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 . Visit the home page at 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 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 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 , or him.
Copyright ©2010 - Laughing Gas - All Rights Reserved
for Reservations
Home
