The Making of the Impro Depot

By Kyle Gould

A bit of history of the Impro Depot.

You may be wondering, “where did you get this incredible space to put on your incredible demonstrations?!”  And if you are in fact wondering that very thing then (I am psychic and) this is the very place to read that tale.

In the cold winter months of aught eight the Imrov Guild was in a dire place.  We’d been renting the Green Fool’s Theatre as a Friday night sublet to put on our Friday night shows.  We’d even managed to pack the house a few times… but disaster struck and the Green Fools were issued a cessation order from the city that left us without a space to perform in as well.  Our Artistic Director however, and general guru, Rick Hilton was not without hope and, more importantly, an idea.  He’d noticed that the former Electronics Recycling Depot just across the alley was sitting dormant and unused and inquired with the owner on the availability of the space.

The owner said it was, gave Rick a lease price and…

Beginning in June of 2008 the Improv Guild had a space to call their own.  A dirty, disgusting and drafty warehouse we hoped we could transform into a place to do our thang.  The call went out for help.  Improv Guild members, associates, friends and acquaintances were dragged through the doors to spend hot and sweaty evenings and weekends doing what they could, with the cheapest materials we could scrounge up, to make it a place to call home.

It started with an intense afternoon of pressure washing the entire building.  The mud ran thick, black and in large volumes from out of the large overhead door that day.  The breathing masks were absolutely necessary from the dust and filth that was kicked up into the air as a result.  They started out pristine white masks, but by the time the day was done they were caked with grime and filth, grey and black as though they’d been dragged through the marshes of Vietnam.

While the cement floors dried, the next day the painting began.  While Corina headed the team in the front part of the building with a group of devoted assistants, Rick began with the assembling of the scaffolding in order to hang the ceiling and spray paint the walls.  It was hot those last few weeks in June, but cool to finally be in a building of our own.  It slowly took shape. But an interesting tidbit during the painting is the conversation that people get into while high on paint fumes always seems that much more hilarious and inventive than it does to those who are not high on paint fumes.

One of the more complicated and impressive renovations was renovating the ceiling. The ceilings were hung with ten foot by 80 foot black polyurethane – otherwise known as the material that makes up generic garbage bags.  The manner of their application was a difficult process involving caulking, black masking tape and hours upon hours of backbreaking labor on the scaffolding with our arms above our heads.  But we did it.  With only a few minor repairs in the months since, it’s held up and the heat in very well.

The floors were washed, primed and painted.  The furnace was fixed, fixed again and finally fixed a third time.  And as the Fall slowly knocked the leaves off the trees the stage was brought in, the lights were set up – the foosball table donated and the hockey table purchased.  Without having done a show yet, we suddenly had the best clubhouse in the world.

California Closets donated a mini fridge and a really nice cougar asked us to remove from her garage a giant monstrosity of a circa 1980 refrigerator.  It was picked up in a rickety u-haul one rainy September Sunday afternoon and delivered to serve its express purpose: keeping our beer and wine cold.

The couches at the Improv Depot were donated from all over and for a while it looked like they were reproducing, so often were new ones dropped off.  We’re always looking for comfy places to sit, and now we have them, with enough for several friends to lounge as well – and oh, how about the entire first row of the theatre?  Yes, the entire front row is made up of couches and love seats.

But one thing about the Impro Depot is that it is much like improvisation itself.  It’s a work in progress.  There’s always something crazy going on, always something that could have been done a little easier, a little better – but without a doubt, it was all done with good intentions and a lot of love.  Welcome to our home.