Guest Blogger: Aimee Goldstein, ensemble member Bright Invention
AIMEE IN A HOLIDAY MELODRAMA, SITE-SPECIFIC STRUCTURED IMPROVISATION AT GLEN FOERD MANSION.
You know the feeling you get when a lot more time has passed than you had originally realized? That is how I feel about being Bright Invention’s most senior active member - me! What am I – some sort of physically active senior citizen at the mere age of 28?
L - R: BRIGHT INVENTION ARTISTIC DIRECTOR BENJAMIN LLOYD, ENSEMBLE MEMBER ERIC WALKER, JR., AND AIMEE ON THE WAY TO THE BALTIMORE IMPROV FESTIVAL!
My name is Aimee Goldstein, and I discovered Bright Invention in a park. Yes, you read that correctly. I had just completed an internship at a nonprofit theater company and was wandering around an arts festival in Jenkintown when I saw a sign for White Pines Productions (the previous name of Bright Invention). The education director at the time and I had been colleagues from another project, and she explained to me at this arts festival that White Pines was looking for an intern to assist with their improv group, Bright Invention. Needless to say that assisting as an intern had eventually morphed into becoming a full member of the Bright Invention ensemble today.
Bright Invention is more than just an improv group to me. (How much more cliché can I get? I know.) I have been attracted to improv since I first saw short-form improvisation (funny, comedic, short scenes – much like Who’s Line is it Anyway) as a teenager. In college I took a course on improv where I also learned about long form improv, which is what Bright Invention specializes in. Long form is essentially longer improv scenes that are rooted storytelling. As long form improvisers, we can tell comedic, melancholy, and heartwarming stories. In my opinion, long form is based in truth and our lives. Life has happy moments, sad moments, and everything in between, and therefore long form touches all of that.
Why Bright Invention? We tell stories. What more could an actor want. Part of why I love Bright Invention so much is that it can be an escape to just play around with people you trust. We meet every Monday evening in West Philly, and those regular rehearsals build trust and lasting relationships among all of us.
PRE-SHOW ENSEMBLE HUDDLE . . .
One of my fondest memories was last year’s Improvathon, which was held at the Arch Street Meetinghouse in Philadelphia. We set out to raise $500 for the William Way LGBT Center, and ended up raising $1,000 for them after a full day of improvisation and fun! Following our performance, we all carpooled to Chinatown for dim sum. (I want to point out that collectively, the ensemble is a HUGE fan of all Chinese, Vietnamese, and Japanese foods). Half the group got stuck behind a major traffic jam along the way, but we all made it there nevertheless. It was the first time that I realized that not only was this just an improv group that I was a member of, but this was also a family, and I am so happy to be a part of it (insert cheesy “aww” response here).
The Bright Invention ensemble is such a supportive group of friends. When we aren’t being there for one another in a difficult time, we are celebrating in each other’s company. This all goes back to trust, which is something I can’t stress enough. I think one of my favorite parts of any improv show we do is the half hour before we go onstage, when we are all together. We talk about our day, joke about life, and can often be found lying on the floor or stuffing our faces with pizza. In Bright Invention we can just be raw with each other because we have gained and earned the trust in each other to do so. When I perform with Bright Invention, I am guaranteed that my scene partner will support me and have my back because I know that actor would do the same for me offstage as well. It’s really quite magical. You should come to a show and experience it sometime.
See you there!
Aimee Yaffa Goldstein
Click here to see Aimee in this year’s Improvathon Saturday February 15th!
Click here to see Aimee in one of our monthly shows: Improvasushi!
AIMEE AS MRS. WHITE AND ENSEMBLE MEMBER SHEA SONSKY AS MISS SCARLETT IN OUR INTERACTIVE PARTY SHOW, ROOM WITH A CLUE.
