The comedy scene in Oxford is flourishing this year with many upcoming events. Tonight at Proud Larry’s, Bruce Butler, director of the local comedy troupe Laff Co. and Laff Co. member Jayson Wirth will perform the Two-Man Group Show. This performance is a two-person improv show that promises to bring the crowd in on the hilarity.
“Improv shows generally work as a game,” said Connor King, business manager of Laff Co. “The games have a very broad basis, and they’ll have people in the audience give them categories when it’s specified,” King said. “(The performers) have to make up a scene on the spot based off the audiences’ suggestions.”
“Many people think of Laff Co. as purely an improv group, but we also work with stand-up comedians and sketch comedy,” said Nick Wood, standup comedian with Laff Co.
The Two-Man Group Show will also consist of standup comedy routines performed by students at Ole Miss. Some of those comedians include Sam Lyons, Nick Wood and Connor King.
“The show should be great,” Lyons said. “I’ve been a fan of Laff Co. since I got here in ’09, and I started doing comedy in February, so it’s great to finally be doing stuff with them.”
The Two-Man Group Show begins at 9 p.m., and normally lasts for one to two hours.
Laff Co. shows are held on the first Tuesday of every month, the next one being Nov. 4. King said the open mic nights are always very entertaining.
“The times when you get newcomers on the stage, it’s really exciting,” King said. “Even if they’re not that good, it’s still a lot of fun to watch people bomb as much as it is to watch someone do a really good show, too. So it’s always hilarious to come listen to the comedy. It’s always a good time.”
The Two-Man Group Show is only one of the many upcoming comedic performing at The Lyric this February. The famous standup comedian and actor performed in movies like “22 Jump Street” and shows such as “Two and a Half Men.”
“There’s a lot of really exciting stuff and it seems like there’s going to be a lot more attention paid to comedy in Oxford, especially in the light of big names like Patton Oswalt who is a huge deal in the comedy world,” King said. “That’s a show that I have no doubts of selling out as soon as the news gets out there.”
Laff Co. has a number of upcoming events and doesn’t plan on slowing down. One event in particular includes a Christmas special that will be presented in either a video series or live performance.
“We’ve come up with an idea and we’ve written it down and rehearsed it. It’s like a little one act play,” Connor King said. “Having seen the scripts that we’re going to be shooting, it’s going to be some really funny stuff and I’m really excited about it.”
In addition, the comedy troupe is starting to revamp their social media marketing; their sketches will soon be found online.
“We’ve got a Twitter account, we’ve got Vine, we’re setting up a YouTube channel and really trying to make Laff Co. just the base for comedy in Oxford,” King said. “We have a very good product. We want to get the word out there. We’re here. We’re funny. Come to a Laff Co. show. It’s definitely worthwhile.”
