Tall Tales

Since stand-up comedy is not recognized as an art form, an advocacy group was formed in 2017 to push for recognition and funding. To that end, the people at Theatre Centre has partnered up with CASC to present a week of Comedy Is Art shows. During the introduction, they also promised to open up their residency for a qualified stand-up comedian who has a "big idea" and is looking for financial and organizational support.

The first show tonight was an hour-long improv session with Tallboyz II Men. A few things stood out: they mostly got their start doing stand-up, and all were men of colour (East Asian, African-Canadian, and First Nations). They were recently commissioned by CBC to do a sketch comedy show a la Baroness Von Sketch.

Unlike their broadcast skits, they didn't touch on any issues relating to race. This was a shame as the gentle skewering of popular (i.e., white) culture with regards to the lived experience of POC made those sketches both funny and biting. This improv show, like most, was hit-and-miss. The middle was strong once they found their rhythm, but the beginning and end were mostly *cricket chirp*. Some highlights included: an extra-hipster podcast where the hosts discussed books, not their content but just their physical form, while live transcript was done on a typewriter; a first date who moved in and the reticent victim who won't kick them out; and a backwards day where among other things, winning teams had scores of 7-9.

If an improv troupe was to be considered for residency here, I'd like to see real experimentation and exploration to expand the form.