Burst the Bubble: Improv Comedy

I spent my Saturday night with a bunch of 40-year-olds south of Boston. What about you?

I really remember looking around the room and thinking, I sure have burst my bubble, alright — way to kick off my senior year. Seriously, I took “senior citizen” to a new level.

I often go down the TikTok rabbit hole of stand-up comedians doing crowd work. (Anyone else? Maybe not. Maybe TikTok really said ~For You Page~.) So, believe it or not, I was happy to be there despite being the youngest person in the room.

I traveled to the beautiful waterfront venue of Boston Harbor Distillery, ready for a good time. Thanks to being fashionably late because a girl’s gotta work around dhall hours, I found myself front and center in the first row. It was certainly intimate and made for several one-on-one chats throughout the show because these comedians really did not miss a single microexpression of mine.

I would say that within the first five minutes, everyone there picked up on me and my friends being from Harvard, and I received several eyebrow raises when I verified that yes, that indeed means I am from Cambridge. The performer blatantly asked, “What are you doing here?” One thing about comedians is, they give it to you straight.

Toto, I don’t think we’re in Cambridge anymore.

Venturing all the way to Dorchester was worth it, though, because I got to hear from three performers and the comedian Ray Harrington, all with a $15 ticket. They had a talent for interacting with the audience, and I enjoyed the completely unscripted jokes and how they poked fun at us for sticking out like a sore thumb in the audience, as “a bunch of 20-somethings in our best years.”

I would say that perhaps, the next time I come up with a spontaneous plan like going to a comedy show, I should do more research on the vibe check. But, let’s be real, I will be doing no such thing. Part of what made this experience memorable was how clearly we didn’t fit in. I fear that some of the other audience members were not too pleased by a bunch of young people attending because some of the strained laughter and lack of enthusiasm took me back to being in Science Center Hall B, not a distillery. I would like to apologize to Mr. Ray Harrington who named this one of his most tense shows, second to when he had to perform to a bunch of distraught, crying people at a conference for rare diseases.

It's amazing how therapeutic and healing laughter can be. Maybe I’ll have better luck getting a six-pack with this than I have at the MAC. Attending this show was such a nice break from routine. Let improv comedy remind us not to take everything so seriously. Embrace the uncertainty. Yes, even the uncertainty of not knowing what is on the menu because you are digging through your email inbox unable to find Harvard Today. I challenge you, improvise your way through Harvard, in situations from bumping into your TF at CVS to forgetting someone’s name.

After a laughably unusual experience, I would definitely burst the bubble to attend another improv comedy performance. Shoutout to South Shore Comedy Show for a good night. I encourage you to check it out. Maybe it can become a Harvard takeover. Now that I have popped the bubble, I know that I will definitely be exploring other comedy shows. Send your recommendations my way!