Improv Review: ‘Crowd Worked: A Standup Show’

Four Canadian comedians, Cindy Rivers, Tosan, Lief Olsan Cormack, and Celeste Lampa, did an improvised comedy show, produced by Jared Leeder. The cast brought no scripted material and interacted with the audience to create jokes for the standup that night. 

The show was hosted by Leeder. He started by introducing himself and the comedians to the audience. The crowd was small, which made the standup more interesting and intimate. It felt like a friend group roasting each other.

The first comedian invited to the stage was Tosan. He came in and picked up a prompt that said, “Is love hard?” Someone in the audience said, “Yes, it is hard to love women,” to which Tosan replied, “Maybe it’s time to actually listen to women.” Tosan got lots of laughter from the audience because he was telling personal stories in the midst of the improv, which helped the audience connect with him more. He had a great stage presence. He was confident, his body language was controlled, and his jokes flowed naturally. His jokes landed very well with me and everyone from an immigrant background. Most immigrant parents are alike, and these kinds of jokes really hit the nail on the head when it comes to relatable childhood stories. 

The second comedian who was on the stage was Celeste Lampa. She started her improv going person-to-person, asking everyone their names and their occupations. Celeste interacted with the audience the most and used the least amount of prompts. Although she resonated with some audience members, she didn’t resonate with me as much as the first comedian. Her stage presence was different, and she seemed nervous. She lost command of her body language, which made her lose her audience as well. 

The third comedian called to the stage was Lief Olsan Cormack. Cormack was the most unique comedian. He made political jokes, religious jokes, and some dark jokes. He had a commanding body language and persuasive pauses between his jokes. It felt like he was being himself. He didn’t appear to be trying too hard to make the audience laugh, which is why his jokes flowed so naturally. His jokes landed well with most of the audience, and he was a standout among the rest of the comics. 

The last comedian that was invited to the stage was Cindy Rivers. Cindy earned quite a lot of laughter from the audience because her jokes were so quick and flowed naturally with their facial expressions. Her stage presence was phenomenal because she had mastered the art of comedic timing. The facial expressions, the pauses between the jokes, the hair flips, the sarcastic laugh, and the repetition of words made the night so much more memorable and fun. Her jokes flowed one after the other, connecting everyone in the audience to each other, while also commanding the room with her body language and confidence. This performance was the cherry on top of the entire show. 

The takeaway from this standup experience is that everyone should go out to support their local comedians. You should watch an improvised standup at least once in your lifetime because it is a one-of-a-kind experience. No written material, no rehearsals, just the audience and comedians interacting, laughing, and making jokes about everyday things. A stand-up comedy show like this offers a unique experience that cannot be fully captured through scripts or recordings.