Giggle away those holiday blues with Zenprov Comedy’s completely improvised show “It’s A Wonderful Laugh” on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 7:30 PM at the Mary D. Fisher Theater in Sedona.
“Zenprov is the best comedy troupe in Arizona,” said Mr. Patrick Schweiss, Executive Director of the Sedona International Film Festival. “People laughed so hard their cheeks were hurting.”
Opening for the troupe will be Sedona standup comedian Dean Edelson whose special brand of comedy lampoons life in Sedona. Later in the show, Dean will be doing an impromptu monologue based a single word or phrase from the audience. Whatever Dean pontificates about will become inspiration for Zenprov to create characters, scenes and situations created on the spot.
“This night is going to be like Christmas morning for us. There’s so much good material to play with around the holidays. From a disgruntled elf on a shelf to mindless Black Friday consumerism, it is all fair game, ” said Derek Dujardin the director of Zenprov Comedy.
If you’ve never been to one of their live performances before, Zenprov Comedy is similar to the popular improvised TV show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” The troupe performs a mix of fast-paced improvised scenes created in the moment based on audience suggestions as well as experimental “long form” scenes that blend and interconnect with each other. Unlike sketch or standup comedy, nothing is scripted or prepared ahead of time, so it’s never the same show twice.
The troupe will perform a new game called “The Island of Misfit Toys” where the actors take on characteristic of a mentally disturbed toys coping with rejection. “Xmas Stories” is a game that will improvise Christmas stories, songs and newscasts based upon audience’s personal pet peeves about the holidays.
Zenprov Comedy embraces the Del Close method of improv acting, which emphasizes the “group mind” that mysteriously develops during a performance. Miraculously, the player’s minds fuse together to create a “super mind” where they practically finish each other’s sentences—and often do. Laughter ensues.
The super minds of Zenprov Comedy are Derek Dujardin, Shaeri Richards, Tom Shoemaker, Shaunn Cochran, Chris Redish, Betty Testa, Linda Roemer and Mary Carder.
Tickets are $12 pre-sale and $15 the day of the show. This one-night-only performance can sell out so please purchase tickets early.
Visit www.ZenprovComedy.com to learn more.