Puppies’ necks will be broken as three astronauts stranded on an island try to keep their sanity in a place where wild characters come out of nowhere. That story and more will be performed tomorrow as UA’s oldest comedy troupe, Comedy Corner, presents their
traditional S.I.C.K. Comedy Fest, which is in its 15th year. S.I.C.K. stands for “”Southwest Intergalactic Comedy Kermis,”” a name as silly as the antics that are boasted by the show.
The S.I.C.K. Fest brings together collegiate comedy groups and has brought many big names to campus in the past such as David Cross in 2001, Lewis Black in 2003, Demetri Martin in 2005, and the Upright Citizen’s Brigade last year. Here’s the lowdown on the Arizona-based groups that will make you pee your pants laughing.
Comedy Corner
Founded in 1979, Comedy Corner evolved from being a sideshow where anyone could perform to a sketch- and improv-comedy group that performs in the UA Cellar every Friday at noon. They’re known for their hilarious sketches that feature unusual characters, like their popular sketch called “”Bed, Bloodbath and Beyond”” which featured an ex-military assassin who applied for various jobs, including a position at Baby Gap, after leaving the military. “”We’ve been writing the actual show for about two months now,”” said Luke Mills, a media arts junior and producer of Comedy Corner. “”We’re doing all sketch. It’s more of a short play than a sketch. It follows one continuous story line with continuous characters, and it’s going to be amazing. It’s going to be a riot.””
The Charles Darwin Experience
UA’s only all-improv comedy group performs every Tuesday at 10 p.m. in the Cellar. The Charles Darwin Experience was started in 1998 and has always been a short-form improv group. When Darwin performs they play various improv games and the group always draws a crowd of students who want to giggle. The Charles Darwin Experience wasn’t in the festival last year, but they have been in the past, and they’re looking forward to a short but sassy set of improv tomorrow.
“”We just prepared what games we want to play. Comedy Corner put together all the headliners and everything,”” said Christina Fruciano, a UA alumna and director of The Charles Darwin Experience.
The Street-Prov Theatre Collective
Street-Prov was formed around 2005 in an intoxicated haze when a few improvisers stumbled out of a bar and decided to have an improv Fight Club in an alley. Since then The group has been taking improv to the streets, literally. They perform in the Cellar on Thursdays at 8:30 p.m.
“”It was formed out of magic and mystery, and there was fighting. I lost a tooth,”” said Anthony Fama, an apprentice electrician and founding member of Street-Prov. “”We do long-form improv. Short form is like a standup thing, it’s punch, punch, punch, but with long-form, it’s a meditation. We’re always looking for the connection.””
With regard to how the Collective has prepared for the S.I.C.K. Fest, Fama said, “”There’s been a lot of ritual intoxication. We’ve all been thoroughly abusive of each other. We’ve had some people come down and do (comedy) workshops with us. And we’ve all thoroughly read the complete works of Bakunin.””
Farce Side Comedy
This group started in 1984 when a member of the UA’s Comedy Corner transferred to the dreaded Arizona State University and started another “”Comedy Corner.”” The name was later changed to “”Farce Side Comedy Hour.”” The group performs sketches every Friday for the Sun Devils’ viewing pleasure. “”We’ve been doing a lot of shows and we’ve been writing our best material and we look to bring out our best sketches of this and last semester,”” said Nick Zautra, a psychology junior at ASU and Farce Side cast member. “”We’ve been preparing a lot. We’ve been rehearsing a lot, and hopefully it’ll be good.””
The S.I.C.K. Comedy Fest 15 will take place tomorrow in the Social Sciences building, Room 100, at 7 p.m. Admission is free.
