‘Microbiography’ improvises on real-life stories

Mark Robbins is no stranger to improv. The Spokane performer (and musician and high school English teacher) helped incubate the local improv scene when he founded the Blue Door Theater 16 years ago.

But Robbins – Spokane famous as the guy from the Northern Quest commercials – now is doing improv with a twist: “Microbiography.”

The idea is to bring a couple of storytellers to the stage, give them a word prompt, and have them pull from their memories a story related to that word. Then, after they’ve told the story, Robbins and his cohorts improvise a series of scenes loosely based on the original story. Previous editions of “Microbiography” have featured Jim Kershner, former Spokesman-Review arts reporter, and his daughter, Kate, a former writer on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” as well as Kris Crocker and Robyn Nance from KXLY.

“I really like the storytelling, just as a fan of that part of the show,” Robbins said. “They were all wonderful and told great stories.”

For “Microbiography III,” Robbins didn’t go after “names” when lining up his storytellers. He tapped friends, people he knows can spin a good yarn: Bob Alexander, known to some as a bartender at the Baby Bar, and Tim Baughman, a high school friend of Robbins’ wife.

“I’m excited about this one because I get to share these people … with an audience,” Robbins said.

It’s a format that might be familiar to listeners of “This American Life,” which does something similar during the holidays. “It was interesting. We were going to do this show, and there it was on ‘This American Life’ on the radio,” Robbins said. “Someone else thinks it’s a cool format, too.”

In keeping with the improv tradition, there’s no rehearsal. Everything is conjured up live on stage. “We’re very much making it up as we go along,” Robbins said. The storytellers do get a little help in developing some word-association skills, because not everyone can naturally spark a memory from a word such as “podiatrist” or “ham.” So Robbins will offer pointers on free-association.

“I don’t want them to be in the situation … where they just feel stumped,” he said.

“One thing I don’t want to happen is for somebody who’s known them forever to yell out a very specific phrase that’s associated with a memory they know,” he added. “Ideally, they think of something they haven’t thought of in a long time, or that they would never have recalled otherwise.”

Joining Robbins on the improv squad are Patrick Thomas, who has worked with Robbins in previous editions, and Mara Baldwin, who is brand new to this enterprise.

“I’ve seen her perform a couple times,” he said. “She’s had a lot of experience. … She’s very confident and laid-back, which is a lot like Pat and me. … Her characters are all real people.”

He’s been averaging about one of these shows a year, and he’d like to do it more often. But not too much.

“I think it’s not something I would want to do every month, just because I think it’s more fun to not do it as often,” Robbins said. “But I would like to do it more often than once a year.”

One final note. If the 9 p.m. start time didn’t offer a clue that this is a “hire a babysitter” event, “Microbiography III” is not billed as family-friendly.

“This is not for kids. We don’t know if it’s going to be blue,” Robbins said, laughing, “and actually with Tim and Bob… I would imagine it will be a little blue. I know them pretty well, and they’re not shy at all, and a lot of their stories are a little shocking. I’m not making any promises, either.”