|
Clown Box Improv takes laughs to Lincoln Center |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Written by Rebecca LaPole
|
|
Thursday, 26 April 2007 |
|
|
|
|
Members of the Clown Box Improv Comedy Troupe believe laughter is the best cure for what ails you. Even if you’re not ailing, who couldn’t use a chuckle or two?
“Laughter is the best medicine, and no matter what’s going on in your life, you can come and be a part of the show,” troupe member Grant Garrison said. And with Clown Box, interactive doesn’t mean sitting passively at your computer clicking Web links. “You can even get on stage if you want.”
Garrison likes to think of a night with Clown Box as more of a party than a show.
At the Lincoln Center show, the party includes a new element called “The Clown Box Shuffle.” After playing several short form games, an iPod on shuffle directs the long form improv, or “Le Ronde,” with each song equaling a different scene.
“Expect 30-45 minutes of soundtracked hilarity,” actor Remi Frazier said. “The Clown Box Shuffle” is based on “CD Replay,” a show the troupe’s improvisation coach, Meridith Crosley, brought with her from a Chicago improv group.
Thanks to Crosley and the enhanced quality of the shows, the group’s following has grown. Clown Box formed more than 10 years ago, performing at the old Bas Bleu theater, now the Nonesuch Theater, which seats 48 and was packed for their gritty, monthly late night shows. From there, they moved to the new Bas Bleu, which has a capacity of 120.
After overselling that stage, they started booking seasons at the 310-seat Lincoln Center mini-theater.
Attending a Clown Box show is like collaborating on a brand-new production.
Actor Jimmy Levy said, “The show is created around you. You never know what’ll happen and you’ll never laugh as hard as you do at an improv show.”
Earning approval during an improv show is much different than at a concert or a play, Garrison said.
“I used to play in a band and people always applaud at the end of a song, whether they like it or not. It’s just automatic. A laugh is something we have to earn, people don’t just give it away like applause. It’s a lot more rewarding making people laugh.”
Expect at least one moment to produce an uncontrollable laughing fit.
“The funniest moment in a show is when everybody in the ‘ensemble,’ if you will, is in on the same joke,” Levy said with a hearty laugh.
“It may not be that funny for three or four minutes, but when everybody’s so group-minded that they kind of organically bring about a punchline or conclusion, then it’s comedic genius.”
———
TO GO TO THE SHOW
Clown Box Improv Comedy Troupe
8 p.m.
Thursday, April 26
Lincoln Center Mini-Theater
417 Magnolia St., Fort Collins
$7.50 for all ages
221.6730
THE PLAYERS
Violin Accompanist: Hwei Yin
Actors: Ryan Blume, Remi Frazier, Grant Garrison, Joe Kielman, Matt LeBlanc, Jimmy Levy, Nicole Mikulics (first show is April 26), Nicole Nieweg | Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register. |
|
|  | "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth." | |
|  | We're not that bright, even though in our own little world, we're geniuses. We like 80s hair bands and one-hit wonders, but among us we have respectable tastes, too. Metallica, Iron Maiden, U2. Pursuit of all things trivial is a lifestyle, not just a game. We like some sports, love other sports, and can find something to say about anything. We watch TV and movies and we've read a book or two, even a few classics (Yes, Classic Comics count!)
We call it insight, you call it what you will. | |
|  | Felix Wong is an outdoor enthusiast living in Fort Collins. A mechanical engineer by day, he is especially passionate about bicycling, running, and backpacking. | |
|  | Hola Amigos! I'm Sandra. I like to believe that people are 70 percent good and 30 percent dumb. I'm stickin to that story. Reading this blog might make you want to be good, but probably just dumb. | |
|  | Donovan Henderson is editor of NEXTnc. | |
|  | Here at Nextnc we have some characters. Get a sneak peak behind the curtain and find out what amusing antics our staffers get themselves into on a weekly basis. | |
|  | What is up FoCo?
I am a recent college graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead. After recieving my B.A. in English and Mass Communications this past August I moved down to Colorado.
I enjoy long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners, and heavy metal. My hobbies include reading and writing, music, movies, and getting drunk. Some of my favorite contemporary authors include Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, and Kurt Vonnegut. My top movies are anything directed by Kubrick. I enjoy listening to anything that rocks.
Right now I am just trying to get to know Colorado and FoCo better. Mostly in order to find the best drink specials on each day that ends in Y. So if you know where I can get a cheap drunk on, let me know!
--Drew | |
|  | Life's little morsels of inspiration, observation and encouragement seen through the eyes of the Nextnc reporter.
| |
|  | Ms. Giles currently lives in Colorado where she stars in her own private reality show. She writes aphoristic accounts of her life, taken completely out of context, and embellished with characters and situations disguised to resemble something close to interesting. | |
|  | over and out | |
| | My name is Michelle Turley and I'm 28 years old. I live in Severance with my hubbie, Brandon. We have 2 dogs and a cat. We enjoy camping, four-wheeling, and just being in the mountains. I like to cook, clean (go figure), flea market, and play poker. I have so much to say about poker... | |
|
|
