Not everyone can do comedy. But everyone should be nodding along in recognition at the Fourth Wall Improv group’s newest show, which highlights the everyday situations that cause people so much frustration.
“It’s about the fools you encounter in life and the interesting people you meet along the way,” said show director Josh Blair of Chicago. “It happens to everyone, ‘You won’t believe the person I had to deal with today …,’ and we took that premise as a starting point for this show.”
The result of their work is “April Fools Rush In,” the second show of the Fourth Wall’s 2022 season, which will be held at 7 p.m. April 16 at the Tinley Park Performing Arts Center. The program is a combination of pre-written and rehearsed sketch pieces and improvisation.
“It’s something complete and original with every show,” Blair said.”It’s never going to be the same, which is one of the great things about improv.”
“We have a very talented cast,” said show producer Sarah Denton of Merrillville. “We like to see everyone enjoying themselves and laughing and having a good time. You’ll get your money’s worth.”
The improv group was established in 1995, but Blair and Denton took over in 2019 and rebranded it as Fourth Wall. It now has 25 regular members who perform at shows throughout the Chicago area, but Tinley Park serves as their primary performance space.
Denton started acting as a teenager, but in college discovered that improv suited her better. “I decided to take a class at Second City (in Chicago), and I fell in love with it,” Denton said. “Since the first time I did it I knew that this was for me.”
Blair did not expect to have a career on stage and, in fact, only took an improv class to help him overcome his shyness.
“I was always the person who sat in the back and was afraid to talk to anyone,” Blair said. “Someone recommended an improv class to me as a way to help me get out of my shell. I really enjoyed the experience, so I kept going. I would have never thought I’d be a regular actor and performer, but here we are.”
Six to eight troupe members perform in each show, and Fourth Wall does hold occasional auditions. But they’ve also benefitted from the strong improv community in the area.
“We work with people on other projects and get to know them,” Denton said. “It’s a close-knit, inviting community.”
While laughter is the point of the show, Blair believes that there’s also an important emotional component of improv.
“It’s a chance to see everything, even a little bit of the darker side of life,” he said. “Improv is driven by human emotion, and this show takes a look at all those things that we don’t always think about. Of course, we do it in a fun way, but there’s a deeper connection there.”
Fourth Wall Improv’s ‘April Fools Rush In’
When: 7 p.m. April 16
Where: Tinley Park Performing Arts Center, 16801 80th Ave.
Tickets: $9
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Information: 708-342-4200; tinleyparkdistrict.org/calendar-of-events
Jeff Banowetz is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.