Drama students at Pen High will help laugh away the holiday stress with the Christmas Cavalcade of Comedy.
The performance featuring the Pen High Improv Club and drama students performing classic comedy routines, music and more runs for two shows on Dec. 18 and 19.
Liam Bradson, coach of the student-led Pen High Improv Club, is excited to take on legendary comedic milestones such as the Spartan Cheerleader sketch from Saturday Night Live.
Stepping into the roles created by the likes of Will Ferrell and Cheri Oteri is not something the young comedian is taking lightly.
“It’s been a lot of fun. It makes you really nervous because you’re like, ‘I don’t know if I can do this as good as these people, they’re the masters,’” Bradson said.
He added that the students will be making each character a little bit their own.
The Pen High improv Club and the theatre performance class have put together a variety of sketches and pieces based on classic comedy routines from the comedy greats like SCTV and Monty Python.
Andrew Knudsen took over as drama instructor at Pen High this year after the retirement of Megan Rutherford.
“I’m a former grad of this school so it’s kind of surreal to be back,” said Knudsen.
This will be Knudsen’s first large-scale performance since taking over.
“This is the first senior show. The first big, big thing,” Knudsen said. He added that he put together an Edgar Allen Poe-themed show on Halloween with the juniors.
Still getting to know the students, Knudsen has had minimal issues.
“The kids are always good. Even when kids are trying, they are fairly well-intentioned I find,” Knudsen said.
Putting together a show with everything from music to improv comedy isn’t easy, but the humour helps according to Knudsen.
“It’s been a lot of work, but it’s been a lot of fun and a lot of laughs. That’s probably the best thing about doing a project like this is that you just get to laugh every day,” he said.
The next offering from the Pen High drama department will be Fractured Fairy Tales, a new and original take on some of the more famous fairy tales set to debut in the spring of next year.
The Christmas Cavalcade of Comedy starts at 7:30 p.m. both nights.
Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the Shatford Centre, the drama room at Pen High or at the door.