The Seaside Jesters Comedy club diverted from its normal improv show format to host a ‘tonight show’-themed comedy show called Jesters Tonight starring Daxon Levine.
According to Jesters Club performer, Connor Cline, an undecided freshman from Ohio, the addition of the talk show to the solely improv-focused show was a big change. “The gaps between the improv games almost felt like they slowed us down a little bit, because in the normal shows we get going, and then we keep going.”
“On a normal night,” Cline said, “It’s just game after game.” The gaps that Cline referred to included talk show interviews featuring Joe Plicka, an English professor, and student William Arnett, who spoke about his non- profit organization, Kapalu Connection. His organization gives students the opportunity to teach English and build houses in in the developing country of Vanuatu.
Although some performers felt uneasy about the change, the show brought newcomers to the Jesters Show. First time-audience member Hi’ilani Bacon, an undecided freshman from Kauai, said each actor seemed “well-rehearsed in their games. There was very little hesitation and they were very funny.”
Another audience member, Makeli McKinney, a graduate from Utah, said her favorite part of the show was the ‘Why Was I Late’ improv game. The game is similar to charades, as one actor silently acting out three reasons why the other actor is late for their job, and the other actor must guess it correctly. McKinney said it got the whole crowd involved because “we all want her to get it right!”
Performer Cy Kaahanui, a graduated biology major from Hawaii who is doing an internship at the Media Production Center, said his love for comedy has grown to become something of a spiritual matter. “Comedy is the way I’ve found to support others,” said Kaahanui.
He said the Jesters have started praying for “the person in the room who was having a hard time and just needed a good laugh” to help them cope with their challenges.
The group’s treasurer Alison Taylor, a freshman with an undeclared major from Oregon, said what she loves about improv comedy is the “opportunity to just hang out for a while and laugh with people who get the jokes that you make. You can make a fool of yourself and get away with it.”
The Jesters meet every week on Tuesday nights.