Comics Anonymous
WHAT THE SHOW IS:
If you weren't among the thousands who have seen Comics
Anonymous, or CA as the regulars call it, in the half-dozen or so places
they've played in and around Broward & Palm Beach Counties then you don't
know what full contact comedy REALLY is. We should tell you that this is
NOT stand-up. What the show really is, is essentially a series of small
comedic scenes performed by a set of energetic actors & musicians (some
with a stand up background) strung together in a series of quick blackouts.
Each scene varies in length as needed from a 1 minute - "pseudo-mercial"
or commercial parody, to a 3 minute song (some original - most parodies -
ala Weird Al style), to 4-5 minute theater pieces (comedy & drama)
which are a 20/80 mix of scripted and improvised material. This is where
the troupe really excels.
By basing the scenes on information obtained
from the audience, you are guaranteed that these pieces could not have
been written in advance and since the audience is mostly different each
week (although there are many regulars) this guarantees that the show as
a whole is always different and customized each night to that night's audience.
This is the thrill that makes this cast so good. "We don't need the
gimmick of a guy in a "referee" shirt to keep our show on track."
says Duncan. "LORD NO, we want the show to be outta-control and over
the edge hanging by it's white knuckle fingertips.
Comfort is our enemy."
Another cast member, Glen puts it this way, "It's like jumping off
a building and THEN checking for your parachute, finding it's gone, but
landing on an awning cartoon style. It breaks but you land in the lap of
a pretty girl at a sidewalk cafe and just when you think you're OK - her
wrestler boy friend comes back from the rest room. I think that's happened
to everyone at one time or another -hasn't it?"
A more practical way to decribe it would be that CA is a lot like "Whoose Line is it Anyway" only there's no "moderator" on the side, sitting at a desk.
CA typically performs with only 4-7 of it's 12 members in any one show. Unlike most comedy troupes, C.A.
is neither a "boy's only" nor a "feminist revenge"
club. Laura, Shelly and Cara
do a good job of keeping the boys in check.
This makes the cast more balanced than most and this is reflected
in the material. The whole thing loosely parodies a 12
step meeting for those addicted to making people laugh -
thus the name. Says Frank, "We've always been the most ethnically
and gender diverse cast around."
