By Day, OKC Improv Artists Kristy Boone, Clint Vrazel,
Sue Ellen Reiman and Kyle Gossett have conventional careers, but when the four join ranks with their fellow improv performers, unscripted hilarity always ensues, as it did this month during our very entertaining exchange about stingers, lists and free cigarettes for the “newly released.”
Are you each from Oklahoma?
KB: I’ve grown up here.
KG: Yes.
SR: Yes.
CV: By way of Texas.
What are you currently obsessed with?
KB: Improv. And volunteering.
KG: “Game of Thrones.” Also, making OKC an improv city.
SR: Beating level 350 of Candy Crush.
CV: Cracking the pattern for improv.
Do you have any irrational phobias?
KB: I’m claustrophobic and I have a fear of being pinned down by something after a tornado.
KG: Anything with a stinger: bees, wasps, scorpions …
SR: Answering the home phone.
CV: Being alone in the dark. I have an over-active imagination and I think, “What if that IS a werewolf?”
What song on your iTunes/Pandora has had the most plays?
KB: “Folsom Prison Blues” by Johnny Cash
KG: “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk
SR: Anything by The Monkees from their later years
CV: “Californication” by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Do you have any hidden talents?
KB: I can do a serious backflip and I’m a good mediator.
KG: I keep a wealth of lists of all kinds.
SR: Hand farts.
CV: I write haiku poems. I still remember my first one that I wrote in grade school:
Nitroglycerin is poured into the test tube. Kaboom! All is gone.
Is there anything you absolutely won’t eat?
KB: Scorpions, but I’d eat one to save Kyle from his stinger phobia.
KG: Anything with an exoskeleton.
SR: Olives. Rabbit, which is a “friend, not food.”
CV: Pig’s feet.
Who do you think you could be mistaken for?
KB: Stacy Keibler, the female wrestler.
KG: Clint.
SR: My sister, back in the day.
CV: My twin brother, Buck.
What’s not as important as it used to be?
KB: I worry less about peoples’ opinions of me.
KG: Where I’ll be on Friday or Saturday night.
SR: Appearances.
CV: Being right.
What’s more important now than it used to be?
KB: The kind of connection you make with people when you’re not trying to please everyone around you.
KG: Keeping track of my money.
SR: Retirement.
CV: Everyday moments.
What do you wish you’d never parted with?
KB: My game consoles from when I was a kid: Sega, Atari, Intellivision; my Barbies, my Cabbage Patch Kids …
KG: My hard drives from previous computers. I lost a bunch of lists.
SR: Baseball cards and comic books, particularly Sergeant Fury and His Howling Commandos.
CV: An old Betty Crocker cookbook that my mom had, which her mom had given her. The recipes in there would probably kill you today.
What do you value most in your friends?
KB: Being a good listener.
KG: Being supportive. Bringing a balance to the relationship.
SR: Generosity, if they’re rich. Otherwise, a sense of humor.
CV: Honesty.
What’s your favorite OKC hole-in-the-wall?
KB: The Neighborhood Lounge, where they give you free cigarettes and one free drink when you get out of jail. (Clint jumps in: What brand of cigarettes?)
KG: Beverly’s Pancake House
SR: Freimer’s Liquor
Which movie can you recite the words to?
KB: “Anchorman” and “Zoolander”
KG: “Lord of the Rings”
SR: “Harold and Maude”
CV: “The Princess Bride”
Can you get out of a ticket on charm alone?
KB: Define “charm.”
KG: If I’m being polite.
SR: I did once in 1974.
CV: No.
What was your favorite Saturday morning cartoon?
KB: Bugs Bunny, Roadrunner, Tom and Jerry – the classics
KG: I didn’t watch cartoons but I had a bunch of Winnie the Pooh tapes that I loved.
SR: Rocky and Bullwinkle
CV: All Looney Tunes
What would surprise your first grade teacher if she knew?
KB: That I speak publicly and do improv. I was very shy.
KG: That I still have crappy penmanship.
SR: That I speak loudly without being forced. I was pretty shy, too.
CV: That my car is as messy as my desk was.
What were your teachers wrong about?
KB: My seventh grade music teacher discouraged me from singing, but I now have a decent singing voice that doesn’t hurt anyone’s ears.
KG: I had a high school piano teacher who discouraged me from improvising on the piano. I get paid to do that now.
SR: You shouldn’t let classmates vote on who gets the parts for the class play.
CV: “He’s such a nice young boy.”
Do you have any personal rituals?
KB: I eat candies (like M&Ms) by even numbers, then I chew two on one side and two on the other.
KG: “Cheers” before alcohol
SR: Singing a random version of “Happy Birthday” to my friends
CV: I take one bite out of a piece of bread or a tortilla before I commit to eating it.
Do you collect anything?
KB: OKC Thunder and movie ticket stubs, access passes
KG: Assorted memorabilia like tickets, birthday cards, photos
SR: Christmas ornaments and shot glasses
CV: Improv festival badges and t-shirts from all the places I’ve been
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OKC Improv Summer Dates
• Improv Classes run from June 2 through July 1 (five levels of classes)
• “Showcase of Shows,” Fridays and Saturdays from July 5 through July 26
• Learn more at okcimprov.com.
