We all enjoy a good laugh.
Whether it’s a joke, someone making an ill-timed comment or one of those YouTube videos of people falling down (but not getting seriously hurt), something funny to help us get through the day is always appreciated.
So if you’re in the mood to have your face muscles sore from constant laughter, you might want to check out the “Meet the Newbies” improv show at Hatbox Theatre on Friday. Because when people are on stage and really have no clue as to what will happen next, you can only imagine the kind of hilarity that will ensue.
The show features the latest class from Laughta in New Hampsha’s School of Comedy, which also teaches participants how to do stand-up comedy and sketch comedy.
But on this night, the eight brave souls who spent the last six weeks learning the fine art of improv from Paige Lussier Johnson will be at the mercy of, well, just about anyone.
When they take the Hatbox stage, Alina Abraham, Doris Ballard, Don Cramer, Karen Desmarais, Josh Hardy, Ed McMonagle, Cassandra Miller and Jon Wells will be learning of their tasks for the first time.
“I thought stand-up was frightening, but to me, this is more frightening because you never know what to expect,” Ballard said.
Johnson will have a list of scenarios for the group to play out in front of the live audience, which will require some quick thinking on their part. There’s even one instance where the audience gets to write down a sentence and the improv actors must incorporate it into a certain scenario.
“It could really take a turn to who knows what,” Ballard said.
The sentence can be anything, like a gorilla sword-fighting with an astronaut or a puppy swimming through a pond of maple syrup. So if you go, make sure you have some fun with it – for us.
“It can be as crazy as you want it to be,” Ballard said.
And that’s really what makes improv so great. No matter what comes up or what you’re asked to do, the best advice Ballard got was to just take it and run.
“She taught us from the get-go, you don’t ask questions, you just go with it,” Ballard said.
This class taught Ballard to study people more and pick up little quirks and traits from others that will help when you’re up on stage.
“You need to be inspired by somebody,” she said.
The show, which is a one-time-only event, is Friday at 7:30 p.m., and you should expect to be there for about 90 minutes. Tickets are $16.50 for adults and $13.50 for students, seniors and Hatbox members.
In the spring, there’s talk of a big show that features graduates from the stand-up, sketch and improv classes, so stay tuned
“We want to leave people wanting more,” Ballard said.
For more or to purchase tickets, visit hatboxnh.com.
