Surrealist theatre meets clown and improv in this outlandish hour at Rise Comedy

Why did the chicken cross the road? … To die. To sleep. Perchance, to dream?”

Of all the outlandish quotes I’ve heard from improv shows, this might be my new favorite.

Denver’s RISE Comedy hosts all kinds of comedians and improv groups, with multiple acts every night Wednesdays through Sundays. Predominantly local comics are featured on RISE’s small and intimate stage, but every so often a special out-of-town guest will bring something new to the venue. On Oct. 20, Make Believe & Guests paired local actor Anatasha Blakely with the L.A.-based clowning artist Jet Eveleth for an hour of comedy unlike anything I’ve ever seen.

Jet Eveleth (L) and Anatasha Blakely in ‘Make Believe’ at Rise Comedy | Photo: Kevin Douglas

Actors vs. audience

At the top of the show, Blakely and Eveleth survey the audience for a suggestion: a simple everyday activity. A man in the back suggests “combing your hair.” The comics launch into a scene where Eveleth mimes the action, and Blakely assumes the character of a gruff older man (a grandfather, maybe?). Eveleth exclaims, directly to the audience: “I’m combing my hair!”

To a degree of absurdity, Eveleth ignores the scene Blakely tries to initiate, and instead hyper fixates on the suggested activity. Suddenly, Eveleth breaks character and declares that the scene is not working — but not because of her. No, the scene is a flop because of the audience member’s terrible suggestion. The house lights come up; Eveleth and Blakely look sternly at the man who made the suggestion. “Want to try again?” Blakely asks her scene partner. “No,” Eveleth replies, “he’s already ruined the show.”

Just five minutes in, this tension between the comics and the audience had the crowd howling with laughter. If a good joke is one that no one expects, then Eveleth has done just that with the relationship between a comic and their crowd. It’s expected that a scene prompted by audience suggestions might fall flat, but it’s wholly unexpected that a comic would break character and publicly shame the audience member for “ruining the show.”

When improv becomes melodrama

The performance takes a sudden turn when Eveleth and Blakely start from scratch with a scene straight out of Bridgerton. With exaggerated British dialects, Eveleth mimes combing her hair when Blakely lurks in the doorway, suggesting the two resume a secretive, torrid affair despite the fact that “every woman who’s been with you has died … of pleasure.”

Without warning, the comedians switch places and start the scene over, nearly repeating the lines verbatim. But the scene pushes further than before, progressing to new absurd lengths. At the scene’s climax, Eveleth held an imaginary knife to Blakely’s throat. But suddenly, Eveleth leaves Blakely to join the audience. She directs Blakely to elevate her performance: “It’s live theater, so we should bring it up a bit!”

Blakely contorts her face to follow Eveleth’s instructions, eventually reaching total absurdity when Eveleth tells her to “scare some people in the audience.”

The trust these comics share is astonishing. Every transition was seamless, and I got the feeling these two could reach each other’s minds. There is a special chemistry between Blakely and Eveleth, and their ability to go in and out of character without throwing each other off is truly something to behold.

The art of the callback

What impressed me the most during Make Believe was the genuine throughline of the show. Scenes jumped from one absurd place to another, with characters ranging from disappointed fathers to ill-intentioned casting directors; from “permanent kids” at summer camp, to a young woman handling her “immaculate conception.”

The comics had us in the palm of their hands, and they had fantastic awareness of the audience’s energy. I was especially impressed with how callback jokes were incorporated without spoon-feeding the audience. One example was an early scene involving an inexplicable “belly button pregnancy.” A later scene features a kid at summer camp, who confides in his friend: “My mom says she didn’t make me the normal way.” This callback was just subtle enough to let the audience piece the puzzle together – and when we did, the laughter and applause was insatiable.

With fantastic physical comedy and the seamless ability to break in and out of character, MAKE BELIEVE is a clinic for Blakely and Eveleth. The show only had one performance at RISE Comedy, but I have a feeling this dream team will revive it at some point. I may be first in line.