Tubthumping Thursday is a Comedy Grab Bag Of Improv Hilarity at Bryant Lake Bowl Theater

On Monday, I caught one of my favorite improv shows, Off Book, at the Jungle Theater. If you’ve never seen it, their next show is March 2, and I highly recommend it. Off Book pairs actors who have memorized a script with improvisers who have absolutely no idea what the script is. Without fail, hilarity ensues. What does that have to do with Tubthumping Thursday? Well, one of the actors in Monday’s performance was Nissa Nordland, who happens to be one half of the Twin Cities improv duo Bury the Leads. Bury the Leads made up one-third of the bill at this month’s Tubthumping Thursday at Bryant Lake Bowl Theater.

This was my first time attending Tubthumping Thursday, a monthly comedy cabaret hosted by Cameron Cylkowski, who also performs with the group Secret Neighbors. The third act on the bill was Police Cop Detective PI. With the demise of Huge Theater a year ago, it’s been great to see other venues step up and make space for the wide variety of improvisers in the Twin Cities.

I won’t lie, I came to Tubthumping Thursday to see The Stages of MN favorites Nissa Nordland and Sam Landman. Their ongoing series (which they hope to eventually expand into an online show) centers on a pair of character actors named Clyde & Faye. Each performance offers another glimpse into the lives of these “not-the-leads” and their quest to finally land the part. As anyone familiar with Nordland and Landman’s work would expect, it’s excellent. They take audience suggestions and incorporate them into a scenario, in this case, being cast as the best friends of the main characters and required to film a sex scene together. Nordland and Landman keep things relatively clean, though a quick Google search of the audience suggestions tells a much filthier story.

What makes this series so compelling is the ongoing character development. At the end of this episode, because “episode” really feels like the right word, there seemed to be a spark between longtime friends Clyde and Faye. Like Buffy the Vampire Slayer before it, we may come for the jokes, but we stay for the character arcs and emotional bullseyes.

Secret Neighbors performed as a quartet led by Cylkowski, fellow company members include Courtney Miller, Cat Wright, Elizabeth Dunn, and Sean Yahn. After asking the audience a few opening questions, they spun those details into a series of funny situations and delightful tangents. Police Cop Detective PI, featuring Adam Fielitz and John Haynes, played cop partners on a stakeout. Both groups were excellent, and I’d happily check out any improv show featuring either of them on the bill.

Keep an eye out for all the unique and adventurous theater happening at Bryant Lake Bowl Theater by visiting https://www.bryantlakebowl.com/theater and subscribing to their newsletter. I always recommend arriving when the doors open,one hour before showtime, to snag a good seat and order dinner and a drink (or two). The food is great, and the beverage selection includes solid non-alcoholic options as well.

You can follow Bury the Leads on facebook to find out when and where they perform next, I do!

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