on CW Channel 6 “San Diego Living”, Jessica and her music continue to attract attention. Jessica’s clever lyrics, dynamic vocals and pop singer/songwriter style has been called “music for the soul”. She loves to write about life and love, trying situations and inspirational moments. What is most important to Jessica is to be a leader and support others through her music.

Find more info about Jessica on:

Facebook | MySpace | YouTube | Twitter

After joining the speech team in high school, Josie quickly discovered there is nothing better in this world than being a part of a creative environment. Not being the best performer herself, she discovered that even creativity needs an organizer/boss/mom figure and that person is called a stage manager.

An odd mix of OCD and a laid back attitude helps keep things organized without going insane over the little things. Correction, insanity is actually the best part of being around performers. Just stay away from the stressful kind.

In her spare time, she likes to goof around laugh at herself and make silly improv videos. As an alumni of the Hinges, humor plays an enormous role in her everyday life. Chrystal is currently seeking others to form a troupe so she can bring a slice of the Hinges to the Queen City.