BOUNTIFUL—Sitting down with the members of The Improvables, South Davis’ own improv troupe, is like going to a party with friends: From the very start, everyone is laughing, joking, reminiscing, and no one is left out, and that is very much by design. Since the beginning, The Improvables have set out to have an improv show that delivers on both the time-honored classics, as well as some heartwarming ideals.

Started at the old Roger’s Memorial Theatre, The Improvables have been doing improv comedy since the spring of 2008, and for much of that time, Jon “Paco” Plowman has been a part of the team. He and Parker Abegg, who joined shortly after the formation of the team, have been performing the “squeaky clean, family-friendly” show in a few different venues since the start: first Roger’s Memorial, then CenterPoint, and, since 2019, the Bountiful Davis Art Center (BDAC).

Sitting around the table, Plowman, and Abegg, along with team members Tyler Clawson, Jordan Larrabee, Liz Morley, and Willis Krammer discussed the ins and outs of what it takes to put on a successful improv show with The Improvables, and although much of it is improvised, there’s a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes before that improvisation can take place.

“You can’t really rehearse for a show,” said Plowman, but there are things that they do to prepare. Rather than a traditional rehearsal like a stage play, or a table reading for a film, Abegg said, The Improvables will hold regular workshops where they can “all get together, and play.” They hash out new, and familiar improv games, and polish their craft for performance. As Krammer put it, “If everyone knows how the games work, the rest is improvisation.”

The games range in scope, and just like the audience, each team member has their favorite: from games like “Revolver” to “Greatest Hits” to one that, according to the team, is unique to the Improvables, “Predictive Story” which uses an audience member’s predictive text to come up with the premise for the game they play. It takes some effort, but, as Larrabee put it, “Funny just kind of comes!”

The comedy happens for all sorts, too, as the team explained. “A lot haven’t done theater,” said Plowman. “I’ve never done theater,” said Morley. There are introverts and extroverts, people who’ve done improv their entire lives, and those who are new, but working and playing together as a team, they’re all in it together. “These guys are so funny!” said Morley. “I know they’ve got my back.” That welcoming spirit doesn’t just extend to the team, either. 

“A lot of people come (to the show) who are dealing with tough stuff,” said Plowman, explaining how they’ve had audience members dealing with stress from work, current events, and even cancer, and that improv really can help and heal, allowing people to “forget for a little while.” It’s what Clawson calls “Laughter therapy,” helping audience members, as well as the team themselves, deal with things in life. 

The Improvables perform a 90-minute show each Friday night at the BDAC at 90 North Main Street in Bountiful, at 9 p.m. The show offers family-friendly, side-splitting comedy for less than most movie tickets, and provides not only a great change of pace, but, an evening to sit back, forget the stresses and troubles of life for a while, and just laugh with some friends.