Unscripted
Improv comedy showcase
Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge
Jan. 9
On the way into an improv comedy performance Friday, every member was asked if they could write down two to three suggestions, phrases, or random nouns to be used as suggestions in the show. Not an unconventional way to start the night. But then they shut the doors and announced that one of the groups that was originally going to be featured wouldn’t make it due to the weather. Classic Southern Louisiana.
That meant that the one group that was there, Just in the Femur, had to fill the whole time. This doesn’t seem like it would be a big deal — it’s improv so it’s made up on the spot — but doubling the length of your show is rough no matter what the medium. The audience was off for a an hour-and-a-half ride.
Just in the Femur’s members shine in their scene work and storytelling. In one scene, a character monologues about having size 12 feet as a kid. In another, a girl goes on a date with Bigfoot and they dance. Scenes brought us everywhere from a hospital to the Angel complaint department where someone was complaining about an unconventionally answered prayer.
“I didn’t realize when I said I wanted to be unique, you’d turn me into a platypus,” he said, incredulously.
“You gotta be more specific with God.” the angel character said, smacking some imaginary gum.
The short-form games that made up the first half of the show also had some genuinely good moments, but they were also a litmus test for the performers’ ability to think on their feet. In the game "New Choice," in which the host gets to interject into the scene at any time forcing the performers to pick a new choice/change the scene’s direction, the comedy is in the escalation. It’s not just the fact that it’s something new. For those who can do this, the new choices build and there’s a satisfaction to watching it escalate.
Friday night, “I saw the glasses in the store window” became “I saw the glasses inside the toilet” became “I saw the glasses on a clown standing in the sewer.” Other times, the new choices were utterly forgettable because they were too interchangeable.
Improv comedy is dependent on other people. It’s not just about listening to each other, but also vibe checking with the audience to ensure that the jokes will land. Taking audience suggestions is a way of doing that. The crowd on Friday wasn’t necessarily shy, but they weren’t as prone to shouting out or volunteering to go on stage as other improv audiences I’ve been in, which led to some dead time waiting for someone to be volunteered. This made a huge difference. People might just be in the audience, but improv comedy, especially the kind that Just in the Femur does, is hard unless the audience is willing to go with them.