Parking

Ladies Literary Club

Ladies Lit is located in downtown Grand Rapids, next door to the UICA, and across the street from the apartments that used to be Ferguson Hospital. The auditorium holds approximately 440 people. Parking can be difficult with Arena events on the same night. Patrons often dine at "One Trick Pony" or "The Cottage" and walk to the theater afterward.

dave

You are Dave's favorite person for taking the time to read his bio. You are Dave's extra-favorite person if you recognize that this is Dave's first bio update since he joined River City in 2008. On a related note, you are Dave's superlatively favorite person if you qualify Jeff as "the new guy" even though he is actually "the returning guy" and join Dave in new guy hazing.

jeff

Jeff made his River City debut in 1997 (hence the headshot photo of him looking 9) but left us after two years to perform full time and nationally with CPR Improv Comedy where he learned vacations aren’t vacations if you take them all the time and leave your wife and kids at home. So after several years of the crazy travel life, he came back to the sweet life of RCI in 2008. Jeff is married (to St. Lisa) and has two daughters (Jessa and Kassidy). When he's not on the RCI stage, he's with them doing lots of things and sometimes nothing at all. Ah, balance.

marty

Marty is now a father of three. His oldest son is in a Spanish immersion class while Marty and his wife Misty are immersed in diaper changing and sleeplessness. Look for a sleep deprivation or diaper changing character in his next show.

mel

Mel and her husband recently got a puppy and have realized that most important things in life are exemplified by puppies (but most specifically her puppy, Winston.) Here's a short list: Lesson #1: SHEER JOY. Become full of pure, unadulterated joy every time you see the people you live with. Let's not stop there though- do that for EVERY person you see. Lesson #2: (Forgive &) FORGET. Puppies don't hold grudges. They barely remember the last time you harped on them for not waiting until they were outdoors to do their thing. Lesson #3: BE THANKFUL FOR YOUR FOOD. Jump, kiss, and yelp for joy when food is presented to you, then eat heartily. Other lessons from Winston we choose to ignore: barking for attention, sniffing the end of the vacuum attachment, licking oneself, and biting electrical cords.

michele

Michele enjoys an hour more of sleep than she usually gets, laughing out loud (as compared to silently), and random words thrown into conversation. Camera. When she retires from improv some day, Michele plans on moving to Byron Center and farming. Hammer. She's hoping to make a difference.

mike

Mike joined the team in 2005 - officially the "World Year of Physics" - and quickly cemented his position as the second tallest person on RCI, a title that he holds to this day(dang you Todd!). Mike is often frustrated when driving by other drivers, mainly because they don't seem to understand just exactly how badly they're driving. Mike can also professional roast you a perfectly browned marshmallow over a campfire(bring your own fire, and marshmallows), as well as tell you a few too many stories about his dog Duchess.

rick

Rick wishes he could fly. As a child he had a recurring dream of flying down the stair case in his parents home. When he tried in the morning, it did prove to be just a dream and would spend time nursing bruises after that. Thankfully, the steps were carpeted and padded. Convinced he didn't have enough distance to actually get off the ground, Rick tried bungee jumping off the Victoria Falls Bridge to give himself some more air time. That too failed and he was left dangling over croc-infested waters until he was pulled back up to safety on the bridge. Rick is hoping not to fly into the crowd at tonight's performance.

russ

Russ usually giggles when he hears the word "asterisk" spoken.

todd

Todd Herring is still growing. Soon he will join the NBA, the NFL, NBC, NASDAQ, PBA and any other group looking to add height to their roster. Todd has worked with River City Improv for a certain number of years that is greater than that of Mike, Dave and Mel, less than Rick, Marty, Wendy, Russ, Michelle, Jeff* and Tracey yet equal to that of Adam. Todd is currently looking for his keys, and would like to thank his wife Amy, who will most likely find them. *Jeff’s tenure is classified, statement is based on arbitrary estimates…. and Jeff is older.

tracey

Tracey is very thankful for the many families with whom she was able to celebrate during the holidays: her husband and two children, her brother Kent, Capt. and Dr. Kooy, her Falcon Family, and her RCI family. There is certainly JOY to the world going on here.

wendy

Wendy recently read a work of fiction - cover to cover. Cover to cover, people! This is the first new novel she has read since Ian was born in 2009. It was an adventure story and not a Gluten free cookbook or a book about Celiac! She had almost forgotten that books intended for leisurely reading were still out there. The ones you read just for funsies. And it was very refreshing. She felt like she went on vacation, almost.

amanda

Amanda is our goto woman for taking tickets and other stuff, and happens to be an RCI spouse (Russ).

andy

Andy is our goto man for taking lights and sound, and happens to be an RCI spouse (Mel).

cate

Cate is the most approved ticket taker and happens to be a spouse of one of our tech guys (Tim).

chris

Chris is one of our tech guys handling lights or sound whenever he isn't working on a big show in another local theater company!

eric

Eric is our goto man for taking tickets and carrying heavy things, and happens to be an RCI spouse (Wendy).

james

James is our technical goto man in the booth, and happens to be a RCI spouse (Tracey).

jane

Jane is one of our fantastic house managers!

kris

Kris is our goto woman for house stuff, and happens to be an RCI alumnus spouse (Bob).

matt

Matt is probably the best ticket seller and ripper we've ever seen. His quest for excellence comes from his liberal arts education.

tim

Tim is a spectacular tech guy who likes to move to the groove.

adam

Adam joined River City in 2001 after repeated attempts to lead his own improv team through the mid to late nineties. The retired "Diversity Improv" combined radical social awareness seminars with live, three hour improv performances. DI also sought to raise awareness in West Michigan about productive community programs while exposing each program's potentially harmful outcomes. The final and most memorable show "Urban Garden: Square of Poison" was aptly reviewed by local media as "A dramatic presentation of ideas". DI may be re-uniting 2010 after nearly a decade of silence.

bob

Bob performed with us from 1995-1999, and still performs improv with fellow RCI alumnus Mary Jane in the group Fishschtick. Bob's wife Kris is one of our dedicated crew members.

jeanne

Jeanne was one of our co-founders before she went on to greatness as a stage director.

joel

Joel joined our team in 1999 and was a regular performer until he moved out to LA with his wife Ellen. Currently is in the movie biz with the major motion picture company Alcon Entertainment.

leah

Leah brought her hilarious personality to the stage for us in 2000. She performed with us for a short while before moving on to bigger and better things!

marc

Marc Evan was an original member who moved onto Second City Detroit in 1996. Currently he's living in and working in LA where he has performed various roles and cameos in popular tv shows and movies.

mj

MJ was an original member that left us in 2000 and went on to great things with Second City in Detroit and then founded Fishladder and FISHSCHTICK right here in Grand Rapids.

TYPICAL SHOW DETAILS

River City Improv private performances are typically 35-45 minutes in length, have at last 3 seasoned RCI members performing, we don't provide our own amplification, should be in a setting where everyone can have a seat to provide a comfortable setting to yell suggestions from, we love the outdoors but don't typically perform outside without a proper stage and amplification.