Performing feats of random comedic entertainment, The Family Dinner Comedy Troupe conducts weekly invasions of a local coffee shop.
Hosted every Friday night from 9:30 to 10:45 at Perks Coffee & Tea on Perkins Road, the seven-person group puts together on-the-spot skits directed by the prompts of audience members.
With roots in a former University troupe called Making It Up As We Go Along, The Family Dinner has been together since November 2002 and is comprised of former students, stand-up comedians and generally funny people who have a knack for quick-witted humor.
The group was renamed after Making It Up disbanded, and people came together to form a new improv group. Someone joked the meeting felt like a family dinner, which fit well because it’s also the name of a popular improv game, said James Brown, troupe member.
Robert Rau, troupe member and former University student, said he joined the group quickly.
“I was doing stand up around town. One night the group was going to have a one- or two-man show, so I went to one of the practices, and I was thrown up into the fire,” Rau said. “When we started with rhyming I was like a deer in the headlights, but after the first couple of times, I caught on.”
Alex Evans, friend of the group, said The Family Dinner and its weekly show have much to offer the local community.
“A lot of people from Baton Rouge think there’s nothing to do here. But there’s an emerging comedy scene,” Evans said. “There are two local stand-up shows and this. These are great events for people who are looking for something to do.”
The group has gathered a few loyal followers, including Bella Fitzgerald, self-proclaimed “No. 2 fan.”
Fitzgerald has been attending shows since 2005 and tries to come every week, occasionally bringing her mom or nephew.
“This is the only thing like this that I know of in town. I can avoid the bar scene, and it’s a more wholesome atmosphere,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s interactive, and it’s funny. And who doesn’t like to laugh?”
The group’s performers practice improvisational skills like rhyming and quick thinking to stay sharp in front of audiences.
“We don’t rehearse like actors do,” said group member Jim Teague. “We have to practice the rules and the skills of the games.”
By improvising material for each performance, each skit can change with what the performers decide to run with, said Mike Honore, the longest standing member of the group.
“The good thing about being in improv is you go with the flow,” Honore said. “Something random can come out of nowhere, and that’s where it’ll return.”
Because shows aren’t formulated and things can go wrong, performers have a plan they can execute should things take a turn for the worse.
“You just have to make fun of yourself,” said group member David Vitrano. “Put the bad joke out of its misery, and ask yourself, ‘What the hell was that?'”
The group said one of the worst ideas included a game where performers had to eat a fortune cookie and say the fortune inside. However, performers couldn’t eat very quickly, parts of the cookie went everywhere and audience members couldn’t hear what the fortune said. Brown said it started as a good idea but didn’t work when executed.
The Family Dinner has found a stable home at Perks Coffee & Tea. After struggling to find a comfortable place to perform, Perks was happy to add the group’s weekly antics to its calendar, Brown said.
“Perks has been really cooperative with us,” he said. “They’re so involved with new things and new energy around the city, and we like performing here.”
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Contact Morgan Searles at [email protected]