"In an empty comedy theater, Mack Lee is strutting around in a diaper. The local comedian moves toward a camera, sipping from a baby bottle filled with champagne. An unlit cigarette rests on Lee's bottom lip. It's 10 weeks until the next installment of Punchlines & Piledrivers, and Lee, who performs as an infantile character dubbed Bad Baby, needs to cut a promo for the pro-wrestling-inspired improv comedy show before an upcoming battle in October."
"The brainchild of Ally Ward, a local stand-up comic and lifelong pro wrestling enthusiast, Punchlines & Piledrivers embraces what Ward calls the "absurdity" of wrestling and pairs it with improvised comedy. The result? Unserious characters standing in a mock "ring" hurling jabs at each other while Ward emcees. The participants don't actually wrestle; they are comedians, not athletes. Instead, the comics go one-on-one, calling out their opponents' character flaws, while trying to win over judges, and charm the audience enough to advance to the next round."
Punchlines & Piledrivers pairs pro-wrestling theatrics with improvised comedy, staging comedians in a mock ring to trade insults and character-based promos rather than actual physical bouts. Ally Ward created and emcees the show, coaching performers on wrestling storytelling and character development so their campy personas land. Comics portray exaggerated roles, from parodies to backstory-driven characters, and compete one-on-one to win judges and audience favor and advance through rounds. The production prizes absurdity and low-brow charm, culminating in a customized pro-wrestling-style championship belt for the winner. Ward provides guidance to comics unfamiliar with wrestling's theatrics.
Read at Portland Mercury
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]