Our spring round-up of regional comedy shows features an interview with John & Jesse from the ‘Show Game Game Show,’ the lineup for the Lass Laugh Comedy Fest and other funny stuff.
Unhinged Game Show Fun: A comedic cocktail that’s become a cult favorite. (Courtesy Photo)
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the late April edition of Local Spins’ monthly feature, Local Grins, that gives comedy fans a spotlight on the region’s scene, interviews with touring and regional comedians, listings of area shows and more, assembled by writer and comedy devotee Virginia Anzengruber.
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Email comments, questions and show additions to virginia.anzengruber@gmail.com. View full comedy show listings here.
Chatting with John Donovan and Jesse Szarowicz – John Donovan and Jesse Szarowicz have been together a long time. Married, not legally, but through their mutual love of comedy, the duo has been performing together in various sketch and improv groups since meeting in 2020. The last five years have proven very fruitful for the two, performing under imprints like Rapid Fire Improv and the Dopamen, and seeing them launch a full-length version of their popular sketch series, “Show Game Game Show” May 8 and 22, which Donovan hosts, with Szarowicz serving as technical director.
Donovan, a comedian, writer and actor, has spent his last year doing “super lifegiving” work, balancing his entrepreneurial spirit with his passion for performing live comedy.
“The goal for five years is a continuation of releasing content, events, opportunities and products for individuals that I believe in, and are high quality, to a more and more scalable length,” he says.
As for pursuing that inspiration of spontaneous creation through comedy rather than other mediums, Szarowicz says: “I think that’s just because it’s all I’ve known. I’ve been doing improv comedy since I was 14 years old.”
Now 27, he began pursuing improv comedy during his time in Hudsonville High School’s drama club, a city famous for being “dry” and not permitting public alcohol sales within city limits until 2007. “We had a drama club that, I think, didn’t really have a large attributable budget, so they were just like, ‘You know what we can do for really cheap? Mime things.’”
The “Show Game Game Show” is billed as a “wild, unhinged and relentlessly fun improvised game show” that’s “so far removed from your average trivia night.” The “chaotic cocktail of live games, character bits, audience interaction and absolute nonsense” throws performer into “unpredictable challenges with zero prep and full commitment.”
“It’s a monument to impulse,” says Jesse. “Witty, silly, mischievous — it’s unlike anything else in Grand Rapids.” With a fast-growing cult following, SGGS is part variety show, part fever dream, and all comedy. Catch it May 5 for a 30-minute set at The Comedy Project, or see the full-length madness unfold [at 7 p.m.] on Thursdays, May 8 and 22.”
“I think there’s a real pleasure we derive at seeing any type of practice or artform done to the point of bewilderment,” Donovan suggests. “And I think that’s the hope, that we’re delivering something that is high quality, and not only are people laughing and enjoying themselves and having fun, but there is a certain [feeling of] ‘this should be impossible, and that delights me all the more about it.” Tickets for both nights of “Show Game Game Show” are $15 and can be found at https://thecomedyproject.com/shows/.
Grand Rapids Comedy Jam Returns May 10 to Ambrosia Theater – Comedian David Jones and Grand Rapids Comedy Jam return with their Mothers Day/Cancer benefit stand-up comedy show on May 10 at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. at Ambrosia Theater, 959 Lake Dr. SE, No. 200 in Grand Rapids.
Hosted by Turbulence Tyme, comedians on the shows include: Heather Kyle, Lucky Lee, Marti Johnson and Tamea London. Poet T Queen will also be performing, with vendors in the building. Attendees are encouraged to wear pink, with the pink outfit contest winner receiving a cash prize. The event also will include a 50/50 raffle, with over 20 prizes given away. Tickets are $25 each or two for $40, and the event is BYOB, with tickets available online at ambrosiatheater.com or by calling (616) 315-7474.
Lass Laugh Festival Returns to The Comedy Project– Kristin Kendall is bringing the Lass Laugh Comedy Festival back for another year. The producer and comedian, who serves as special events manager for The Comedy Project in Grand Rapids, is hosting this two-day festival again after a sold-out event in 2024. Bringing together stand-up comedians as well as sketch and improv performers, the festival is a two-day event honoring women’s work in comedy from all over Michigan. “Our goal is to support, empower and celebrate the underrepresented perspectives of women+ through their creation of comedy,” the festival proclaims. Tickets available online here.
Turtle Cat Comedy Comes to Ann Arbor – Turtle Cat Comedy offers a diverse lineup of comedians the first Friday of every month, blending up and coming local talent and top notch headliners. The next Turtle Cat show is at Hear.Say Brewing and Theater on May 2 at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $16.95 and available at https://hearsaytheater.crowdwork.com/shows/turtle-cat-comedy. Turtle Cat Comedy is produced by Finn St. John. The event is hosted by Kassandra Frost and features Tanner Oliver (headliner), Ariel Everitt, Ashley Calhoun and Heather Jowett.
Updated Local Grins Comedy Round-Up – Here at Local Grins, we aim to bring you the most Michigan comedy news possible. If you’ve seen our Comedy Round-Up, you know it’s the best place to find all of the recurring comedy shows in Grand Rapids and beyond. We’re thrilled to have published an update to that round up, which you can find here.
A few highlights of some newer shows you should know include:
● Cesar’s Pub Open Mic (Mondays, monthly, Standale)
● Last Chance Comedy Open Mic (Mondays, weekly, Grand Rapids)
● Comedy Night at Bold Cigar Bar (Thursdays, monthly, Grand Rapids)
● Scorpion Farts Club Sober Comedy Show (Wednesdays, quarterly, Grand Rapids)
Local Grins is assembled by writer and comedy devotee Virginia Anzengruber. Email comments, questions and show additions to virginia.anzengruber@gmail.com.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT
The Comedy Project – The Comedy Project (TCP) is a comedy theater and moonshine bar in Grand Rapids’ vibrant Westside Business District, Joe Anderson and Kristin Kendall helm TCP and foster an incredible community of comedic performers and writers right here in West Michigan. Anderson, a veteran of improvisational theater training, created The Comedy Project’s Training Center Program, which “provides training in Improvisation, Sketch Comedy and Stand-Up Comedy.” They host private events, and their slate of weekly sketch and improv comedy shows can be found at https://thecomedyproject.com/shows/.
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