With a little improvisation, 13 can be a lucky number
Improv Jam's Summer League preps up-and-coming comics
BY KELLY RIZZETTA
Correspondent

Will Kervick, of Ocean Township, Robby Webb, Rumson, Zach Jones, Brick, and Kevin Karoll (seated) compete as "The Foxy Ghandis." Below, Mike O'Keefe (l-r), creative director, and Pete Capella, artistic director, introduce the teams in Improv Jam's Summer League.

Allowing rival groups of adolescents to spend a warm evening loitering in the parking lot of a local strip mall usually doesn't lead to behavior that serves the public interest. But if the kids are those who belong to Improv Jam Comedy Lab's Summer League, it's a different story.

Comprising teams of competitive comedians who range in age from teens to early 20s, Summer League gives audiences a chance to see the next generation of improv gagsters mature before their eyes as these kids vie for the chance to perform regularly with New Jersey's flagship improv ensemble, the 13-year-old Improv Jam troupe.

"It's such a supportive environment," Improv Jam creative director Mike O'Keefe said of the Summer League program. "Summer League is the fast track to performing [regularly]. It's kids that are up here doing a show in front of their family and friends. After two weeks of classes, they get up there, and they start performing."

PHOTOSBY KATIE McCARTHY

Summer League is just one of the extracurricular programs the Improv Jam Comedy Lab offers in addition to its staple 11:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday night shows at the Eatontown Playhouse.

What was once simply a late-night weekend attraction has grown into a multi-faceted entertainment and educational institution.

But Improv Jam wasn't always such a comedic colossus, recalled troupe artistic director Pete Capella,

"The show itself, it's gone from struggling to get money - we got checks for change, literally, checks for less than a dollar - to now, when we pack the house every Friday and Saturday night, are invited to improv festivals and have stand-up comedian openers.

"Instead of us struggling, [Improv Jam has] now become a launching ground for other things and other troupes. Every troupe in New Jersey started with us at one point or another," said O'Keefe, "whether they took a class, a workshop that we had at a certain high school, whether they were part of our troupe, or whatever. Nobody has ever had a troupe in the state before us, and nobody's ever had a troupe in the state that hasn't been somehow affiliated with us."

Improv Jam was once just a twinkle in O'Keefe's eye when he returned from a high-profile stint on the Orlando comedy circuit to found an improv performance troupe in his home state. After hand-picking a troupe mostly consisting of high school students, O'Keefe prepared for a limited run at a small theater located in the Red Bank Galleria, but 13 years later, Improv Jam's run is no longer so limited.

Audience interest was initially fueled by downtown Red Bank's renaissance as New Jersey's hippest town and some clever marketing on Improv Jam's part.

"It was a great thing; kids from the area would just flock to the show because it was cheap," explained O'Keefe. "We've always kept our [admission] prices cheaper than a movie."

As for sustaining interest in the show all these years, O'Keefe attributes Improv Jam's success to the unique entertainment experience that improv comedy offers.

"The audience is never gonna see the same thing twice; they're never gonna see the same type of joke twice," said O'Keefe.

Capella also points to Improv Jammers' level of comedic training as being a draw for audiences.

That's the thing," he said, "when you come to see the shows, you come to see professionals. Everyone [Improv Jam performers] goes through classes; everyone is trained. No one who says, 'Oh, I'm really funny. Could I be in your show?' is ever setting foot on that stage. It's a combination of technique and talent and comfort onstage, a certain stage presence, and everyone brings their own personality."

To that end, Capella and O'Keefe launched programs like the Summer League and cycles of eight-week intensive improv instruction during the school year to help aspiring improvisers make the jump from being a fan to a performer.

Improv Jam has cultivated a large and loyal following among area young people.

"We see people that came to the show when they were freshmen in high school," said O'Keefe, "and then they come back when they are in college. We see people at bars, and they say, 'Hey, you guys still doing that show?' "

Of course, the Improv Jammers are doing more than just 'that show' these days. In addition to Summer League and regular improv classes, O'Keefe is designing a program in conjunction with Red Bank's Two River Theater that offers educational training through improv.

Citing his own experience as a drama teacher at Wall Intermediate School, O'Keefe explains that his program makes up for the one-dimensional teaching style that most educators utilize.

"Too many times, teachers can only teach this way, teachers can only teach that way. What we do is, we try to teach them how to teach the children in three different ways at the same time - visually, aurally and kinesthetically - or when to mix things."

Capella notes that the same unconventional approach can be used in the corporate setting to improve business people's skills.

"Still, the number one fear in America is public speaking, so we teach people how to exist in front of [other] people, how to engage them, even if [the speaker] is absolutely full of crap. So it's really learning to use the audience to your advantage, and present your business in the way that it should be presented instead of [as] a piece of paper with bullet points," said Capella.

The future of Improv Jam includes even more projects.

"Practically speaking," said Capella, "we want our own theater, and that's something to work toward. So we just work and improvise as it comes along. And as for what's gonna happen to us, we've literally outlasted four or five different venues, so that says tons about how we work together and what we have as a product."

Added O'Keefe: "I think it's only gonna get bigger, because we have probably the best cast, collectively, that we've had in recent years, and some of the people that are coming up through the classes are just so good. And they energize us, and they bring their friends now, so it's kind of like the nitrogen cycle, if you think about science: It just keeps recycling itself."

So what keeps the improvisers coming back to Improv Jam?

"Turning 40 years old, I still do it," admitted O'Keefe. I think, in a sense, it's kept me young, not just mentally but also physically. I have a lot of friends who are making six figures who look like they're 70 [years old].

"But then Improv not only has been kind of like a staple to my income, it's also been something that's been fun, and it's getting recognition and been very satisfying in a variety of ways for me. And I think I'm gonna do this for another 40 years."