One Size Fits All Improv

I have never been big on comedy, which perhaps could be a flaw of mine. I often am drawn to things that are serious or that have at least a hint of sadness in them. My favorite books are things like David Copperfield, the Brothers Karamavoz, and For Whom the Bell Tolls. Many of my favorite movies, like Gladiator, the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and the Way We Were, follow the same theme. There is something that tells me that serious things are deeper or more important. (Which, all things considered, really isn’t true).

But none of this stopped me from laughing along with a roaring crowd this past Friday night at the One Size Fits All improv comedy show.

The performance was held above the Lafayette Brewing Company on Main Street in Downtown Lafayette. To get to the actual performance, we had to walk through a special door in the restaurant, down a moderately sketchy narrow hallway and up a steep flight of stairs. The journey added a hint of exclusivity and intrigue to the event. But, despite the pleasure the individual gets from feeling like she is a part of something selective (which was somewhat countered anyway by the packed room), more people really should be aware of this troupe’s performances.

To quote Colette (a French writer and Nobel Prize nominee), ‘You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm.’ This more or less sums up the experience of the One Size Fits All improv comedy show.

As can be expected in an improv show, there were many absurd and hysterical games and skits throughout such as ‘fortune telling’ pictured below, miming guessing games, and CSI puns.

           What was especially entertaining was the inclusion of audience members throughout the show. Sometimes, audience members were asked to give suggestions, themes, etc. or to volunteer to participate. At other times, like in the ‘town hall meeting’ (when the players went out into the crowd and pretended to be concerned citizens about a very ‘important’ town issue), audience members who happened to be in close proximity to the players ended up in the show. I am by no means a performer myself, but perhaps in future I will be gutsier about volunteering.

One Size Fits All also claims the title of the longest running comedy show in Lafayette, IN and for good reason. The audience involvement and the variety of players in the troupe will no doubt make each show a unique experience. In addition to the more adult-oriented shows at the Lafayette Brewing Company, the troupe also performs family shows at the Civic Theater once a month. You can find out more about them and when their shows will be at their website: http://www.onesizefitsallimprov.com/index.htm or their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/OneSizeFitsAllImprov. 

As much as I would like to just leave this post as is, simply discussing how enjoyable seeing the show was, I cannot help but add a more ‘serious’ remark. Another thing that made this experience great, was the fact that one of the players, Doug Pruim, is part of the same graduate program at Purdue University as I am. In support of Doug a large number of Purdue’s communication graduate students came out to enjoy the event. I will refrain from being too long-winded about this point, but I think that engaging in groups and events like these is a great way to build and foster community and to meet people who aren’t doing the exact same thing as you are. It was great for all of us to be pulled out of the world of graduate school for an evening.

If you didn’t make it to last night’s show, I highly recommend that you go next month!