News Release Dangerous Fun Thursday, July 27, 2006 Back (Press Release Index) The Buzz, August 2006 by Ann Thurlow The defining moment of this year’s Sketch 22 comes near the middle of the second act. Here’s the premise: the Sketch Academy is doing scientific research to find the funniest catch phrase ever. A scientist (played by Rob MacDonald) asks the audience to react as two other scientists use phrases in certain situations. The first phrase is a bunch of nonsense words and there isn’t much laughter. The second phrase involves the popular term for a sexual act. The audience roars. The point is made. Sketch 22 has made a name for itself recently by pushing the bounds of taste and this year, they’re at it again. The audience loves it, mostly, so it appears they have hit on something. But maybe the easy laughs are letting an extremely talented group of actors and writers off the hook a little bit. If the audience will laugh just because you stand on stage and swear well, why try any harder? A case in point: a sketch called The Right Wrong Way. It starts off great - Andrew Sprague is a smarmy promoter who has reunited two faded country stars, terrifically portrayed by Dennis Trainor and Rob MacDonald (one of several sketches in which he plays a woman always with hilarious result). The set up really works, it is funny and almost poignant at the same time, like the best scenes from The Office. But then, when they decide to sing a song together, it is a lament for the loss of their favourite sexual practices. Don’t get me wrong - the audience liked it, especially the part about the dead rabbit. But it was an easy out. For the first time, Sketch 22 has a female cast member and Harmony Wagner’s addition to the cast is fun. She is a spunky tomboy and, because she is small, it plays well against the guys. Her best performance is at the beginning, with the very funny video piece called Your Charlottetown. In fact, the increasingly clever and sophisticated use of video is the very best thing about Sketch 22 this year. The group makes awe inspiring transitions between the video pieces and the live action and that’s a lot of fun to watch. Also amusing is the repetition of certain characters and catch phrases throughout the show - it makes the evening feel like more of a whole. After a couple of appearances, Graham Putnam, as Crazy Cecil, our neighbour from down the way, can get a laugh just by walking on stage. It is the amiable side of this very funny actor; with some of his other characters - like Mr. Dressup in a dress - you laugh because he is almost menacingly nuts. Comedy that involves a lot of swearing is dangerous fun. Not because you have to worry about offending anybody - most people who go to Sketch 22 know what they’re in for. But it’s an easy laugh and that can be addictive. It would be interesting some year to see Sketch 22 push their own boundaries a bit - and go for the difficult laugh instead of the easy one. -30- Sketch22 Media Contact - Jason Rogerson, (902) 368-2392 / jason@sketch22.ca