MARCH 2010 ONLINE EDITORIALS
The Dingleberries – Improv Comedy in Colorado
By Brian Rohde
Are you looking for something to do on a Saturday night that costs less than a movie ticket? How about something simultaneously offensive and witty, with a selection of political, religious, and poop jokes that promise to tickle your intellect while you convulse with adolescent laughter? Look no further than Fort Collins’ greatest improv comedy group The Dingleberries, with members Aaron Burns, Nick Holland and Keegan Hill. This three-piece comedy team brings improv out of the typical stand-up, short-form style – think Whose Line is it Anyway – into a long-form style that builds more on scene and character, while retaining an upbeat tempo and the occasional one-liner. The group prides itself on the relationship between the actors and audience; scenes begin with anything from audience suggestions to song lyrics, and have played out onstage into Barbie raping Ken, character suicide, on-stage defecation (fake feces of course), prostitutes making up new sex positions, and serious actor injuries. (After a quick trip to Urgent Care and five staples later, Aaron returned to finish the set).
Built out of members of disbanded groups Clownbox and Full Disclosure, The Dingleberries are made up of two CSU students and one alumni. They have played shows including The Milwaukee Comedy Festival and The Colorado Improv Festival, in addition to regular shows at the Alley Cat and the Nonesuch Theater. Having performed together for around a year, the group was built out of the desire to simply showcase their art.
“The previous groups wanted to improv like grown-ups; we just wanted to improv like people who hang out at bars and go to porn stores.”
As the name suggests, viewers should brace themselves for a poop joke here and there, but it may sneak out during commentary on existentialism or parenting, so be prepared. The name Dingleberries was chosen from a prestigious list of possible monikers – including CatPorn and The Clymidians – but it seemed to fit the team’s persona more sufficiently.
The actors bill themselves as “not shock comedy, but some of the rudest comedy in Colorado. We don’t shy away from the rude, we never put up fences around our comedy, and we’ve tackled every bodily fluid except semen and vaginal discharge, not to say they aren’t on our agenda.”
So provided you aren’t shy or uptight, faint of heart or overly serious, come join The Dingleberries on the last Saturday of each month at The Nonesuch Theater for a $5 night of laughs, or check out some classic sketches online on facebook. It promises to be a night filled with hilarity for anyone who appreciates the finer things in life – matricide, zombies, cannibalism and a touch of bathroom humor.