The What’s So Funny improv club hosted a free comedy event at the Fulton Library auditorium March 2. The comedians brought the house down with punchlines made up on the fly from ideas mentioned by the audience. With the clubs over 10 years of experience, the ability for it’s comedians to roll with the show comes as no surprise.
To pump up the excitement of the audience, the host Jason Lyons introduced the night’s improv event with a series of exercises, one being acting out a ride on a roller coaster by taking the crowd through a series a hills and deep falls. After the warm up, Lyons then instructed the crowd on the 10 levels of clapping with one being the “slow why am I here clap” up to 10 which is the “I can’t believe I’m screaming right now as I clap, clap.”
After a brief introduction, the night of laughter began with a fun game called “oxygen deprivation.” Though it sounds horrific, the game was quite enjoyable to witness. A bowl of water was set on a podium. While one comedian placed their head inside the bowl restricting oxygen access, two other comedians acted out a scenario until the comedian with their head in a bowl raised their hand signaling they were out of air.
This caused one of the other comedians to tag the oxygen deprived comedian in. While gasping for air, the comedian had to come up with a funny reason for being wet. One response was “I tried this thing called exercise,” which was one of many lines that brought laughs from the crowd.
The audience and comedians interacted at every moment, making the audience feel as if they were a part of the show. In many cases, they were. Severalskits relied upon the audience to come up with different scenarios such as a location the comedians would imagine they were in, the job of the comedian and many others.
“This was my first show. Though there were some strong and weak moments — which is normal — I would still attend another show,” said senior psychology major Lisa Sorensen.
The show went on regardless of whether or not the jokes hit home, which is to be expected. What’s So Funny is one of UVU’s longest running clubs with its origins dating back to 2008 and over 200 members having been a part of the club, according to UVU graduate and WSF comedian Jon Fairbanks. The club is always looking to add to its numbers, welcoming any and every one regardless of experience.
In the words of the comedians Jose Rosado and Anthony Franks, “Follow your dreams and don’t be afraid to just try it.”
