ComedySportz is the name, humor the game of Provo improv franchise

After months of brainstorming and practice, the Provo improvisational comedy club ComedySportz has unveiled a new show for Thursday nights: it's karaoke plus.

"It's kind of a cross between 'American Idol' and 'The Price is Right,' " ComedySportz assistant manager Scott Champion said, referring to popular television programs. "It's a logical step for us because there's not a lot of places to do karaoke around here. In the regular world, there's restaurants and bars. But if we had regular karaoke like that in our club we knew it would be boring, so we built a show around it."

As audience members arrive for Big Shot Karaoke, they're given a lottery number and a slip of paper on which to write karaoke song choices. The host pulls numbers out of a hat so everyone in the audience is a possible participant in the show. Contestants perform their song choices with the help of ComedySportz actors as backup singers, and then are judged by two ComedySportz actors in character.

Each night, a winner is chosen by asking the audience to cheer for their favorites. Winners receive prizes (such as a gift certificate) and will be invited back for a season finale in November where they will compete to be crowned the "Biggest Big Shot," Champion says.

The format is very different from ComedySportz's Main Event shows on Fridays and Saturdays, where actors create humor skits on the spot using a variety of games designed for improvisation, much like the ABC television show "Whose Line is it Anywayfi" For example, the host might take a scene suggestion from the audience, such as "in a cafeteria." In that setting, the actors might then have to incorporate phrases written on slips of paper drawn from a hat. The result is an off-the-cuff performance that is different every night.

"You're never going to see the same show," said Tonia Freeman-Doussett, who owns ComedySportz with her husband, Curt Doussett. "It's not like a play that's the same every night. It's not like a comedian that does the same routine, it's always different. You never know what you're going to see when you get there."

ComedySportz employs about 35 "players," as they're called, all of whom have day jobs. But just how they draw laughter from the audiences every weekend remains somewhat of a mystery. Here's an explanation given by Theron Anderson, 26, who had hardly any dramatic or comedic training prior to joining ComedySportz in 1999.

"You just step up on stage and open your mouth and it just comes out," Anderson said. "That's the only way I can describe it."

Another possible (if unlikely) explanation is that deep in the DNA of improvisational comedians is a little-studied gene that makes them exceptionally funny. Anderson's insight is again valuable.

"When we get together, it's just like you're getting together with your friends," Anderson said, "except everybody there is so dang funny, it almost just raises the bar."

Whatever the explanation, ComedySportz now manages to fill the house most nights. Freeman-Doussett says one reason Utah Valley audiences like the show is that it's appropriate for all ages. If players happen to make a family-inappropriate joke, they must submit to penalties during the performance, such as wearing a toilet seat around the neck for having a "potty mouth" or singing a made-up song of apology to the audience.

Interestingly, ComedySportz in Provo is part of a chain of ComedySportz clubs across the nation in several major cities. The same standards for clean jokes apply to all clubs, and they all use the same format for their shows. It was actually at a ComedySportz club in North Carolina that Freeman-Doussett first saw improvisational comedy.

"I was impressed with it because it was funny and it wasn't dirty," she said. "It was my first look at improv, but I didn't even know it was called improv. So I kept the program, not thinking at the time that I'd start (my own club), and brought it out years later to start the club in Provo."

She started with seven players, among whom was Doussett. The two were later married, and now Doussett has his own show, "Hazard Pay," on the Discovery Channel.

After the first season of ComedySportz, five of the seven players left to serve missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The second season was like starting all over again, she said.

"The hard part is constantly finding talent," Freeman-Doussett said. "We're never at a point where we've got enough people. We're always looking for the next person to put on the stage."

Though there is some talent required (supporting the DNA theory), Doussett said players go through rigorous training to learn the games. He also said there are certain techniques that make improvisational comedy work, such as always going along with what other players say.

Anderson was in that first group of players, and said he doesn't get nervous on stage even though he never knows what he'll be performing that night.

"I know I was pretty nervous trying out, but now it's almost like a release for me. I don't get nervous beforehand, it's just like playing a pick-up game of basketball. It's just a hobby."

"I get comments like, 'Oh, how do you do that. I could never do that,' " Anderson said. "But it's not a challenge when it's something you really love. I feel like I'm in my element up there. It's like playing a game that you really love to play. The audience melts away and you're just up there having fun."

ComedySportz

Where: 36 W. Center St., Provo

Main Event: 8 p.m. and 10:15 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. $10 adults, $5 children 12 and younger at the door, $8 and $4 with a reservation. Must arrive 15 minutes early to claim reservation.

Minor League: Featuring up-and-coming players. 5 p.m. Oct. 13, 27 and Nov. 10. $3 at the door.

Big Shot Karaoke: 9 p.m. Thursdays. $5 at the door.

Yellow #2: Two long-form improvisational comedy sketches. 7:30 p.m. Thursdays. $3 at the door.

Info and reservations: www.comedysportzutah.com or 377-9700