Something New and Fun to do on a Saturday Night!

It's about time we got a new form of weekend entertainment around here that will make you laugh your &#$@ off!!!

Get ready for the most fun you and your friends/family will have on a Saturday night!

Starting this Saturday night, Nov. 23rd, at 7:30pm, rip-roaring, hysterical, audience-interactive improv shows will take place in the Herbst Theater inside the Jersey Shore Arts Center in Neptune. This is improv theatre at its finest, with a fun sports twist (although you will love it whether or not you are a sports fan!)

Throughout the years many improv comedy groups have come and gone, but Improv Jam has been a mainstay. Founding member Mike O’Keeffe and company has entertained locals, college campuses, theaters and more with side-splitting one-of-a-kind show. Now Mike has joined fellow Improv Jam member Ria Torricelli for the first ever official ComedySportz Jersey Shore Team.

Ria, who directs ComedySportz, began her career in theater as a child and has most recently been an improv comedy player in NYC

But after spending two years commuting to the city to perform, her mission now is to make improv easier to access for people who live at the shore​. She says its been too long and people have forgotten how much fun it is to go to a show you can participate in, and watch it being created in the moment.

This is literally RIGHT UP MY ALLY and I can't wait to go!!! So who's coming with me??!!

The shows will take place at Shore Thing, a non-profit theater in Neptune at the corner of Ocean Grove (right next to Asbury Park) inside the Jersey Shore Arts Building on Main St. Rita and Mike's number one objective is to bring improv to the community.

They are also offering improv classes and hope to never have the expense of a class stand in your way. Although their regular 8 week courses are $200, they offer sliding scale, payment plans, and scholarships based on need. No student will ever be turned away from a class from the inability to pay.

Starting in 2020, they will begin to roll out workshops for some of the other underserved arts in our community: storytelling, poetry, and sketch-writing workshops as well as a stand up comedy drop-in group where budding comics can come and work on their 'tight five' in a no-pressure environment where they can share feedback before getting up at an open mic.

The theater currently is offering improv classes for youth, teens and adults of any experience level. The adult classes are similar in structure to the ones you would find in NY. There are 4 levels of class and then Saturday Intensives that focus on skills training.

In fact, through the end of the year, they are offering a FREE CLASS on most Monday nights from 7:30 – 9pm where you can come and try improv to see just how much fun it is. Improv is one of those skills that’s transferrable to anything, so they get everyone from architects to budding actors, wallflowers to teachers to engineers. It’s a chance to explore your creative side in a safe, non-judgmental environment.

But getting back to these fun Saturday night improv performances, in case you haven't been to anything like this, here's what you're in for: A series of skits are played as a collection of games that are based on suggestions from the audience. The twist involving the sports angle is that ComedySportz is a fast-paced performance that has two teams playing against each other, winning points with fans' reactions to the games.

There is a referee that keeps the action moving and explains each game to the fans. the performers play competitively (they even wear uniforms!) so each match will have a winner. And each match is all ages, so the biggest difference is that this is entertainment that absolutely anyone can enjoy.

Up until now, there hasn’t been a regular improv offered locally that was suitable for both adults AND kids...equally making everyone laugh out loud!

Tickets are $15 online and $20 at the door with discounts for those over 65 or under 12-years old. They will also begin offering before and after show spots to class graduates and/or local performers. Those shows will be listed on the website and will vary.

To purchase tickets, CLICK HERE!

For info on performance times and dates (which will vary), improv classes for kids and adults, or to make a donation to this local theatre in support of their mission, CLICK HERE!

To follow and get updates on Facebook, CLICK HERE.