Al Herr founded the Village Idiots in 1995 to explore the artistic side of improvisation. The Idiots went through several cast changes before the group finally coalesced and after refocusing on improv comedy began doing regular performances in 1997 at the Art in Motion dance studio and changing their name to Raleigh's Village Idiots.
Over the years there were a number of cast changes and venue changes. For the last few years the Idiots have made their home at the North Raleigh Arts and Creative Theatre in Greystone Village in Raleigh, North Carolina and added a more scene-based focus to even their gimmickiest games.
Website
idiots.net
Influences
Matthew studied improv comedy under the founders/original cast members of Chicago City Limits before spending 5 years working on game-based improv with ComedySportz, and having his horizons further expanded by taking workshops under Keith Johnstone and Jeff Wirth.
The direction of the Idiots is greatly influenced by the writings of Viola Spolin, Keith Johnstone, Jeff Wirth, Asaf Ronen, and the opinions and stylings of improvisors across the country and what they've shared on the Internet, especially on YesAnd.com.
Members
Current members: Matthew (Director) Mikey (Producer)
Wade (Assistant Director)
Romni "Uncle" John
Brian
Long-term musical on-again, off-again collaborator (and co-conspirator) Eric Normn Plaine
About 100 shots from our production of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) January 2007. The September 2007 version is reworked with newly updated references, jokes, and umm, err, Shakespeare wrote some new plays.
TV Shows
In the late 1990s, the Idiots had a regularly scheduled series on Community Access Television in Raleigh. It consisted of edited versions of our short-form improv revue taped live while we were at the Arts in Motion Theatre (now a dentist's office).
Films
Two Idiots appeared as extras in The Girls' Room after driving to the filming location to deliver an Idiots' poster used as part of one of the interior sets.
THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR HELPING ME OUT TONIGHT!
I really appreciate you all taking time out of your rehearsal to help with my car...and teach me valuable lessons about chemistry and Coca-Cola products.
I was listening to FM Talk 101.1 WZTK out of Greensboro on the way home from work today. Allan Handelman was talking about bargains and was asking listeners to call in with them.
I got on air at exactly 5pm and plugged live comedy as a great bargain. I admitted that nationally touring stand-ups are expensive, but that live improv comedy was usually the price of a movie or cheaper.
I got a chance to plug Raleigh's Village Idiots and ComedyWorx in Raleigh, ComedySportz and Dirty South Improv in Chapel Hill, and Greensboro's own Idiot Box.
