Did you know you can participate in comedy improv here in Denver through our RISE Comedy Playhouse? While you can excuse us calling it a “cage match”, we can at least assure you there won’t be any physical wrestling. Then again, we can’t guarantee it either considering comedy improvisation sometimes gets physical. But while some professional wrestling could be considered improv on its own (sorry to break the news to those who thought it was real), it’s always a fun experience to see people attempt to best our professional improv performers.
We called this “The Duel: An Improv Cagematch”, and it’s held every Saturday here at our Denver location at 10 p.m. Yes, being late-night, you can expect it to be very adult and a time when you shouldn’t bring the kids. However, you’re going to have more fun than you’ve perhaps ever had showing off your natural improv skills.
While we’d love to see you do improv on your own, we know that only a special few can do an improv show on their own and hold an audience in stitches. Here, it’s going to be improv groups, which is technically more challenging than doing it alone. In this scenario, you have to feed off your fellow group members and keep a momentum going when inventing on the spot.
The cage match aspect comes in one group competing against another group. Winners are decided on audience reaction and based on their affirmed vote. Whichever team wins will then come back and defend their title the following Saturday, so you might be able to perform for more than just one week.
Do you think you have the proper improv chops to work well in a group and win over a Denver audience? Here’s some suggestions on how to tap into your natural ability.
The Art of Improv
We adhere to the old improv method of saying “Yes, and…”, which means taking any challenge an audience gives you rather than blocking any possibility of being creative. When you open your imagination to our Denver audience suggestions, you’ll be amazed at what your subconscious produces, especially when feeding off other people. Group improv is good for beginners because you all work together to create one giant mind. No matter if that mind gets dirty at times, we expect such things in a late-night Denver improv show.
This isn’t to say you shouldn’t be as clever as you can. While we’re not against four-letter words in comedy, knowing how to create brilliant comedy without resorting to mentioning a toilet or sex will be to your benefit.
It’s also a good idea to give equal time in group improvisation. We understand if you’re hungry for stage attention, though make sure your group effort allows others to shine and not just yourself.
With all that in mind, we invite you to our next improv cage match the next time you’re in Denver and stop by RISE Comedy Playhouse on a Saturday night. If you’ve never attended this weekly event, we also want you to watch from the audience to get inspired in perhaps doing improv on your own eventually. We find that when you watch others perform improv, you learn a lot, if perhaps having your jaw to floor looking at the abilities of the true professionals.
Contact us if you have any questions or comments about our show. Also check out our other shows during the week with brilliant standup comedians and improv artists from the Denver area. We additionally suggest our improv courses, even if we know going into the cage match without preparation can give you as much exhilaration as running with the bulls in Pamplona (without the sharp edges).