I guess you had to be there

I didn’t want to write about the First Saturday Funnies, hosted by The Endangered Species Theatre Project each month at the FAC Art Center.

Don’t get me wrong.

As a self-respecting theater kid, I absolutely love that kind of short-form improv comedy — the kind that developed from the little games actors play to warm up their emotional reflexes before performances. The relentless pace of the famous “yes, and” logic that drives improv’s chain reactions sends me into fits of side-splitting laughter every time I’m lucky enough to catch those kinds of shows.

But whenever I’ve tried to write about improv, my words fall flat. The humor I feel never makes it into the heads — much less guts — of my readers.

In fact, the last time I wrote about an improv show, one of my old theater friends left a helpful comment on the Facebook post where I shared my article: “Click-bait title. Disappointing content.”

He was right.

For a long time, I thought this was my unique handicap in the theater review world, but my recent chats with Michael Harris and Anne Raugh, two of the First Saturday Funnies improv actors, helped me understand that the art form itself inherently resists explanation. Even with a combined 50 years of improv experience between them, these quick-witted professional communicators frequently find themselves at a loss for words when asked to describe this mode of comedy.

Before tentatively narrating an example, they simply ask their interrogators if they’ve ever seen the TV show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” If not, they grope around for other frames of reference, trying really hard to land on something solidly experiential so they can avoid every comedian’s dreaded fear: having to explain the joke.

“The quickest way to kill a joke is to explain it,” Raugh told me after I coaxed her into talking through some improv scenarios. “It’s really hard to do that in a way that preserves the sensation of the prize of enjoyment that the live audience gets.”

Case in point: When she meticulously described an improv sketch from a recent First Saturday Funnies event, the most excited response I could muster was a bit of polite (read: fake) laughter.

But in the real-life theater, when the sentient tree starting begging for its life on the grounds of having saplings to support, the audience response was uproarious.

Because, you see, that’s the kind of thing you’d expect a human to say when begging for his life, but it wasn’t a human, it was a tree. So instead of saying “kids,” he said “saplings.” Get it? No? Yeah, I didn’t think you would.

Harris said that kind of humor doesn’t translate after the fact

Preview Party: March 24, 5-7pm, $55, RSVP Saturday, March 25, 9 am-4 pm, free Sunday, March 26, 12-5 pm, free Designers paired with museum artwork for three days of one-of-a-kind live floral designs because it’s all based on either fulfilling or subverting expectations. The live audience receives hundreds of subtle (and not-so-subtle) context clues from the performers that set up the unconscious mind to form an expectation about what should happen next. Either those expectations are fulfilled by following a set of brutally consistent logical steps to their natural conclusion, or they are suddenly dashed to pieces.

“Either way, it works,” Harris said. “The nice thing about improv is you almost can’t fail as long as you keep going.”

But if you can’t see the look on the tree’s face, hear the flummoxed tone of his would-be chopper, or pick up on the nervous laughter of the people next to you, you don’t have any expectations, no matter how well the situation is described.

Raugh emphasized that the most important element to making improv comedy work is audience participation, but some people are put off from ever trying the experience because that expectation makes them nervous. She said when people hear “audience participation,” they often have the wrong idea. Yes, the audience is called on to provide key words and ideas to build skits on the fly, but even people who sit in the back of house and never speak are part of the action. Not because the actors pick on them but because they contribute to the temperature of the room.

“If the audience doesn’t like something, we don’t do it again. If the audience responds to something, it becomes part of the context of the show,” she said. “If you’re not into raising your hand or coming up onstage, you don’t have to, but you still get to be part of molding the show just by the way you respond to things that happen in the room. And if you are inspired to contribute, all the better.”

The message that came up in our conversation over and over again was clear: If you want to get the joke, you have to be there.

The cast of four encourages everyone to the monthly event, but Raugh says the material is typically rated PG-13 — and she’s never offended if parents decide to make a quiet exit with their kids.

See live improv for yourself on the first Saturday of each month at 7:30 p.m. at the FAC Art Center at 5 E. Second St., Frederick. Occasionally, First Saturday Funnies are skipped, due to main stage productions. Admission is pay-what-you-can. Performances are about 90 minutes. For more information, visit esptheatre. org.

If you’d like to experience improv in a more structured way, Harris will offer classes running from March 30 to May 11 for ages 18 and up.

Erik Anderson’s MA in medieval literature only qualifies him to write about Chaucer, but he’s going to tell you about local theater anyway.

WAREHOUSE CINEMAS NEWS AND EVENTS:

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS MOVIE PREMIERE EXPERIENCE

Thursday, March 30th 5:00 to 8:00pm

LIVE ACTION TAVERN EXPERIENCE

We are bringing an immersive experience to Frederick with Paramount Studios. Visit our Thieves Den Tavern, shop with Games & Stuff, immerse yourself with visuals by Historic Haven, munch on some Dragon’s Breath spicy popcorn, and wash it down with a cocktail potion made with local Dragon Distillery spirits. Be sure to enjoy the film premiere and dress up. This is a live experience with actors, amazing decorations, and musicians that you won’t want to miss.

BRUNCH CLUB PRESENTS: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS

Sunday, March 26th 11:00am to 2:00pm

UPCOMING FILMS THIS WEEKEND:

“John Wick 4”