Tinley Park improv combines thrills, laughs
If you’re a fan of both fear and fun, be sure to experience Fourth Wall Improv’s “Horror and HAHAs: An Improvised Fright Night” at 7 p.m. Oct. 23 at the Tinley Park Performing Arts Center.
“‘Horror and HAHAs’ is, as billed, our improvised fright night,” said Director Josh Blair. “It’s an event where comedy meets the world of the supernatural, strange, macabre and other things of the spooky variety.”
That opens up a lot of terrifying territory.
“My favorite thing about this show is the wide range of subjects that we can cover that encompass a Halloween theme,” said Producer Sarah Denton. “There are a variety of creatures and TV/films that are
associated with Halloween that we can use as inspiration. The possible concepts for this show are endless, and we are excited for what we have planned.”
Cue the creepiness.
“The audience can expect a night full of spooky tales performed live on stage for the first — and maybe only — time,” Blair said. “Our actors will make you laugh, keep you entertained and possibly give you some scares.”
As denoted by its title, the show is striving for an eerie mix of humor and terror.
“I think when it comes to a Halloween-themed show, I find the balance of being funny and scary to be the challenge,” Denton said. “We mainly want to focus on finding the entertainment within the confines of the theme, and I think we succeed at that with this show.”
So, what’s the evening’s actual fear factor?
“There are some portions that will be horror-based, but we do our best to keep it family-friendly overall,” Denton said. “I hope regardless of what wide range of emotion we induce during the show, whether it be fear or laughter, that (the audience) walks out of the theater feeling entertained.”
Of course, for performers, improv itself is not for the faint of heart.
“To me, the most challenging thing about improv in general is to stay fresh and stay relevant,” Blair said. “The whole art keeps you in your creative space, and you always need to find something that’s new, something you haven’t done before and something that pushes you, so not only do you grow as a performer but the audience experiences something different and entertaining.”
Now add some scary subject matter.
“In terms of a horror-themed show, it’s finding new takes on parody and creating something unique from tropes,” Blair said of this show’s specific challenge.
Fourth Wall, though, is not completely new to spine-tingling performances.
“This is actually our second installment, with the first event from last year — ‘Ghouls and Fools’ — kicking off what we hope to be a yearly event and must for fans of the Halloween season,” Blair said. “However, the idea really originated in 2019 when we put together a special Halloween-themed performance complete with costumes for the Grand Rapids Improv Festival in Michigan.”
The troupe would like this show to become a tradition of sorts.
“People are always looking for quality Halloween-themed entertainment this time of year,” Denton said. “I hope the audience walks away feeling like we provided that for them.”