Improvisation - at it's finest ..

       The world of comedy is a world of many opportunities for success, there are movies, to stand-up comedians, all the way to even puppetry. However, there is a form of comedy that is the freshest and most out there, called improvisation. Improvisation, is at it's best when there is a group of improveteers, all working with one another to create something that is meant to be very humorous, since improv, was born out Commedia Della Arte, it had no choice but to be funny.

       Luckily, you don't have to go that far to see this hilarious improv, there is a place in Orlando called the SAK Comedy Club where all they do is this kind of comedy.

To explain what you are seeing in this picture, the number in the gentlemen's hands apply to game that is a staple in the evening show of Sak Comedy Club. This show is called "Lab Rats" and it is a "competition based" show where there are two teams of 3 or 4 members and they act out different scenario's that are selected by the host or my personal favorite, the audience. The performance of the two teams is rated on a scale of 1-5 by the audience, and which ever team has the highest score at the end of the show wins!

   Another great thing about this show is that it incorporates, real true life people; people you know, people you may see at work, or somebody you see at church, anybody can be in Sak. You just have to have a desire for making people laugh and have fun with them, that's what makes the show tick; their ability to interact with the audience and have fun with them.

Here's a review from an actual spectator of one of the shows at Sak Comedy Club:
 "I’ve lived in Orlando for nearly five years now and I am ashamed to say that, until recently, I’d never experienced SAK Comedy Lab. All that changed last weekend when I finally visited SAK in their new downtown location at the City Arts Factory. Talk about funny… I laughed so hard, I nearly peed my pants.The most popular show, and the one I attended, is called Duel of Fools. Two teams of three improvisers face off by creating hilarious skits they create on the spot, right off the tops of their heads. The result is an off-the-wall performance that’s somewhere between zany and genius. The skits, which often utilize audience participation, are given a score of 1 to 5 by three volunteer audience judges. At the end of each show, one team is crowned the winner.

Besides being ‘laugh out loud’ funny, two more things make the SAK experience top notch: 1) all acts are super clean, in fact, teams that get too raunchy lose points. This means that you can bring your kids to the show without having to worry about covering their ears."


http://www.youtube.com/embed/hk0bR9t6Bvo

     To explain, this was a video of one of the skits they perform at Sak, where they poll the audience for ideas, so this audience came up the idea of an illiterate boy who love to play baseball. The video unfortunately started in the middle but it was still funny!

         

     I haven't had much exposure to improv, but I would definitely see this show again and again! 

  Sources:

           

"YouTube - SAK Comedy Lab May 31st,2008." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. 31 May 2008. Web. 01 Mar. 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk0bR9t6Bvo&feature=rec-LGOUT-exp_fresh div-1r-3-HM>.

Manieri, Kirsten. "Orlando’s SAK Comedy Lab | Orlando | NileGuide." Weblog post. Free Trip Planner and Personalized Travel Guide | NileGuide. Nile Guide, 3 Nov. 2010. Web. 01 Mar. 2011. http://www.nileguide.com/destination/blog/orlando/2010/11/03/orlandos-sak-comedy-lab/.

"Sak Comedy Lab - Google Search." Google. Microsoft. Web. 01 Mar. 2011. <http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&source=imghp&biw=1224&bih=717&q=sak comedy lab&gbv=2&aq=0&aqi=g1&aql=&oq=Sak Comedy>.