Second City Virtual Improv- “Improv Party: Helter Shelter” reviewed by Julia W. Rath

The newest virtual comedy from Second City, “Improv Party: Helter Shelter”, is one of a series of live streams on Zoom. A free interactive performance recurring weekly on Thursday evenings, it joins existing Second City improv house parties on Tuesday and Saturday evenings and the family-friendly “The Really Awesome Improv Show” on Thursday mornings at 11:00 a.m.

In “Helter Shelter”, there will always be a theme of the week. The theme chosen for opening night was called “Paradigm Shift” and had to do with how life during the “new normal” differs from the “old normal”, that is, prior to the pandemic and the quarantine. “What has changed in your lives?” was today’s operative question. Yet the subtitle for the show was far more apt: “Delivering comedy from the discomfort of your own home.”

Since this is improv, the contents of each episode will differ widely from week to week. Thus, judging the rest of the series on the basis of the first show becomes difficult, if not impossible. As everybody knows who watches television programs with regularity, it often takes months for a cast to gel and grow over the course of a season. A series often improves as actors become more familiar with each other’s skills, quirks, and timing. This production should be no exception.

Although billed as a 45-minute performance, the May 14th premiere was approximately one hour long, that is, if you include all trivia questions prior to the start as cast members and participants were gradually coming online.

The weekly “Helter Shelter” series will feature a rotating cast hosted by Second City alums Mary Catherine Curran, Nigel Downer, and Alan Linic, and includes Adam Archer, Atra Asdou, Ali Barthwell, Tricia Black, Sarah Dell’Amico, Asia Martin, Natalie Metcalf, Jordan Savusa, Adam Schreck, and Chris Wilson with musical director Jesse Case and contributing musical artistry from Elise Wattman and Nicholas Gage. The directors are Anneliese Toft and Anthony LeBlanc.

“Our cast is looking to push the limits of what experiential online comedy can be. Without giving any of our magic tricks away, I can say that we want our audiences saying, ‘I can’t believe Second City did that online,’” says Toft.

There were a few memorable highlights of Thursday night’s show. One was right near the beginning when we would have normally been told to observe the fire exits in the theater; now we are directed to find the door of our room. (Escaping, hmmm—and violate the stay-at-home guidelines?) I also enjoyed the wise words: “One man’s garbage is another man’s future garbage,” and “If you teach a man to fish, then invoice him.” The Rat Rap from the sewer was clever as was the idea behind “Conspiracy Theory Smackdown.” Fortunately (or unfortunately), the best parts of the performance had nothing to do with improv per se: These segments were pre-rehearsed and taped and inserted into the live presentation.

The show is reminiscent of the days when, back in the 1980s, I myself took some improv classes. We had about ten or twelve people in my class, and we all had a good time developing premises and making up skits. It was the creative process that made it all enjoyable, including the serendipitous ways that various people understood humor and what made them laugh. Second City is one of the leading comedy clubs in the nation that has launched the careers of many talented artists today. Who knows where their current experiment in interactive comedy will lead us?

The live series “Improv House Party: Helter Shelter” can be found every Thursday online on the Second City website at 7:00 p.m. CT/8:00 p.m. ET.

To register, visit the Online Shows section at secondcity.com and click on “Improv House Party.”

There is no cost involved. But are donations happily accepted by The Second City Alumni Fund
at secondcity.com/alumni-fund.