My love affair with Star Trek...

My Trek fanaticism dates back to when I was 11 growing up in Miami. We had my godparents over for dinner and my godfather, whose unique life views and philosophies I admired, asked that my dad put on Star Trek. I sat, I watched, I was enthralled. Mere seconds into it I felt like, “why haven’t I been watching this? This feels like a ‘me’ thing.” This was Star Trek: The Next Generation. After that, I made myself watch nothing but the original, as I wanted to start where it all began. Reruns aired at 4 o’clock after school on channel 4. I even remember the three commercials that would air throughout for Hydrox Cookies, Combat Roach Control Spray, and Spanish Olives and Olive Oil: “The Best Under the Sun.”

My in Orlando with people who were NOT actually on my "ship."

Soon I got into TNG and was going to the local conventions. I did not dress up for the first convention; I simply watched in awe as a man in a very elaborate Klingon costume with full makeup won. While I knew I couldn’t compete with that, I donned full Spock attire with the makeup assistance of my sister and mother (both very good at this) and threw my hat into the ring for the next convention’s contest. I won!

I continued to compete and won first place when Brent Spiner was headlining. I dressed as Data, but with a little extra oomph. The night before the con, the episode in which they’re trainsported to the old west, and Data plays cards to win money aired. When I went up in my Data costume with makeup, slicked back hair, a deck of cards, a phaser, a brown vest, and an old timey hat I got a standing ovation. When Brent took the stage someone I didn’t even know asked him if I could go up on stage and he could get a picture of us. No one I was with had a camera so we got the guy’s number and he sent us copies of the pic. Brent said he responds to every piece of mail he gets—I sent him the pics for autographing and have yet to get them back, 15 years later. Oh well.

My godparents would buy me merch at the conventions. I got toy phasers, buttons, posters, and, memorably, a large cardboard Enterprise (1701-A) that hung from my ceiling in my bedroom until years of being whipped around by the a/c vent damaged it and took it out of commission. These conventions were amazing—small by big con standards (like New York and Las Vegas), but we got stars. I got to see and get autographs from, among others, James Doohan, Marina Sirtis, Rene Auberjonois, Jonathan Frakes, Denise Crosby and Gates McFadden. One of my favorite momentos is a Klingon Dictionary signed by Michael Dorn.

One of the things I learned was that Star Trek people are good people. From the conventions I went to it’s all just happy people who are having a good time. Whether it’s the good humored laughter when a young girl asked Gates McFadden if she really is a “dancing doctor” or everyone backing out of the way and making absolutely sure a woman in a wheelchair got to see the guest speakers it was and is one big happy family.

My dad, a novice fan, took me to Orlando for a big convention when I was 14. When Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country came out, a group from a fan club was handing out recruitment fliers in uniform in the lobby. The group was the USS Triumph, the local chapter (or ship) of the international Trek club, Starfleet. I signed up for the ship’s meetings, and even did the send-away test to get my official entrance into the Academy. I passed with flying colors. (Thank you, Blockbuster.) As I got older I lost touch with my ship and didn’t make it out to many local conventions. With Next Gen. off the air and DS9 running it’s course I just wasn’t as into the new stuff like Voyager and Enterprise.

My hiatus from deep involvement with Star Trek was brief, however. My wife’s friend was in town one weekend with her husband who is a huge fan and I took him to see this Trek improv group that had performed at the same theater as another group I was in (and advertised on the same poster. My mom asked me once when I sent her an image of the poster if I was in the Trek group. I said “no” and then “I’m not sure why not, actually.”) I found out one day that the group was having auditions. Despite being very sick, having no voice, showing up late thanks to the subway, and forgetting to turn off my phone when I first got there I guess I did alright. :)

The Case of the Phantom Cast Member

THIS JUST IN!...

The crew of Start Trekkin' NYC has been infiltrated with a phantom cyborg presence. This alien creature is commonly known as "Lindsay" although its proper, scientific nomenclature is "Leslie Goshko." Laden with unearthly powers to avoid every single cast photograph, she only materializes onstage during Start Trekkin' shows, where she improvises her way through solar systems, love triangles, and interstellar globs of goo. Should anyone actually see her in a photograph, PLEASE proceed with caution. This means that there has been a shift in the time-space continuum and your very soul and organic matter could be in extreme danger.

Should you have any information concerning this dangerous creature, please notify the Captain...or simply report to the bridge.

WHO IS THIS PHANTOM? A FIGMENT OF OUR IMAGINATION? OR A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH?

It's Red So The Stains Don't Show

My name is Casey, and I'm a Redshirt. But it's not enough just to be a Redshirt. You've got to appreciate what it means; the well we're dipping into every time we do a show.

The fact that I don't have to explain what a Redshirt is should be a good start. Anyone reading this post on purpose came here to read this stuff-- they know of what I speak. You take one look at this poor sap; you know his life insurance is going to pay off for somebody. So.

It's nice to be part of a comedy troupe so fancy they spell the word 'troupe' the European way with an extra letter and only one 'o'. That's just how good we are. It's also quite fun to be a part of something that, with one hand, praises all the good bits of an American legacy and lampoons the stuffing out of it with the other. Star Trek rocks. The very elements that made it great also make our shows friggin' hilarious.

Come check us out. Unlike reruns of your favorite episodes, you will never see the same show twice. Not with us. Different crew, different ship, different planets. New missions and always, always new ways to die.

Ensign Simmons might get a faceful of cloud spores-- to which he is allergic-- and suffer a nasty (but quick) facial explodey death. Lieutenant Chambers might get eaten whole by a giant python. Or Yeoman Brown could be torn asunder by a genetic experiment gone horribly wrong; driven mad by the very adrenaline juices brewed in its own teats. You never know.

The fact that one man's dream has persisted for decades only acts as a testament to his genius. People still want to believe in a better future. They like to imagine that there are other worlds out there with problems not so different from our own; with women that will invariably find our captain irresistible. That even the biggest challenges (that granted, will cost us a few red pawns) can be resolved in about an hour!

And it's all right here. Delivered by a bunch of people united by three simple things: They're funny. They know and love Star Trek. And they look good in primary colors.

Redshirt out.

RIP, Majel Barrett-Roddenberry...

So I had all these dreams of my first post here on this awesome blog being filled with dry wit, wry observations and witty comments about the Star Trek world and the awesome improv we do.

Alas, with the announcement of the death of Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, I will instead share this link, because I know I for one am saddened by the loss of such a huge part of the Star Trek lore.

--Heather

A Bit About What We Do

Start Trekkin' NY is a long-form improv troupe. "Long-form" meaning not short-form. Short-form being the Whose Line Is It Anyway style of games and quick laugh generators. So long-form is not short games or quick laughs. It's story-telling, and theme-building. It's full length scenes like you might see in a play or sketch show...only we make it up on the spot.

In particular we perform a full-length narrative long form. Each performance is a single "episode" with an hour long story arc just like a real episode of the original series of Star Trek. There's a captain and a crew, villains, all powerful space beings, pirates, cosmic merchants, and cute vaporous gases with mommy issues. Hopefully each of these character has a complete character arc by the time the show finishes out.

Part of what I do is think about improv all the time. Even during intimate moments. Especially during intimate moments. It's a constant obsession and I would say that more than half of that obsessing focuses on how to improve our improv. (The other half is dreaming up new formats for shows). Fortunately, improv is a very teachable skill. More so than anyone really admits. We teach ourselves (over many years of school teasing, and office bullying) to think before we speak. We teach ourselves anti-improv. Our natural tendency is to improvise, not the reverse. To successfully teach improv you just have to get people to unlearn the social lessons they have had driven into them since they left their homes. Most of improv is simply getting people to let their imaginations run free. Once you teach someone how to do this, they will want to improvise for the rest of their lives.

The other section of improv, the less fun part, is channeling that imagination in a controlled way. This is the part people want to watch, however, so it's a necessary evil. Dancing around singing Volare while acting like zombie monkeys with epilepsy is fun, but it doesn't get people to come back to your shows on a regular basis. (Actually, yes it does, but let's not get into that). People have certain expectations about what they want to see when they pay $10 and sit in a chair in front of a stage. They want to laugh. They want a story. Most of all, they want to feel attached.

So what do you do? Well, you wear a Star Trek uniform and you act out an episode. Sure. But you also focus on the particulars of what makes a good episode. What makes a good narrative. What makes good long-form. The answer, I think, is relationships. Real, human-alien, relationships with real emotions and real consequences. If you can open up your imagination you can be anyone, and more importantly, you can relate to anyone. Audiences, subconsciously or consciously, crave an experience where they can watch real relationships develop in real ways. Psychologist use a technique called "role playing" (improv!) expressly because it allows people to quickly understand how others feel. This is also why reality TV works - carefully crafted stories that have real relationships. That's the money shot.

And it's what we do. Or what we try to do. A lot of the time we make jokes about space-farts. But we try to show relationships and how they develop in a very fun and accessible format. A format that people love anyway. So they come for the Star Trek and they stay because it feels real. Real good.

Just my improv opinion,
Aaron

Welcome to Start Trekkin NY's Space Blorg!

All Hail, super nova improv fans! Welcome to the official blog of the most far out comedic improv group in New York City, Start Trekkin NY.

You realize of course that extra terrestrials do not merely blog, they blorg. So we here on the great mother Earth carry on the tradition started in Rigel 7 by commander Droog Malarken when he was attempting to hide Federation secrets from the invading Romulan fleet by posting anti-matter formulas on the super-stellar-net in the guise of an Andorian beetle cake recipe blorg. Don't worry, the day was saved, the top secret sub-quarkian information was slyly transmitted to the nearest Federation star base, the Romulans were felled by their own hubris and avarice, and the beetles were delicious!

Lt Farnswarple thinks in solar systems

Here at Start Trekkin NY, we create full length, fully- improvised, brand new dramadies in the style and universe of the Original Star Trek series. If you've ever wished the adventures of Kirk, Spock and the rest of the gang could live on forever, without the tedium of watching Kirk, Spock, Bones, etc wade through another planet wide shortage of gum resin whilst getting rear ended by a ravenous Klingon Bird of Prey, then this is the group for you. We create ALL NEW characters and stories, on a new ship, for you at the drop of a dime, based on your suggestions.

Sounds dope, yeah?

Of course, it would behoove you to check out our official web site, start-trekkin.com, for up-to-date info about the cast and crew, the where and when of new performances, as well as video, radio plays, photos, the Red Shirt Diaries (in memory of those who've given their lives for Starfleet), interviews, and more. In fact, why don't you go on over and check it out right now! Don't worry, we'll wait....

This Space Blorg has been created so different members of the Start Trekkin NY crew can document their experiences on stage, as well as to be a haven for new STNY stuff that appears on the web, (video, photos, interviews, etc) and any thing else that we can't fit onto our website, but want to make available for you, the hungry-for-space-adventure-in-a-1960's-style-mini-skirt-and-pointy-
sideburns-kind-of-way interwebs surfer! Hang ten (to the tenth power), you power hungry demi god from Volcanus 3!

STNY re-enacting the "red shirt massacre" at the 2008 NY Comicon, Javitz Center, NYC

Let's kick our inaugural blorg off with some video from a recent performance in NYC at the Big Apple ComicCon in November, 2008. We were given 15 minutes to perform a STNY mini show, right after the James Bond panel, but before the parade of zombie super heroes. How'd we do?
YOU DECIDE!

Just as a side note, the suggestion for the name of the ship for this show was "the USS Woodstock" and the theme for the show was "recession."





This blorg was created by Phil aka Cmdr Artron. Anchors Away!