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| ComedySportz Boston |
With celebrity judges Bianca de la Garza and Lenny Clarke - this show will be the hottest ticket in town!
WICF sat down with ComedySportz Producer David Goldstein to talk about the family friendly, high-energy, gender-bending competition that will take place at the Davis Square Theater in Somerville on Sunday - Mother's Day, May 11th at 2pm.
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| David Goldstein, Producer of ComedySportz Boston |
WICF: Tell me a little about the history of ComedySportz?
DAVID GOLDSTEIN: Well, 2014 will be the 30th Anniversary of ComedySportz. We are celebrating in June at the World Championships in Milwaukee - where it all started. ComedySportz began in 1984 by Dick Chudnow. He based it on the competitive Theatresports improvisational techniques of Keith Johnstone. My wife and I along with my son and mother saw a show in Philadelphia and decided to bring it to Boston. We have been performing in Boston since October of 2013 and have enjoyed every minute of it.
WICF: How does ComedySportz work?
DAVID GOLDSTEIN: ComedySportz is a completely improvised show in which a red and blue team battle for your laughter. A referee hosts each show and comes to audience members for suggestions and ideas. They drives the show! The audience interaction at each show influences every scene, song and game played on stage. You vote for the team that makes you laugh the hardest and you decide the winner!
WICF: What type of audience does ComedySportz attract?
DAVID GOLDSTEIN: Unlike many other forms of performance comedy, ComedySportz is great for ALL ages. The typical ComedySportz audience includes everyone from kids to college students to parents and grandparents. Everyone has a good time and no one gets offended, and if an ‘act’lete steps beyond the boundaries of good taste, the brown bag foul (a brown paper sack placed over the offending player's head) will be called to set things straight. If you think "clean" is boring, you owe it to yourself to check us out. It's anything but boring.
DAVID GOLDSTEIN: ComedySportz is a completely improvised show in which a red and blue team battle for your laughter. A referee hosts each show and comes to audience members for suggestions and ideas. They drives the show! The audience interaction at each show influences every scene, song and game played on stage. You vote for the team that makes you laugh the hardest and you decide the winner!
WICF: What type of audience does ComedySportz attract?
DAVID GOLDSTEIN: Unlike many other forms of performance comedy, ComedySportz is great for ALL ages. The typical ComedySportz audience includes everyone from kids to college students to parents and grandparents. Everyone has a good time and no one gets offended, and if an ‘act’lete steps beyond the boundaries of good taste, the brown bag foul (a brown paper sack placed over the offending player's head) will be called to set things straight. If you think "clean" is boring, you owe it to yourself to check us out. It's anything but boring.
WICF: What about the show makes it a great fit for WICF?
DAVID GOLDSTEIN: We love the WICF for so many reasons! The festival is a great showcase for up and coming, talented women stand-ups, improvisors, sketch and musical comedians. We also love the women who are producing WICF. My wife Wendy has just taken the lead as producer of ComedySportz. The behind the scenes work is where all the magic happens and gives a show and/or festival every opportunity to be seen by audiences of all kinds. On Mother’s Day, we chose to use our format to do a competitive Battle of the Sexes match, where we will determine once and for all, the funniest gender. As a bonus, we have TV newswoman and Mom, Bianca de la Garza as one of our celebrity judges as well as comedian Lenny Clarke.
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| Celebrity Judge Lenny Clarke |
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| Celebrity Judge Bianca de la Garza |
WICF: How much fun will families be in store for if they choose to take Mom to a ComedySportz show during WICF on Mother's Day?
DAVID GOLDSTEIN: We have partnered with Foundry on Elm for a Mother's Day Brunch. The restaurant is adjacent to the Davis Square Theater - so people can make reservations there and get 10% off! After brunch they can head on over to the theater.
The show itself is so fun, so funny and so interactive; I think this will be one of our best and most popular shows of the year. Where else can you bring your mom, your wife, your kids and all have a great time? This is what we are about, a fantastic option for family entertainment that changes every show. We expect to be introduced to some future, Loyal Fanz.
WICF: Has ComedySportz ever done a Battle of the Sexes show? Does the energy of the performers and the audience members change when it's girl’s vs boys?
DAVID GOLDSTEIN: This format is typically done around Valentine’s Day but I thought it would be fun at WICF to really feature something that challenges stereotypes. We will have some of our most talented ‘act’letes mixed in with some of the feature performers of the festival and battle it out for bragging rights. We will award an MVP for the funniest male and female performer. I can’t wait to see Lenny Clarke laugh while watching our show. That will be my measure of success. ComedySportz Boston has never done this show before but Jason, our artistic director has done this when he lived in and performed for ComedySportz San Jose and is very excited to do it here in Boston.
DAVID GOLDSTEIN: We have partnered with Foundry on Elm for a Mother's Day Brunch. The restaurant is adjacent to the Davis Square Theater - so people can make reservations there and get 10% off! After brunch they can head on over to the theater.
The show itself is so fun, so funny and so interactive; I think this will be one of our best and most popular shows of the year. Where else can you bring your mom, your wife, your kids and all have a great time? This is what we are about, a fantastic option for family entertainment that changes every show. We expect to be introduced to some future, Loyal Fanz.
WICF: Has ComedySportz ever done a Battle of the Sexes show? Does the energy of the performers and the audience members change when it's girl’s vs boys?
DAVID GOLDSTEIN: This format is typically done around Valentine’s Day but I thought it would be fun at WICF to really feature something that challenges stereotypes. We will have some of our most talented ‘act’letes mixed in with some of the feature performers of the festival and battle it out for bragging rights. We will award an MVP for the funniest male and female performer. I can’t wait to see Lenny Clarke laugh while watching our show. That will be my measure of success. ComedySportz Boston has never done this show before but Jason, our artistic director has done this when he lived in and performed for ComedySportz San Jose and is very excited to do it here in Boston.
WICF: How competitive do the players get during a show?
DAVID GOLDSTEIN: Well, some of their Mom's will be in the audience, so I think you can expect a high-spirited, funny match! I hope the show will become an annual tradition at WICF. I don’t know how competitive our ‘act’lete will be but the job is to have fun and entertain the audience. I know that will be the big win.
WICF: How does it impact the improv?
DAVID GOLDSTEIN: Just like men and women in every situation, they will see and interpret the challenges differently. That will make for an entertaining show regardless of which side you are rooting for. Personally, I have seen the show a lot, here, Chicago and in Philadelphia and I can’t wait for this version.
WICF: Do you have any predictions as to who will win The Battle of the Sex's show on Mother's Day?
DAVID GOLDSTEIN: The audience will be the real winners! I want to see a great match with some great improv and then we all win.
DAVID GOLDSTEIN: Well, some of their Mom's will be in the audience, so I think you can expect a high-spirited, funny match! I hope the show will become an annual tradition at WICF. I don’t know how competitive our ‘act’lete will be but the job is to have fun and entertain the audience. I know that will be the big win.
WICF: How does it impact the improv?
DAVID GOLDSTEIN: Just like men and women in every situation, they will see and interpret the challenges differently. That will make for an entertaining show regardless of which side you are rooting for. Personally, I have seen the show a lot, here, Chicago and in Philadelphia and I can’t wait for this version.
WICF: Do you have any predictions as to who will win The Battle of the Sex's show on Mother's Day?
DAVID GOLDSTEIN: The audience will be the real winners! I want to see a great match with some great improv and then we all win.
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