The original version of this story incorrectly reported the ending date of the fundraising auction for Jerry Isenhart Jr. The error has been corrected in this version.

Bigger fish gobbles ‘Improv’

Local theater troupe Mission Improv is in the process of looking for a new name to avoid a legal clash with a similarly named group in California.

Cynthia Brown, the local group’s director, said she’d received a letter last fall from the Berkeley-based Mission Improvable, which asked the local group to change its name.

Brown said she and her troupe members became aware of the Berkeley group in 2007 via an Internet search. At the time, the local group was in the market for a new name. They liked “Mission Improv,” a name inspired by their former home base in the old Mission Theatre, but they wanted to ensure that the name wasn’t already taken, at least locally.

An attorney told Brown they’d be OK, since neither of the improv groups competed in the same market — the local thespians stick to Chelan and Douglas counties.

It took a “slap in the Facebook” last week for the local group to realize the full extent of the Californians’ displeasure.

Suddenly and without explanation, Facebook removed Mission Improv’s page — its primary marketing and communications tool. All its posted videos, news and contacts were lost.

The other guys, apparently, complained, Brown said, and have threatened legal action.

“Even doing due diligence isn’t enough sometimes,” Brown said, admitting that the same thing could happen again with a new name.

“That’s the scary thing,” she said. “Even then, another group could pop up and say they’re the big fish and eat us up.”

The soon-to-be-renamed group will put up another Facebook page, she said, but, this time around they’ll also have a website, use email marketing and other outreach.

“Our major take away is to never put all our eggs in one basket,” she said.

Online auction for Team JR

An on-line auction fundraiser for Jerry Isenhart Jr. runs Monday through Saturday.

Items up for bid range from guided fishing trips and stays at Chelan-area resorts to paint, building materials, food and wine. An online auction company is handling the event.

Jerry Jr. is the son of Go Lake Chelan publisher Jerry Isenhart. The 19-year-old Washington State University freshman and former football star at Chelan High School was diagnosed in December with inoperable brain cancer. He’s finishing up a six-week round of chemotherapy at Swedish Hospital in Seattle.

Auction proceeds will help them cover the cost of medical expenses and their stay in Seattle while Jerry Jr. undergoes treatment.

To get a sneak peak at the items up for bid visit xteamjr.neofillbids.com. Jerry Sr. is blogging about his son’s condition at jerryisenhartjr.wordpress.com.

Shackled at the wrist

As an actor, Zeke Tuszynski knew the handcuffs came without a key and he shouldn’t let them close around his wrists. But, the inevitable happened last night during Wenatchee High School Drama Club’s production of “Arsenic and Old Lace.” Tuszynski was playing a deranged man.

“As they were struggling to pull him offstage, someone inadvertently closed them down on one hand,” said Terry Tuszynski, one of the show’s producers and Zeke’s mom.

Adult helpers and crew members struggled for about 45 minutes to get the handcuffs off but finally called the Wenatchee Police Department. Officer Phil Thompson had a key and turned Tuszynski loose.

Is there a chance this could happen again? Yes, says Zeke’s mom, but a show official plans to use tape on the cuffs to prevent future closures. The show continues at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the high school auditorium. Watch for the cuffs.

Pedal-Driven goes national

“Pedal-Driven: a bikeumentary,” a film by Wenatchee’s Howell at the Moon Productions, will make its national television debut Monday on the Universal Sports Network. The network is viewable on DirecTV’s channel 625 and Dish Network’s 402.

The network will run the documentary a minimum of 12 times this year, according to a Howell at the Moon news release.

Pedal-Driven has screened more than 300 times in seven countries and has won multiple awards since it premiered in April 2011. It documents the conflict of conservation versus bicyclists’ use of public lands. For more info, visit pedaldriven.org.

This week’s Worm was compiled by World staff writers Christine Pratt and Dee Riggs. Have a tip? Send it to newsroom@wenatcheeworld.com.