In Our Prime

In Our Prime
Years Active	2012-Present
Cast	Gloria Rabil Bankler Ryan Hill Paul Normandin

In Our Prime is an improv troupe that focuses on grounded, dramatic longforms.

Summary

In Our Prime was the brainchild of Paul Normandin. Paul and Gloria Bankler became close friends after Kaci Beeler's Romance and Intimacy Elective at The Hideout Theatre in 2011. Gloria and Paul met Ryan Hill when they all took an elective workshop at The Hideout Theatre entitled Andy is Mean to You, wherein Hideout Education Director Andy Crouch would give very direct feedback to students. Soon after, Paul approached Gloria and Ryan with his idea for a troupe that would perform extremely grounded, even dramatic, improv with very little focus on comedy.

The troupe was briefly named It'll Come to Us until the name In Our Prime was decided on due to the older-than-average age of the cast and the primeness of their number (three). The trio performed a debut show at the Hideout.

Ryan was a teaching assistant for Hideout Theatre co-owner Jessica Arjet at the time. When he told her about the troupe she asked if she could play with them. The four rehearsed together once. Ten minutes after a very successful second show with Jessica guesting, the troupe asked her to join them. In March of 2015, Jessica left the troupe.

The troupe has played in the Oklahoma Improv Festival (2012-14), the Improvaganza Hawaii Improv Festival (2012), the District Improv Festival in Washington, DC, (2013), the WaffleFest (2012-13), Frontera Fest (2013-14), The Improvised Play Festival (2013-2014), Unscripted New York (2014) and The Out of Bounds Comedy Festival (2012-14). They played a regular monthly slot in The Free Fringe at The Hideout Theatre through 2013 and have also performed a month-long Threefer run there. The troupe's Free Fringe shows tended to be more humorous and less grounded.

They were coached for a period of several months in 2012 by Jeremy Lamb. Shannon McCormick also coached them for several months starting in June of 2013. Chuy Zarate and Christopher "Ceej" Allen have coached them in 2015.

History

Here is Paul Normandin's explanation of the name's origin:

In Our Prime came from a place holder name when we started (pre-Jessica) - Tripod - Everyone hated it. Later we used Late Bloomers - a reference to the idea that we were all coming late to the Improv scene relatively speaking. Satisfied that Later Bloomers was a false start, we changed it to, "It'll Come to Us." Turns out it did and not much longer. We all liked the play on words and it still had the air of late bloomingness. I am not sure who said "In Our Prime" first, but we all agreed on the spot.

2012 Shows

• 03/01/2012 - Debut @ The Hideout ("Printing Presses")
• 04/05/2012 - The Hideout ("Disobedient Daughter") w/ Jessica Arjet
• 07/20/2012 - Improv Festival Oklahoma ("Survivalist Family")
• 09/01/2012 - Out of Bounds ("Dating an Environmentalist")
• 09/29/2012 - Hawaii Improvaganza Festival ("Art")
• 10/04/2012 - Threefer Run ("Gay Boy")
• 10/11/2012 - Threefer Run ("Drugs and Kids")
• 10/18/2012 - Threefer Run ("The Car Accident & The Brady Bunch")
• 10/18/2012 - Free Fringe Curve Ball Format Debut ("Hell")
• 10/25/2012 - Threefer Run ("Run-Away Dad")
• 11/10/2012 - Wafflefest ("The Affair")

Media

Videos

• The troupe's debut show.
• Their 4/5/12 second show (and their first with Jessica Arjet).
• The troupe's third show.
• Their 7/1/12 show.
• Their 2012 fundraiser for their trip to Hawaii's Improvaganza festival.
• The troupe's seventh show.
• 8/19/12: the troupe's eighth show.
• Their 9/20/12 show at The Free Fringe.
• Video by Paul Normandin of their 10/4/12 performance in The Threefer.
• Video by Paul Normandin of their 10/11/12 performance in The Threefer ("Drugs & Kids").
• Video by Paul Normandin of their 10/18/12 performance in The Threefer ("Car Accident"/"Brady Bunch").
  • A second copy of the video.
• Video by Paul Normandin of their 10/25/12 performance in The Threefer ("Runaway Dad").
• Video by Paul Normandin of their 11/10/12 performance at WaffleFest 2012 ("The Affair").
• Video by Paul Normandin of their 12/1/12 performance at The Institution Theater.
• Video by Paul Normandin of their 2/3/13 performance in The Weekender.
• Video by Paul Normandin of their 2/21/13 performance in The Free Fringe ("Worst Show").
• Their 4/11/13 show at The 2013 Improvised Play Festival.
• Video by Paul Normandin of their 4/18/13 performance in The Free Fringe.
• Video by Paul Normandin of their 4/29/13 performance at ColdTowne Theater.
• Video by Paul Normandin of their 5/12/13 performance in The Weekender.
• Video by Paul Normandin of their 6/17/13 performance at ColdTowne Theater.
• Their 6/22/13 show at The 44-Hour Improv Marathon.
• Video by Paul Normandin of their 8/15/13 performance in The Threefer.
• Video by Paul Normandin of their 8/15/13 performance in The Free Fringe.
• Video by Paul Normandin of their 8/28/13 performance in The 2013 Out of Bounds Comedy Festival.
• Video by Paul Normandin of their 9/20/13 performance at Salvage Vanguard Theater.
• Video by Paul Normandin of their 9/27/13 performance in Washington, DC's "District Improv Festival".
• Video by Paul Normandin of their 10/9/13 performance at ColdTowne Theater.
• Video by Paul Normandin of their 10/17/13 performance in The Free Fringe.
• Video by Paul Normandin of their 11/21/13 performance in WaffleFest 2013.
• Video by Paul Normandin of their 11/25/13 performance at ColdTowne Theater.
• Video of their show in The 2014 Improvised Play Festival.
• Video by Paul Normandin of their 8/2/14 show in the 2014 Improv Festival Oklahoma.
• Video by Paul Normandin of their 8/8/14 show at The Hideout Theatre.
• Video by Paul Normandin of their 8/17/14 show at The Hideout Theatre.
• Video of their 8/27/14 show in The 2014 Out of Bounds Comedy Festival.
• Video by Paul Normandin of their 11/20/14 show at WaffleFest 2014.

Photos

• Photoset by Michael Yew which includes their 11/10/12 performance at Wafflefest.
• Photoset by Michael Yew which includes their 7/18/13 performance in The Free Fringe.
• Photoset by Michael Yew that includes their 4/11/14 performance in The Improvised Play Festival.
• Photoset by Michael Yew that includes their 6/21/14 performance in The 45-Hour Improv Marathon.
• Photoset by Steve Rogers of their performance at The 2014 Out of Bounds Comedy Festival.
• Photoset by Steve Rogers that includes their 11/20/14 performance in WaffleFest 2014.

More Information

• In Our Prime facebook page
• In Our Prime website
• Interview with the troupe on The Theft Forum.