Still pHunny and pHresh

Celebrating its five-year anniversary, pH’s improv show ‘pHrenzy’ knows how to use the audience to get laughs

By Kristen Salamon

In a city like Chicago, where improv comes to some actors as easily as breathing, and critics take pride in harsh reviews, it can be tough to start your own comedy troupe. But that is exactly what Jason Geis and 22 other cast members signed up for on Labor Day in 2002.

The group consisted mainly of Low Sodium Entertainment troupe members. The cast of Low Sodium had become fed up with the management, which according to Geis, kept them from performing in other improv groups, finding theatre space and generally created a stifled feeling that made other troupes dislike them. Finally, Geis decided he wanted to leave Low Sodium and start his own troupe. He called the other members of Low Sodium and, within hours, the entire cast had quit, and 23 signed up for the new troupe, called pH.

“Starting out at first, people were really skeptical about us because a lot of people just thought, ‘OK this is just Low Sodium with a new name,’ ” said Geis, one of the five founders of pH. “Low Sodium had built up a really bad reputation for themselves in Chicago. … A lot of people thought we would be a joke. We were still made fun of a lot.”

But since its inception, pH has made leaps and bounds. It has earned “highly recommended” ratings from the Chicago Reader, currently boasts more than 40 cast members and is soon to be celebrating its fifth anniversary with a party Nov. 12 at Lakeshore Theatre.

The troupe’s show “pHrenzy” began in 2002 and was actually the company’s very first show ever performed for the public. It was created amidst the boom of reality shows that included “Survivor” and “American Idol” and follows a similar format. The show starts off with eight improvisers competing against each other for the pHrenzy trophy. At the beginning of each round, the host takes a suggestion from the audience that the cast then uses as a focus for the scenes. While the suggestion is usually taken into account for the first part of the scene, it is quickly dismissed, or in some cases, worn out before the end of the scene.

The weekend before Halloween proved to be a great night for the pHrenzy cast. If you frequent improv shows around the city, you are well aware of the fact that some nights the shows are funny, and sometimes they are not. It just depends on the improvisers and the audience’s sense of humor. The Saturday before Halloween, assuming it is a good indication of the regular show’s quality, proved more than worthwhile.

Abe Lincoln hosted the improvised game show that included a boobalicious grandma, Luigi and Colonel Sanders, among others. The entire cast and many of the people in the audience were dressed in Halloween costumes and stayed in character the entire show. While you hate to mention the audience’s contribution to a performance, when you talk about improv like pH, which prides itself on audience participation, it cannot always be avoided.

The Stage Left Theatre in Wrigleyville, where pH performs, is B.Y.O.B. While on most nights this means “bring your own booze,” on the weekend before Halloween in Wrigleyville, it meant “bring your obnoxious babe.” The audience was littered with drunken Santas, nurses and gangsters making themselves heard. During a regular play, this may have been annoying, but in pHrenzy, it only added to the comedy. Good ol’ Honest Abe had no problem making fun of the group causing the ruckus and nearly bringing the rest of the audience to tears with his on-the-spot jabs. This spontaneity is a credit to the talent of the members of pH.

The show started off very crowded. Eight cast members on a tiny stage trying to perform improv is difficult. But with the end of each scene came an elimination, resulting in a smaller cast and funnier jokes. The audience members voted with cheers for the cast member they thought should be eliminated. This means that pHrenzy is tailor-made for whatever kind of audience shows up and would explain why, as the show went on, it seemed to get funnier. The audience was in effect editing the show every 5-10 minutes in order to suit the majority’s tastes.

This is an ingenious way to make sure that on any given night, the resulting show will send the audience home happy. The nights of improvisers being “off” cannot exist in a show in which the format eliminates those who the audience feels are not as funny as their counterparts.

pH may not have the comedic reputation of Second City or iO, but in a town full of improv wannabes, the fact the troupe has been around five years says a lot. And with shows like pHrenzy, it should only continue to succeed.

 

pH performs 4-5 late-night comedy shows every weekend at Stage Left Theatre (3408 N. Sheffield). pH is now teaching classes through the new pH training center as well.

For more info, log on to whatisph.com or call the box office at (773) 732-5450.

pH Productions is hosting its five-year anniversary party at the Lakeshore Theatre at 3175 N. Broadway on Nov. 12, beginning at 7 p.m. Tons of improv comedy, live music, free food and a silent auction with prizes you want. Admission is free (with a suggested donation)! Expect to see performances of some of pH’s most popular original shows, such as pHrenzy, pHamily the Musical and Women on Top.

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