The Mother Load

I'd like all of you to know that I did NOT have an aneurysm last night at Comedy Sportz.  It was touch and go for awhile there, but I pulled through.  Had I died of a massive hemorrhage in my brain, I can assure you, it would have been okay with me.  As someone who loves to laugh, dying laughing is probably the best way to go, and when you attend a show at Comedy Sportz, the risk of laughter induced death is well worth the experience.  

Comedy Sportz is a franchise of improv comedy clubs with locations across the country.  Teams of actors and comedians compete for points, a referee calls fouls and imposes punishments (like placing a brown paper bag over the head of any player or audience member who says something too risque for children's ears), and audience members participate by shouting out ideas, a la, "Whose Line is it Anyway?"

Here's a sample of what you might see at a Comedy Sportz club:





The performance this week marked the second time Richard and I attended a show at the Comedy Sportz location in Provo, UT, but it was a first for the kids.  We'd scoped the place out on our anniversary last year to make sure its claims of clean comedy were true.  An hour and a half of side splitting but family friendly humor later, we were determined to come back with the kids another time.

Now, I initially wondered if the family friendly thing was exclusive to the Provo club, because, well, it's Provo.  For readers who are not Mormon, Provo is THE most Mormon place in all of Mormondom.  There are certainly unMormon things that go on there, but the Mormons who live there don't know it because they're very busy being Mormons.   

A check of the Comedy Sportz website tells me that clean comedy is not isolated to "Happy Valley" Utah.  It's a commitment from the company.  As a mom, I consider that supremely cool.  I don't believe that every comedy club has to offer comedy that can be enjoyed by adults and kids alike, but I'm very glad that this one does.

For instance, at last night's show, we giggled as a man donned a wig and a skirt and announced himself to be "Lashondra," and talked about his/her husband, Frank.

"You know how sometimes you're just not in the mood...to...(exaggerated look of realization and alarm at my kids in the front row)...to, you know, when mommies and daddies sit down and write a letter to the stork.  And I say, Frank, I don't want to write a letter right now.  And Frank says, 'But I have a pencil...'"

This was the point in the show that I started to suspect I might pass out from laughing so hard.  When another player stepped forward and said, "Okay, just so the kids don't get confused, this is how it works..." and the referee practically tackled him back into place, I was sure of it.

Comedy Sportz locations don't just offer shows.  The actors can be hired to perform at events and parties, and most locations also offer workshops and classes on comedy and improv performance.  The next class series in Provo begins in May.  Someone let Richard know I want him to sign us up as an anniversary present. 

I'll act surprised.