NEXT WORKSHOP: TBA

NEXT SHOW: SATURDAY 1st FEB

ENGAGE US TO ENTERTAIN YOU

Tag: comedy

Full House for the 1st Show of 2023
Full House for the 1st Show of 2023.

Full House for the 1st Show of 2023.

By |

Seats had to be added as it became a full house for the 1st show of 2023.

After weeks of horrendous rains, floods, and cyclones, battered the North over Anniversary weekend, the players were grateful that the show was in Tauranga, where things hadn’t been quite so dire.

Waitangi weekend saw sunshine in the Bay and the 1st comedy improv show welcomed in 2023 for the Honest Liars. Last-minute ticket sales boosted the audience, but the unexpected number of ‘walk-ins’ got the players running for more chairs.

Honest liars improv

The audience settled in with drinks in hand, and from the moment Jon (emcee) ran onto the stage and began the banter, the players knew it would be a great night.

After a good game of ‘Categories’ to warm everyone up, it was onto the ‘Good, Bad and Ugly’ advice game. A boisterous and appreciative audience got involved offering excellent suggestions, including one that sent them into peels of laughter. “What advice do you give for erectile dysfunction?” The recommendations from the players went from “consulting with your doctor” to “chop off the penis – you obviously won’t be using it!”

‘Pocket Note’ saw Ryan, Mark and Ian trying to win a prize for the taxidermy of a naked mole rat (as you can ascertain, the audience’s suggestions were on fire!). The notes woven into the plot were quite challenging: “I’m in the dog box”, “I’ll never let go, Jack”, “I’m having a baby”, and “I touch myself”, giving the story quite the twists and turns. It turned out that Ryan couldn’t find a naked mole rat, so in the end, he got a chihuahua pulling teeth from Mark’s mouth to give it fangs. The last note Mark picked up, “I’m on the highway to hell”, was very apt for the now toothless taxidermist.

pocket note improv

‘My Movie’ is a game where the players pitch movie ideas to a producer. The titles of their movies come from letters called out by the audience.

This one deserves the video.

‘Improvisers Anonymous’ is an Honest Liars’ creation and a game that takes something straightforward and turns it into a hilarious, innuendo-filled session for the addicted trying to quit.

This time the group were into hanging out the washing to such an extent that it was intruding chronically on their lives. Summer got so good at it that she even did it for the neighbours. Sue had to have more kids in order to have a good supply which was thwarted by her husband buying her one of those evil machines that take the fun out of it. And finally, Ian confessed that he had watched his mum doing it and spied on the neighbours, but the pegs got him in the end. Kathy, the new addict in the session, finally guessed what it was she was addicted to after listening to all the hints that had been forthcoming.

What can be better than a symphony? Well, the Honest Liars’ Emotional Symphony was conducted by Jon. Summer, Ian, Steve and Ryan did a stellar job, as you can see in the video below. (Although Ian did lose the plot at the end because the noise Summer was making jogged a comedic memory.)

Two audience members volunteered to be the puppet masters as they worked their puppets, Kathy and Sue, to tell the story of a bank robbery which went wrong. Other games included ‘Foreign Film Dub’ and Themed Restaurant.

The ‘Twitch’ game ended the show as Jon interviewed for a shoelace designer. Each candidate had a different mannerism that Jon had to copy and continue to do. By the time the interviews were over, he was exhausted. Mind you, it didn’t help that an extra five Honest Liars from the audience also stepped up to be interviewed.

It was a well-deserved drink the players had after the show, and all went home tired and happy from an extremely fun night of laughter.

Thanks to players

Summer
Sue
Kathy
Mark		 Steve
Ryan
Ian
Jon (emcee)

And thanks to..

Crew: Fee
Sound engineer: Anthony

 

Book your tickets for the next show and join the players for loads of laughs.

1st Saturday of every month.
16th Ave Theatre.
16th Avenue, Tauranga.
Show Starts: 7.30 p.m.
Licenced bar available.

book now

Competing with the All Blacks
Competing with the All Blacks

Competing with the All Blacks

By |

Numbers were down at the show simply because the show was competing with the All Blacks and the dreaded lurgies attacking those hearty followers.

With one player out due to suspected Covid (update: thankfully not) and another called away, the Honest Liars roped in one of the newbies and one from the crew to make up a full complement of players on stage.

Matt stepped up as Emcee for the first time and proved his excellent improv skills easily spilt over into the job. The audience was slightly reduced because of the nasties floating around the community. On top of that, there was the All Blacks’ game against the Irish. Who can compete with that! But those who were there enjoyed an evening of improvisation comedy, and the laughs were abundant.

This was a special show as all the proceeds were going to Gender Dynamix and Rainbow Youth to help rebuild their building which had burned down after a vicious arson attack.

Balloons, flags and paper umbrellas adorned the room to make the evening more festive.

support for rainbow youth

With the open bar and the audience warmed up by Matt and the first game of ‘Categories’ warming up the players, it was straight into ‘Limited Words’ where newbie Steve was assigned eight words, Kevin three and Sue one. The three of them were planning a Bar mitzvah with their limited words. With just one word, Sue got out “snip” as she had confused the Bar mitzvah with a Bris – easy to do. And like any grand celebration, there was more than enough food resulting in stomach troubles for all.

improv limited words

After the Bar mitzvah, the players went into the game ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’. Three players advised how to overcome getting old, find a boyfriend and stop your dog pooping on the floor.

‘Foreign Film Dub’ was a Russian film about Aubergine capitalism. Ian and Kelly’s translations were wildly outrageous as Sue and Kevin played out the crashing rouble and the rise of the aubergine as the new currency. All of it went horribly wrong as the aubergine turned mushy in Kevin’s pocket.

improv game foreign film dub

The crowd favourite of ‘Pocket Note’ saw Ian, Sally and Sue planning a trip to Japan with the Squid Games being high on the agenda.

Watch the snippet to see what happened.

 

 

Kelly was excellent at guessing the contestant’s quirks on ‘The Dating Game’. As the erotic coin collector, Kevin had to ward off Ian, who had an erogenous zone on his nose. Sally had the idea she was a pot plant and wasn’t too happy when Ian thought he saw some sooty mould on her leaves.

‘Hollywood Director’ saw Brett making the players act out his blockbuster movie “The Honest Liars go to the Zoo” in various themes. From playing their roles as ants, being synchronised swimmers, and being Vikings on the Moon, the players had to keep to the “script” but certainly improvise the scenes.

improv hollywood director

The show wrapped up with another visit to the ‘Themed Restaurant’. This time it was set in Hell, a wickedly evil place for all sorts of food and beverages, wacky waiters, and a bill paid off by eternal damnation.

As it was a chilly night, the players stayed in the theatre for after-show drinks. This meant they were also able to mingle with some of the audience.

Thanks to players

Brett
Kevin
Sally		 Sue
Ian
Steve

Thanks to the Crew: Fee

testimonial

 

Book your tickets for the next show and join the players for loads of laughs.

1st Saturday of every month.
16th Ave Theatre.
16th Avenue, Tauranga.
Show Starts: 7.30 p.m.
Licenced bar available.

book now

The Red Light Scenario
The Red Light Scenario

The Red Light Scenario

By |

Even though N.Z. was right in the midst of the red light scenario laid out by the government, neither it nor the rush of omicron proved to be a deterrent.

Six p.m. and the Honest Liars had arrived at the theatre ready to set up and begin warming the grey matter for the evening’s performance.

But wait! The Green Room was sorted. The chairs were all set out, and the room was ready to welcome the audience. The fantastic crew at 16th Ave Theatre went out of their way to make the players feel welcome. So all that was required was to apportion the games to the players, fiddle with the lights, adjust the music and do some warm-up exercises.

An hour later and the audience began arriving. An excellent contingent crowd from the Matamata Dramatic Society  who are part of the Improv-Ables tumbled out of their van. They excitedly made their way in, with tickets and vaxx passes in hand, to their seats ready for the show.

Players ran onto the stage full of enthusiasm and loud applause, and it was straight into the first game, ‘Scenes from a Hat’. In one scene, appliances written from the bible quickly fell into porn mode as one player tried to explain the workings of a dildo in biblical terminology. In another scene, it was pointed out that the song ‘Ding Dong the Witch is Dead’ is not the best song to sing at the mother-in-law’s funeral.

‘The Alphabet’ game was played slightly differently as two opposing teams took turns to play out their scene using the letters of the alphabet. The audience then clapped the loudest for the winning team of Sue and Mark, who had tried not to give birth in the car while on their way to, what turned out to be, a teaching hospital.

ALPHABET GAME

‘Hollywood Director’ saw robbers Kelly and Matt in a cemetery trying to steal Prince Albert’s spine but thwarted by Jon, the spine cleaner. A simple scene quickly ramped up when the director, Kathy, changed the theme to read like a late-night infomercial. Jon brought out his Glee Spray designed to dissolve any leftover flesh. And, when there was about to be a dual in the Regency version, the director cut it to become like a Western.

Hollywood director

Audience participation is something the Honest Liars like, and having fellow improvers in the audience, was a great time to bring a couple of them up to be in the ‘Change’ game.

Fun ensued as the visiting improvers made Kelly and Mark work their magic on the alligator wrestling classes they were trying to set up.

Change Game

Of course, ‘Pocket Note’ fell into disrepute when Sue, Kelly and Kathy discovered a bidet type contraption that gave more than they bargained for as they tried to find the toilet in the Matamata theatre.

See for yourself.

 

 

Another favourite where members from the audience are needed was ‘Puppets’. This time another two from the Improv-Ables jumped at the chance, and Kelly and Matt found themselves in quite the tangle. The antics of the puppeteering overrode the story as so much laughter ensued.

Puppets game

The Honest Liars couldn’t let the opportunity go by and invited members of the Improv-Ables to play a game. They were caught on the spot but rose to the occasion as they played a fun rendition of the ‘Gibberish’ game.

Translate game

The last game of the evening was ‘Themed Restaurant’, and the diners, Kim and Berno, came up from the audience to celebrate their divorce in the Dentist themed restaurant. Minty water was served as bibs and glasses were put on before the main meal was followed by tooth extractions.

To round off the evening, The Honest Liars acknowledge two faithful fans who have been to every show, Colleen and John, with a group photo.

Fans

Winding down afterwards with the group from Matamata finished the night off well with still enough time to head off to the local pub for a quiet drink and debrief.

Thanks to players

Kathy
Kelly
Sue		 Mark
Matt
Jon

Thanks to the Crew: Fee and Sally

The next show on the Black Box Stage is on Saturday April 2nd 7.30 pm

Book your tickets and join the players for loads of laughs.

1st Saturday of every month.
16th Ave Theatre.
16th Avenue, Tauranga.
Show Starts: 7.30 p.m.
Licenced bar available.

book now

first show
Whoo Hoo – The First Show!

Whoo Hoo – The First Show!

By |

A trip around the Saturday farmer’s market was the go-to for three trusty players promoting the Honest Liars first show at The Jam Factory.

With funny hats and afro wigs, they descended upon the unsuspecting crowd loaded up with pamphlets and a few two for one tickets.

Suddenly Melissa spied a sign that could not be passed up as a classic improv moment:

LOCALLY LAID
(Of course, this was in reference to eggs- but the Honest Liars aren’t fussy when it comes to an opportunity for comedy)

At the bottom of the sign:

FREE RANGE.

In her loudest voice, she called out to Neil, “Hey, Neil, you can get laid locally here!”

That statement began a dialogue that certainly made the crowd stop and wonder what on earth was going on.

Neil yelled back “What?? Awesome- I’m in!”
Kathy jumped in and yelled out “I’ve been laid all over the world but not locally!”
The crowd started laughing and watching.
Melissa continued “It sounds HOT – it’s not in the bedroom it’s on the range! Kinky! And it’s FREE!”

This little stunt achieved its purpose – dozens of flyers were passed out, and people were very enthused about the show.

By that night, however, it was anxious times. Some of the players even having a bit of a sleepless night. Sugar-plums and fairies were not dancing in their dreams; rather there were empty chairs and unopened bottles of sparkling wine.

first show

Storms were forecasted, but – wait – this is Tauranga, the home of ‘the weatherman is always wrong’ attitude.

Sure enough, the day dawned with the sun making a valiant attempt to push through. And what rain there was certainly didn’t dampen anyone’s spirit.

5 p.m. was the time for the players to meet at The Jam Factory. Get familiar with the stage, set out the chairs and have a proper warm-up.

Didn’t entirely go as planned though! Some players arrived earlier and started putting up the signs, others came a bit later, but soon all were there. Time to go to Subway. Time to have a couple of toilet stops. Time to set out the chairs. Time to start pouring the champers. Time to……. ran out of time!

Doors were to open at 6.30 p.m. with the show at 7 p.m. But you can always count on people trotting up early – and so they did. In fact, it wasn’t long before four became six and six became 10, and 10 became 20, and so it continued. By opening, it was a full house with only one or two random chairs empty.

Eagerly stunned at the incredible response, the players poured out onto the stage to the sounds of thunderous applause. (Applause thunderous due to Melissa warming up the audience with a game.)

first show

The Questions game rolled into Experts with both games used as a warm-up for players and audience alike.

Then the games got into full swing with Space Jump having mid-wife Fee attempting to birth a baby and Kathy playing the slot machines and not sharing the winnings.

The Clap game had the audience in fits as Melissa was Donald Trump and Kathy was his hairpiece. This was a scene that had the potential to go on for so much longer, but the other teams kept clapping and pinching the lines as they were pearls of comedy.

Hunny Bunny, a sassy gal from Texas, arrived in the ‘studio’ for The Dating Game and she had a choice between Brett, a naked hula-hoop champion, Kay, a Tourette sufferer with an eye twitch or Fee who was constantly hot and clapped. Honey Bear did confuse Fee’s interpretation with a woman who had hot flushes and THE clap, but her perception was a winner with the audience.

Finally, the show ended, and the players took their bow to the applause of the wonderful crowd who had offered brilliant suggestions for the games. As the audience piled out of the theatre, many of them declared that they would be back and bringing friends.

The players set about packing up the chairs and straightening up as well as having the last of the champers (couldn’t let it go to waste!), then it was off to the pub for a de-brief and a sigh of relief that the first show went so well. Next show is Feb 9th 2020.

And, in case you’re wondering, half the audience came from the farmer’s market. Guess, getting laid for free worked!

Thanks to all the players – you were all brilliant:

  • Neil
  • Fee
  • Melissa
  • Kathy
  • Kay
  • Kelly O
  • Brett
honest liars improv

p.s. Speaking of first shows. The intrepid emcees Melissa and Neil run an improv class for tweens and teenagers who had their very first show the next evening. A few Honest Liars went along and were heartened with the comedy genius of the ‘Little Liars’. Definitely some budding improvers to swell the Honest Liars Improv pool.

Show Buttons
Hide Buttons