The Triangle has developed a comedy arts scene recognized by the comedic community on a national scale. And one the nation’s premier improv comedy clubs sits, tucked away, just down the street from N.C. State.
Improv comedy, made famous by shows such as Whose Line is it Anyway?, involves comedians who perform games and skits using input from the audience members. As a kind of impromptu, interactive form of Mad Libs, improv has continued to grow in popularity and sophistication, with hundreds of schools in the country teaching the craft.
Twenty-three years ago, when there were only a handful of comedy clubs specializing in this brand of comedy, Richard Gardner helped open ComedyWorx, where he still works as the executive producer of the comedy shows.
“We were the first improv place in Raleigh,” Gardner said. “It was just a place where you could get comedy at a reasonable price and do something different because, at the time, there was nothing quite like this around.”
Gardner said that when he first started out, his friends saw starting ComedyWorx as a risk.
“When I told my friends what we wanted to do, that there was going to be two teams and a referee and they would tell jokes, they all thought I was crazy,” Gardner said. “Still, we’ve been doing the same show for 24 years, and rarely is it not absolutely hilarious.”
Mark Curry, a sophomore in science education, said ComedyWorx’s shows made for an enjoyable evening.
“It was a great experience,” Curry said. “It was a lot of fun and it really helped take the stress away for a few hours.”
ComedyWorx has influenced campus culture beyond offering students another way to relax on the weekend. A few years ago, members of ComedyWorx helped the Comedic Improv Association create a student organization at N.C. State.
According to past member Kevin Bragg, an alum with a degree in psychology, improv comedy helps fine-arts performers as well.
“Improv is life,” Bragg said. “You don’t have a script when you’re talking in everyday life. We’re making it up as we go along. I used to have a touch of social anxiety and I think improv has helped me so much with that, with just talking with people and not worrying about what I’m saying.”
Improv, by its nature, cannot be performed by a single performer as other forms of comedy such as stand-up can. Improv relies on community and communication, both among performers as well as the audience.
According to ComedyWorx performer Lora Hawley, an alum with a graduate degree in toxicology, the improv community in Raleigh remains close.
“I’m a scientist. I work a lot with very rigid, analytical scientists and it’s very serious and specific and scientific at my job,” Hawley said. “So [improv] is just an outlet for fun and craziness with amazing and talented people.”
Hawley, similar to many other improv comedians, first came into contact with the idea of improv through theater. Having done theater in high school and college, she looked for ways to continue stage art after graduation.
She came to ComedyWorx one-and-a-half years ago to take a few introductory improv classes that ComedyWorx offers to aspiring comedians, stage performers and other interested parties. Hawley has been performing ever since.
According to Ronnie Ansley, a trial attorney who graduated in 1984 with a degree in agricultural education, improv can enhance business performance as it builds confidence, which is one of the reasons why he finds performing at ComedyWorx beneficial.
“I’m a trial attorney and I do a lot of criminal work,” Ansley said. “I have to think a lot on my feet in court because you don’t know what’s going to happen in there. It’s the same on stage. One helps me train for the other.”
Still, many Raleigh citizens don’t know about the comedy scene in the Triangle. Ansley said that this may be due to the rapid growth of cities in the Triangle, with many still trying to figure out what defines the area.
“I think it’s one of the hidden treasures in the Triangle,” Ansley said. “We have a very talented and dedicated group of people that are involved in improv, and most people don’t even know it’s in Raleigh. This is one of the happening places in comedy here.”
