Springfield comedy scene: The growing popularity of sketch and improv shows
Front Page February 21, 2020, Comments OffSpringfield has long been known for its art scene, music venues and thriving theatre community. There is, however, another cultural scene that has seen rapid expansion and high levels of success over the past few years: comedy.
Relentless Comedy
Photo from Relentless Comedy’s Facebook page
There is a new face on the improv scene in Springfield: Relentless Comedy. Born in Nov. 2019 in Branson after the end of Branson Improv at the Americana Theatre, Relentless Comedy is a rapidly growing community of aspiring and established improv performers.
Relentless Comedy features a mainstage cast of only three people, including Andy Barrett, an experienced improviser with experience in Kansas City, Chicago and Branson.
“After Branson Improv ended, those of us who lived in Springfield wanted to bring what we were doing to Springfield,” said Barrett.
Relentless Comedy is currently operating mostly at Big Momma’s, but Barrett shared that they are “floating around” looking for new, potentially larger venues.
Relentless Comedy’s edge in the comedy scene is their sense of community, which includes free classes that anyone can attend.
“The classes are a three-level program, and they are completely free,” explained Barrett. “It’s important for us to build the community and we’re not interested in making money. We want peers to play with, peers to perform, not just the three of us.”
Classes are all about teaching how to perform an improvised scene that looks like a sketch. “We want real characters and an escalating situation,” Barrett said. He emphasized that in improv, relatability is more important than outlandish situations or “zaniness.”
Classes begin on Saturday, April 25. For more information, and to sign up, visit Relentless Comedy’s Facebook page.
“I really encourage people to take classes because it’s about being real and relatable,” Barrett said. “No one should be nervous; we want to help you be yourself.”
When asked why people should attend Relentless Comedy shows, Barrett just smiled and said “free show!” He went on to describe improv in general as “one of the most rewarding types of performance to do and to watch.”
Barrett also talked about the growing “disproportionate demand for comedy” that Springfield has seen in recent years.
“We’re right at the beginning of a big explosion here in Springfield,” Barrett predicted, likening the boom in comedy to that of Kansas City.
When asked for any advice to aspiring comedians, Barrett simply responded: “You will fail and that’s ok. Stay humble and be willing to learn from mistakes and learn from others. I say that as someone who has failed a lot.”
Spring Vegas Sketch Show
Photo from Spring Vegas Sketch Show’s Facebook page
Photo from Spring Vegas Sketch Show’s Facebook page
If you prefer Saturday Night Live to Whose Line Is It Anyway?, the Spring Vegas Sketch Show has got you covered.
Currently in their second season, which began in Sept. 2019, the Spring Vegas Sketch Show started out at the Springfield Improv theater before outgrowing the venue, according to the creator and executive director, Shannon Sherrow. Since then, the group has transitioned to the studio theater at the Judith Enyeart Reynolds School of the Performing Arts, or “the Judy.”
“We’re thrilled to partner with The Springfield Little Theatre by using their studio theatre,” said Sherrow.
“We have a brand-new cast this season, including four new players for a total cast of ten,” said Sherrow. This is in addition to a writing staff of five, and a film crew for digital content.
“Writers work a month in advance,” explained Sherrow. “We all sit down and brainstorm ideas together, riffing ideas.”
Katie Still, the head writer, picks her favorites and each writer drafts four or five sketches. After a table read, the cast decides which sketches to put in the show, and the whole, “very quick” process repeats itself. Many of the writers are involved with Blue Room Comedy Club, an established stand-up venue in Downtown Springfield.
Sketches are performed in front of a live audience, but Sherrow explained that digital content is also shown at performances.
“Having the screens up in the theatre is great, as it lets us use graphics and do things we can’t do live,” she said. Sherrow likened the use of digital content to the pre-recorded shorts of Saturday Night Live. In addition to these digital sketches, each show is taped live.
The show features a new host every month.
“We try to look for someone in the community who is fun – TV personalities, radio DJs… We’ve had a Captain Springfield host, as well as Sarah Jenkins from The Mystery Hour,” said Sherrow.
Sherrow also described a typical show: 13-15 sketches, a host monologue and a special “Inside Springfield” local news segment.
“We never touch politics, we never touch religion,” Sherrow explained. “The show is PG-13, so adults love it but we can still have that slightly broader audience.”
“We try to achieve that little Chicago comedy club feel,” she continued. “You just can’t find comedy like this in Springfield. We have so many funny, talented people but there are no sketch comedy groups in town.” She went on to illustrate that the idea of sketch comedy in a black box theatre creates fast pace and high energy.
“I wasn’t sure if there was an avenue for this kind of show,” Sharrow admitted. She was quickly proven wrong, however, when the show began overselling tickets and saw waiting lines outside the old venue.
The next show is Feb. 22 at the theatre on 237 S Florence Ave. Tickets are available for $10 at springvegassketchshow.com or by calling 417-413-2287. The group will also perform at the 22nd annual Women’s Show at the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds E-Plex that day.
Shows are at 7:00 P.M. on the fourth Saturday of each month.
The Mystery Hour
Springfield is also home to its own variety talk show, The Mystery Hour. A self-proclaimed “hit with tens of at-home viewers,” The Mystery Hour is a half-hour talk show that began as a series of sketches by host Jeff Houghton in 2006 at Skinny Improv, which is now Springfield Inn.
“I got started with sketches, and it went from there,” said Houghton. “After a while, I told myself, ‘This is what I love, I want to keep doing this.’”
The Mystery Hour’s home is at The Historic Gilloiz Theatre in downtown Springfield. The first episode aired in April of 2012.
The show features recurring bits such as “Things I’ve Noticed,” a humorous take on everyday items and occurrences, as well as a variety of sketches. One of those sketches, “Instagram Husband,” became a viral hit online, with over 7 million YouTube views.
Houghton described how the show immediately began to attract fans to live tapings. “I was lucky that the theater had a good base of fans,” said Houghton. “We never tried to rush how we grew.” Today, live tapings can have as many as 500 guests regularly.
It wasn’t always so easy for Houghton, however.
“We just jumped into things not knowing how to do them,” Houghton laughed. He described how in the early days the production saw “all the obstacles.”
Houghton continued: “I don’t like the backend stuff, but I do it. My favorite part is by far actually performing.”
When asked how he and his team got over the initial hardships, Houghton responded that collaboration and a “go-for-it” attitude, combined with some good humor, makes the show happen each week.
The Mystery Hour has received four Emmy Awards, and has been described by New York Times comedy critics as “very Lettermanesque.” It is now in its ninth season, with over 180 episodes. Guests have included stars from “The Office,” “Parks and Recreation,” “Seinfeld,” “Mad Men” and more.
The show airs in Springfield on Ozarks Fox, Saturdays at 9:00 P.M. You can also catch episodes all over the country on ABC, NBC, and CW affiliates. Live tapings are held once a month at the Gillioz Theatre, with the next scheduled for Saturday, March 28. Tickets are $12 online at themysteryhour.com or $14 at the door, which opens to the public at 6:45 P.M.
Article by Forest Swisher
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