Chris is the Meetup Organizer of the Week for June 25, 2008

This week, we travel from the seat of western culture to the "Land of the Rising Sun".  As they say, the whole world passes through the "Big Mikan" and Meetup is not to be left out.

Its my pleasure to introduce you to the Meetup Organizer of the Week for June 25, 2008, Chris Wells and his group, The Tokyo Improv-A-Go-Go Meetup!


I was introduced to Chris' group in a most pleasant manner.  One of my colleagues here at Meetup mentioned how a friend of his had found a wonderful, welcoming Meetup group within a week of arriving in Tokyo, Japan.  Low and behold, the group is the Tokyo Improv-A-Go-Go Meetup.  This heart-warming story truly brings home our mission of a Meetup Everywhere about Most Everything!

Thanks, Chris!

How long have you lived in Tokyo?

I've lived in Tokyo for 14 years, by way of Costa Rica and Kansas City, MO.

When your not performing at Improv-a-go-go, where would we find you?

I have a production company and I'm a professional narrator, doing the voice-overs on videos for Japanese companies and organizations.

I also produce and direct the Tokyo Comedy Show, Japan's longest-running English-language comedy show at 13 years, and perform as an improviser with it's in-house improv troupe, Spontaneous Confusion.

Tell us about your interest in improv, when did you begin performing, etc.

I started doing performances in grade school and on my high school's speech team, and continued through college, although I was a psychology major.

When I came to Japan to study the Japanese language and culture, a friend invited me to perform at a new show he was organizing, the Tokyo Comedy Store. And I've been hooked on improv ever since.

We've been lucky to have Keith Johnstone, inventor of Theatre Sports and all-around improv guru, come to Tokyo twice over the last decade and teach workshops here. The whole world really does eventually pass through the Big Mikan!

How were you introduced to Meetup.com?

Another organizer of several great Tokyo Meetups, Lauren Shannon, told me about it.

Has your experience as a Meetup Organizer changed or improved your life?

I have Meetups for both our TCS improv workshop and the open-mike/student show we call Improv-a-Go-Go and it's had a huge positive effect on our turn-out.

Not only in terms of just numbers, but also the speed with which newcomers in Tokyo find us. For the very first time last week I had someone show up to the workshop within one month of arriving in Japan! It seems like it used to take people over a year before they got settled in enough to really explore the various communities here

Do you have any big plans for your Meetup this year and beyond?

I'd like to keep on increasing the number of participants in our IAGG show and improv workshop.