ComedySportz New York Celebrates 100th Show Feb 12th

It's rare for a comedy show, especially an improv comedy show in New York City, to have a rave review in their press kit from the Christian Science Monitor. The majority of the improv shows I've seen around town culminated in some sort of horrific, hilariously unmentionable assault on an imaginary farm animal. ComedySportz, however, is Family Friendly, and proud of it. But can a squeaky clean show really draw a guffaw from a jaded filth-hound like yours truly?

You bet your big toe it can.

ComedySportz New York, which plays at 6:00pm Sunday nights at New York Improv on West 53^rd, is celebrating its 100^th performance on February 12^th. The show is short form, game based improv a la "Whose Line is It Anyway", with a competitive twist; a pair three person teams compete for audience applause, with a referee keeping things in line. The ref can deduct points and call fouls, which include Blocking (denial of a suggestion by a player or audience member), Brown Bag (saying something that crosses the boundaries of good taste for a cheap laugh), and Groaner (if the audience groans at something, the offending player must offer a sincere apology). At the performance I saw, Referee Jill Shelley deducted points when Red Team captain Robert Z. Grant feigned sleep while she was talking. Tough, but fair.

The games open, fittingly, with the National Anthem. Frighteningly enthusiastic cheerleaders prance around throughout, a smooth voiced announcer keeps score, and a quick-on–the-keys pianist provides amusing accompaniment. The audience sips their beer, eats hot dogs, and provides suggestions for make 'em up games like Nonsense Opera, Forward/Reverse, Elimination Rap, and Film & Theatre Styles.

Founded by Dick Chudnow in Milwaukee in 1984, ComedySportz is an international phenomenon, with branches in Los Angeles, Chicago, Dalla s, Spokane, Dublin, and many others. In addition to shows, the group offers corporate "Team Building" seminars and events, improv classes, and touring shows.

Greg Triggs is an actor, writer, and director who has worked extensively for Disney, and has performed in improv groups all over the country. He has recently taken the helm as Artistic Director for ComedySportz New York. I caught up with him via e-mail.

Q: How long have you been in Comedy Sportz, and how did you get involved?

A: "I've been involved in ComedySportz since late 2004 when a friend of mine, then involved in the company, asked me to attend an audition. As it turns out I had met Lynn Marie Hulsman, one of the owners, at a Comedy Festival in Austin, TX years earlier.

Last year in June, she and Jill Shely, the other partner asked me to come aboard as Artistic Director. We now all co-own ComedySportz New York and share artistic and management responsibilities."

Q: What is the strangest scenario you've been involved in onstage?

 A: "One of the funny off-stage things about improv is that you find yourself saying things like, "Well when I played the half monkey, half chicken, it was pretty clear to me that he was going to be the romantic hero. I've played a million animals, Eleanor Roosevelt, and a crunch berry in a bowl of Captain Crunch.

I think the strangest scenario was probably when I played a train engine that was going to decide the fate of a Middle East conflict. I don't know what the audience thought, but at the time it made sense in my head."

Q: What have been your most favorite and least favorite audience suggestions?

 A: "I like audience suggestions that are based on ideas they're excited to see on stage ... and I believe that is usually the audience's intention. Sometimes, however, the suggestions are about limiting a scene. The audience tries to put you in an uncomfortable situation. It's a limitation. But we take what we hear first and do our best with whatever we get.

My least favorite suggestions are of the bathroom variety.

My favorite suggestions are the ones I wouldn't think to yell out myself. I love that about improv, much more than stand-up. You're constantly being confronted by ideas other than your own.

For example, in the show you saw we got the suggestion of Fabric Closet. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought of something like that. And yet it totally informs every aspect of the scene. The first question I ask myself is, 'What kind of man ends up in a place with a fabric closet?' "

Q: Is it hard to play clean?

A: "I LOVE playing clean. I feel as though it makes us unique in New York and more disciplined as performers. In my opinion it gives our work more integrity and makes the audience listen more carefully.

In shows that aren't, for lack of a better term, clean choices are made from more of a shock value place. It's usually, not always, about being dirty and how far it can be pushed.

That usually takes away from character and story."

Q: What is unique about Comedy Sportz that keeps your interest as a performer?

 A: "I love short form improvisation but it is hard to find ways to present it with production value. I think that ComedySportz and the whole competitive aspect of it brings a new person to improv. It makes it more accessible and user friendly. It also empowers the audience and tells us what they're enjoying. We can use that to shape the choices we are making on stage.

It's also a great group of people. I think we have some of the best improvisers in New York and I'm very proud to be onstage with them. Fun and funny are contagious and I think the audience can tell that we're having a great time and hope that they are too."

Q: How good does it feel to win?

 A: "Sometimes it really does feel good to win. Other times, especially during a tight show, I figure it's just because I had the most friends in the audience.

The most important thing to us is that the audience is having fun."