Chicago Comedy Company

by Nicole Jomantas
FOR THE POST

Who knew three guys from Miami University could be funny?

Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium will be filled with sounds of laughter tomorrow night when the Chicago Comedy Company takes the stage.

"The show is fast-paced and whacky," company co-founder and business manager Steve Matuzak said. "It's a little bit like ••Who's Line is it Anyway?••, but with more improv."

The company's routine focuses on a style known as improvisational comedy. Improv differs from traditional stand-up comedy because the performers come up with their material on the spot. For example, the performers may ask the audience to shout out situations for the group to act. They also frequently bring audience members onstage to be used in routines, Matuzak said.

"It's a sense of real comedy. It always amazes people because it comes out of nowhere. It's not planned out," he said.

The Chicago Comedy Company is composed of 10 performers, though only three or four are sent out to perform each show.

Andy Eninger, Tim Schueneman and Jen Shepard will be the comedians performing this weekend.

Eninger, along with Matuzak and Matt Lenhart, are the founders of the group. The three men formed a comedy troupe while they were students at Miami University. After graduation, the comedians went their separate ways, but Eninger and Matuzak later found that they were both living in Chicago, and the company was born, Matuzak said.

Although the comedians are based in Chicago, the show will be tailored to Ohio University, said Kirstin Taylor, special events co-chairperson for the University Program Council.

"A lot of the comedy will be inside-joke stuff that both students and alumni can relate to," she said. "I think people will really get a chance to laugh and have a great time."

••The show starts at 7 p.m. Saturday at Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium. Tickets are $8 for general admission, $3 with a valid student ID.••