Love can be a laughing matter during improv comedy show

Audiences can laugh along with a crazy little thing called love during “Date Night,” FFN’S annual Valentine’s Day-season show.

FFN (Full Frontal Nudity), Madlab Theatre’s resident improvisational comedy troupe, will present “Date Night 2019,” which will open Friday at Madlab’s Downtown space.

“It’s a popular FFN show because it’s a universal theme. Love is definitely in the air around Valentine’s Day,” director Josh Kessler said. “Just about everyone has stories about their important relationships.”

At each performance, three couples are invited in turn to sit on a couch and relax with wine and cheese as they answer questions from host Joe Teeters about their relationship and their peeves. Then the ninemember ensemble acts out their stories.

“It’s incredibly personal for the couples we pull up onstage,” said Kessler, who also performs in the show.

“We reimagine their story for them. There are occasional dramatic moments,

but it’s primarily comical because we want to keep it light and fun.”

German Village couple Brad Cabus and Jake Bluvstein, regulars since 2013, plan to return Saturday with friends.

“We’re both fans of improv comedy, and we became even bigger fans after that first show, when we were called onstage,” Cabus said.

“We had a great time, the questions were in good fun, and it’s become a Valentine’s tradition for us and our friends.”

When invited onstage in 2013, the pair was impressed by the troupe’s hospitality and efforts to make them feel at ease.

“We didn’t expect the wine and cheese, and the questions were in good fun,” Cabus said. “It was funny when they asked about our pet peeves . ... They’re creating a comfortable space for everyone to enjoy improv.”

Kessler has directed the annual production, first staged in 2012, since 2016.

“I liken it to being a coach for a football team,” he said. “You don’t know what plays the other team will run when you’re going out there. You just know that a number of different things can happen, and you have to prepare the players to handle any situation that comes at them.”

Matt Stout has performed in each “Date Night” since 2016.

“I like to play the friend, the pet, family members; ... ex-lovers are fun,” he said.

Once, Stout played a vacuum cleaner to dramatize a pet peeve about a partner who vacuumed too much.

“Anything goes — even inanimate objects,” Stout said. “But we can get sidetracked in other characters. ... You have to give the actors playing the couple their moment. We want to make sure the couples come across as fully in love. Above all, we want to depict each couple in a good light.”

Vicki Kessler, Josh’s wife, has performed in every “Date Night.”

“It’s different and magical every time,” she said. “I love the fun format and getting to know the audience members.”

The couple began dating while appearing in FFN shows, including “Love in the Time of Comedy,” a 2011 predecessor to “Date Night.”

“Vicki and I became closer through improv,” Josh Kessler said. “Because of our greater intimacy, trust and comfort with each other, we can get more emotional . ... Everyone is encouraged to be physical, but being married, we can kiss perhaps a bit more forcefully.”

Vicki Kessler agreed. “The best part of being married to someone in the troupe is that the more comfortable you are with someone, the easier it is to perform with them onstage,” she said.

“It’s also fun to play around in circumstances we know we’ll never find ourselves in (in) real life.

... Humor is a good way to deal with life, stress and relationships.”