Howell resident Chris Salter loves improv.
He’s trained with the famed Second City group in Detroit, but his love for improvising — or “creating in the moment,” as he describes it — goes back to when he was a member of the Howell High School Class of 2003.
“I’ve done Odyssey of the Mind and Destination Imagination, where we had to come up with things quickly,” said Salter. “I organized an improv group in high school, too.”
Improv is popular in many Southeast Michigan communities, like Ferndale, Hamtramck and Ann Arbor. Salter’s mission is to make it popular in Livingston County, and he’s one of the driving forces behind “Howe’ll Laugh,” the improvisational troupe that performs under the wing of the Community Theatre of Howell.
The troupe is teaming up with the Historic Howell Theater for two performances of what’s being billed as “Saturday Night Live” meets “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”
Since it is improv, the shows will be feature scenes and games on stage that are created from audience suggestions. And, since it’s improv, you never know what’s going to happen, so attendance is restricted to those 18 and over.
There will also be a cash bar and concessions available between shows.
The shows are built with participation from the audience.
“We’ll be performing scenes and games on stage taken from suggestions from the audience,” Salter said, including a game called “pocket lines,” in which a line drawn from those written by audience members before the show begins is pulled randomly for use in the scene.
Salter said there will be 11 improvisers with a wide variety of experience performing at the shows.
“I have a great group,” he said.
Shows are at 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m Saturday, Jan. 5. Tickets are $10 for one show, or $15 for both and the audience is restricted to those over 18. Advance tickets available at https://squareup.com/store/historic-howell-theater.
