Laughing Gas: common name for nitrous
oxide, a gas that dulls pain and induces fits of hysterical laughter
It's also
the name of a band of daring young actors who spend 90 minutes
every Friday and Saturday night inducing fits of
hysterical laughter from Miami audiences. And did we mention there's
nary a script in sight? That's right, The Laughing Gas Comedy
Improv Theatre Company presents comedy without a net,
because the most of show is improvised on the spot from suggestions
given by the audience. Often starting with a single random idea,
like a location or a relationship, the cast will create characters
and situations that will soon have the audience rolling in the
aisles. The show also incorporates music, television and commercial
parodies and more. Laughing Gas must be Miami's best-kept
entertainment secret, because South Florida's premiere improv
troupe is now in its thirteenth season! The troupe has always
been committed to presenting interactive entertainment that is
both intelligent and profoundly silly. Laughing Gas has
added a show on Fridays at the newly-completed Main
Street Playhouse, located at 6766 Main Street in
Miami Lakes. Laughing Gas appears on Fridays and
Saturdays at the newly-completed The
Main Street Playhouse, located at 6766 Main Street
in Miami Lakes. Curtain time for all shows is 11:00
PM, and admission is $10. No age restriction, no drink minimum.
For reservations, call 305-461-1161. Visit the home page
at www.laughinggasimprov.com
We're Pros
Unlike many other area improv companies,
Laughing Gas performers are mostly professional actors
and comedians who also work in live theatre, television, feature
films, commercials and industrial films, and several are stand-up
comedians as well. For instance, Gerald
Owens can be seen in a series of national commercials
for GameZnFlix.com starring former "Dell Dude"
Ben Curtis (click here
to view the commercials). James
Carrey and Ethan
Smith just completed their roles in a new Sean Astin
film Thanks to
Gravity, due to be released in early 2005. Andy
Sottilare appears in countless local and regional commercials,
and can now seen in the crime film, Carlita's
Secret starring Desparate Housewives
Eva Longoria. He just wrapped production of an indie science
fiction film, 1Annunaki, which also featured Todd
Rice. Danny Paul
is a regular on The Learning Channel's hit home makeover
series In a Fix. On the boards, Deborah
L. Sherman earned critical praise in back to back productions
at GableStage and the Hollywood Playhouse. Many
members are also active in Miami's busy independent film scene.
Click here to see the cast
biographies, pictures and resumés.
In
The Beginning
Let's get this out of the way up
front: improvisation is an accident. It was never meant to be
new performance artthat just sorta happened. Improv was really
just intended to make actors better actors. Almost half a century
ago, a Chicago director named Viola
Spolin was looking for a technique to make actors more
spontaneous, to force them to connect with each other. What she
stumbled on was improvisation. If the actor had no script, she
reasoned, the actor wouldn't be able to plan ahead, so the performance
would be fresh and real. And the only way for the actor to survive
in the improv is to actually pay attention to the other actors'
emotions and behavior! It offered a ready antidote to the overly
internal acting techniques coming out of New York's Actor's Studio.
Spolin's system caught on, and
around 1960, some of her students noticed something. Improv was
entertaining. Improv was funny! Maybe people would pay money to
see it! And so The Compass, the first modern improvisational
theatre company, was born. They devised the model that improv
troupes have used ever sincethe actors would take random
suggestions from the audience to create absolutely unique shows
every night. The Compass evolved into the institution now
known as Second City,
the improv and sketch comedy theatre with operations in Chicago,
Toronto and elsewhere, that spawned two generations of comedic
talent, including Stiller & Meara, Alan Arkin,
Mike Nichols, Barbara Harris, Robert Klein,
John and Jim Belushi, John Candy, Gilda
Radner, Tim Farley, Eugene Levy, Mike Myers
and many more. Soon, improv companies sprang up all over the world
(click here
for an interactive directory of other improv companies around
the country).
And
in a little town called Miami, actor/director Sandy Mielke
founded a troupe called Mental Floss in 1986,
using techniques he had learned from a stint with Los Angeles'
L.A. Connection. Mental Floss thrived for
six years and even had its own theatre in the heart of Coconut
Grove until Hurricane Andrew brought it to a suitably cataclysmic
end. The audiences suddenly stopped coming, having things like
fresh water, food and shelter on their minds rather than light
entertainment. So, unable to cover the rent, the old company folded
and Sandy moved on to other projects. Thus, in 1992, several
cast members took it upon themselves to found a new company, which
came to be known as Laughing Gas. Now headed by
Gerald
Owens, it was (and remains) a vagabond troupe, renting
other companies' theatres, but it has lasted a staggering twelve
years.
We Get Around
Laughing Gas has appeared at The
Caldwell Theatre and The New York Comedy
Club in Boca Raton, at The Burt Reynolds Theatre
in Tequesta, aboard the cruise ship M.S. Discovery Sun
in the Bermuda Triangle, at The Improvisation Comedy
Club in Coconut Grove, as well as Coconut's
Comedy Club in North Miami and Coconut Grove. Our meanderings
also took us to Fort Lauderdale's Museum of Art,
the PGA Golf Resort in Palm Beach Gardens,
the Cuillo Centre in West Palm Beach, and the Opus
Playhouse, Majestic Glades Theatre,
and City Center in Coral Springs, as well as
the Country Club of Coral Gables and The
Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach.
Our previous college bookings include
the University of Miami, Miami-Dade Community College,
and Florida Atlantic University. The troupe has produced
many private shows for professional organizations and youth groups.
Corporate bookings have included Stanley Tool, Boston
Scientific, ADP TotalSource and the SC Johnson Company.
Click here for more information
on private performances. Laughing Gas also offers professional-level
workshops in improvisational
acting.
Laughing Gas performers
have assisted humorist Dave
Barry in four charity fundraisers for Big Brothers/Big
Sisters of Miami. They have also appeared without
charge at events sponsored by Gilda's Club, The
Arts and Business Council in Miami Beach, Kids
in Distress in Hollywood, and Center One
in Pembroke Pines.
For additional information or to arrange
an interview, contact Gerald Owens at 954-942-0375,
or E-mail
him.
Copyright ©2010 -
Laughing Gas - All Rights Reserved
(305) 461-1161 for Reservations
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