Opening Night Success

§ November 24th, 2009 § Filed under Uncategorized § No Comments

All along our goal was to create a warm, inviting, intimate theatre. We wanted to create a place that provides the ultimate theatre experience, including running shows that are new to the area.

Last Friday night, we did that! All of us. We’d like to thank the cast, the audience, the Lisas, our spouses and many others that jumped in to help.

Opening night of The Bubbler and The Eight: Reindeer Monologues was smooth, and…oh yeah…HILARIOUS!   We got great feedback, one woman said, “this is so cool, I’ll come back” before the show even started!

We can’t wait to see you here in the near future.

Crunch Time

§ November 13th, 2009 § Filed under Uncategorized § No Comments

My cell phone lost all power today. The battery died in such a short time, I think it was due to the excessive text messages and phone calls. Today, was a crazy day. It started out confusing – we sealed the walls and it was confusing on how to successfully do the task. From there, it got harder.

photo credit: Migraine Chick

Contractor and inspector calls made us frantic. We only have eight more days.

However, by 11pm Lisa, Carl and I were sitting comfotrably in a dimly light theatre space, a very cool and funkified theatre space and peace seemed to set in.

There are still a million things to do – a couple of bigger jobs, they will get done! It will be o.k.

The Eight: Reindeer Monologues Auditions

§ October 22nd, 2009 § Filed under Uncategorized § No Comments

Auditions this Saturday, October 24 at 10 am at The Bubbler, 421 N. Eighth Street, Manitowoc, WI – casting three females and five males. Show to run mid November to mid December.

A scandal happens at the North Pole and the reindeer spill their guts. A play for those on the naughty list.

Hired Gig

§ October 18th, 2009 § Filed under Uncategorized § No Comments

We were asked to perform at Silver Lake College last Sunday. It was a really great time! The kids were more than willing to participate and the result was we got to have a show of our own. We are thankful to Silver Lake College for allowing us to entertain and also to the kids, who made the show very successful!

If you want to hire us, just contact The Babbling Bubblers

Second Day in a Row: HTR article on The Bubbler!

§ October 8th, 2009 § Filed under Uncategorized § No Comments

Yes…the Manitowoc HTR is being very very good to the Bubbler! Thank you Ben Wideman! We had a a teaser picture in Wednesday’s edition, the Weekend Cover Story in Thursday’s edition, then on Friday a nice little article in the October HTR YOU Magazine, a publication they put out about women in business. This article is the reason that the Lisas took their cavorting fountain pictures.  We were surprised to see this article, though!  We thought that they had decided to put us in the Weekend Magazine instead.  Turns out we were in both!

From the Manitowoc HTR YOU Magazine published Oct 2, 2009  by Benjamin Wideman, photo by Lisa Heili:

Manitowoc’s Lisa Callsen and Lisa Heili, owners of The Bubbler Theatre, have founded The Babbling Bubblers Improv Troupe.

The comedy troupe will be based at The Bubbler Theatre, 421 N. Eighth Street, Manitowoc, in the near future. It will perform four shows this month at Manitowoc Coffee, 836 S. Eighth Street, Manitowoc – at 7:30 p.m. on October 3, 10, 17, and 24.

Recently Callsen and Heili attended a three-day session for improv at the famous Second City Training Center. Among Second City’s Alumni are Tina Fey, Mike Meyers, Chris Farley, and Stephen Colbert.

“We believe in training and providing tools for our troupe to grow,” Callsen said. For more information visit www.thebubblertheatre.com.

Cover Story in Manitowoc HTR Weekend Magazine

§ October 7th, 2009 § Filed under Uncategorized § No Comments

October 1, 2009 By: Benjamin Wideman Published in the Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter

Who needs Cliffs Notes when you’ve got Bradley Tavares?

At the debut performance of The Babbling Bubblers improv comedy troupe in August, the Manitowoc man acted out the seven-book, 4,000-page “Harry Potter” saga in — drum roll, please — one minute.

And he only had a few seconds to prepare.

“It went about as well as anybody could have guessed,” said a chuckling Tavares, who dabbled in improv while attending Dartmouth College. “It went pretty quick. I got in the main parts, some Quidditch, Snape, Dumbledore. It was fun.

“That kind of set an expectation for what an audience can expect at our shows. Expect the unexpected. Expect a lot of fun. Other players and I have been able to match that energy level and creativity in every show since. … I just think it’s fantastic that a start-up company like this, especially in the arts, is doing so well, so early.”

The side-splitting laughter continues Saturday when the Manitowoc-based Babbling Bubblers perform at 7:30 p.m. at Manitowoc Coffee, 836 S. Eighth St., Manitowoc. The Babbling Bubblers also have shows scheduled at Manitowoc Coffee for Oct. 10, 17 and 24.

In addition to Tavares, troupe performers include The Bubbler Theatre co-owners Lisa Callsen and Lisa Heili, both of Manitowoc, as well as fellow Lakeshore residents Evan Thornton, Tommy Lee Kirby, Courtney Neumeyer, Benjamin Leist, Dawn Steckmesser, Jim Steckmesser, Heli Tattari, Steve Thiele, Juliet Kosarzycki, Abraham Heili and “mascot” Libby Steckmesser. Performers range in age from 18 through late 40s. Their shows are similar to those seen on the TV program “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”

In a few weeks, The Babbling Bubblers will have a place to call home — Callsen and Heili recently signed a lease to open the 40-seat Bubbler Theatre at 421 N. Eighth St., Manitowoc.

The idea for the troupe and theater blossomed last spring, when Callsen and Heili met while working on The Masquers’ show, “Lost In Yonkers.”

“When I was on the set of ‘Yonkers,’ ” Callsen said, “it really hit me that I couldn’t produce the one-woman show I wanted to and put it on at the Capitol Civic Centre. I’m not looking to fill 1,100 seats. I know what black-box theater is, and that’s what I wanted: a more intimate setting.  I always wanted to be able to provide a business to entertain.”

Heili, who was in charge of makeup for “Lost In Yonkers,” was intrigued by the concept.

“I thought it was very interesting, and I wanted to help her bring this to fruition,” Heili said. “And we’ve pulled it all together.

“The shows have been going well. They’ve gotten a better response than we hoped for, since we’re new. They’re very responsive audiences. We’re getting an established group of patrons, and there are new people every time.”

The troupe rehearses twice a week — two hours each on Thursday nights and Saturday mornings. Members range from those with virtually no stage experience to those who are seasoned performers.

Regardless, they all start from scratch once the lights turn on.

“There are no scripts,” Callsen said. “Everything is off the cuff.”

Callsen added that she doesn’t get nervous: “I love the attention. I think it’s great. It’s wonderful.”

However, mental blocks come with the territory.

“Getting stumped happens to all of us when we’re up there,” Tavares said. “The main thing is to keep the story going as best you can and have fun.”

Added Callsen: “There’s always something that might stump you. That’s what makes improv great. It’s funny. It’s not about perfecting lines.”

To help arm their troupe with additional improv knowledge, Callsen and Heili recently participated in a three-day seminar at the Second City Chicago Training Center, whose alumni includes Mike Myers, Chris Farley, Tina Fey and Stephen Colbert.

“It was overwhelming, but in a good way,” Heili said. “We were given amazing instruction that made us both far better improvers and better teachers of improv.

“Improv isn’t about trying to be funny; it’s about going into a situation with another person on stage, and the comedy happens with how the audience reacts to the situation you’re in. I learned more about what improv is supposed to be.”

Said Callsen: “The tools and techniques we learned were amazing, and we were able to bring them back to our troupe.”

The Babbling Bubblers aren’t the only people expected to occupy the stage at The Bubbler Theatre once it’s up and running. (”Bubbler” is the word people in this part of the Midwest use to describe a drinking fountain. Callsen found it humorous. Hence, the name).

Callsen and Heili intend to rent the theater to other performers — musicians, poets, etc. — “who want a cozy venue,” Callsen said.

“Manitowoc is a creative, artistic community,” Heili said. “With the Capitol being a fairly large venue, it’s expensive to put on a show there. So only people who tend to be in groups and have some pockets to dig into are able to put on big shows there.

“We’re looking for people who want to express creativity and haven’t had a chance to do it around here.”

Just don’t expect to see Tavares’ one-minute “Harry Potter” show at the new theater.

“That was a one-time deal,” he said. “If you didn’t see it, you missed it.”

The Future Home of The Bubbler Theatre – 421 N Eighth Street

§ September 28th, 2009 § Filed under Uncategorized § No Comments

We signed the lease on our venue last Thursday and have been busy deconstructing it ever since, oh yeah, along with providing you with quality Improv Entertainment. Lisa 1’s husband Carl is in charge of our renovation and he works like twenty men…seriously. Here is a peak at the building before we started, and the deconstruction that has ensued to this point. Stay tuned for more!

Exciting Photoshoot at the HTR!

§ September 23rd, 2009 § Filed under Uncategorized § 2 Comments

Yesterday the two Lisas gave a command improv performance inside the photo studio at the Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter.  They are running a cover story about us, our improv group, and our future theater in the Weekend Section for Thursday, October First.  How do you take interesting, improv worthy photos in a small, if well lit, porridge colored room?  Well, you improv of course!  We treated HTR photographer, Sue Pischke, to a short crazy improv performance involving Ben and Jerry, a mental breakdown, a vacation in Hawaii, the tight buns of a cabana boy, and a new Ben and Jerry’s flavor: Corona with Lime.