Over the course of three decades, Milwaukee has been Ground Zero for competitive short-form improvisational comedy through the world headquarters of ComedySportz.
Those who wanted to practice long-form improv have, well, improvised their own comedy scenes. The weekly Midnite Show, an uncensored Saturday night performance at ComedySportz, has been going since 2001. Groups such as Homegrown Electric Circus and Worst Case Scenario gathered momentum for a while.
In 2013, James Boland, Erik Koconis, Robby McGhee, and Lee Rowley formed the long-form group Tall Boys, bringing on seasoned improviser Jared Stepp as coach.
“Unfortunately, in the long improv scene in Milwaukee we have lost a lot of talented people to bigger cities so the Tall Boys wanted to help build the improv community in Milwaukee,” James says. “That’s why we started the Mojo Dojo Comedy, which is a long-form improv training center as well as place to produce comedy shows. We want to build the community of long-form improv back up and it’s really exciting seeing people be really interested in it.”
Mojo Dojo Comedy has workshops, shows at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. most Fridays and a Wednesday night open improv session, which includes a little instruction followed by free-for-all improv, which is $5 to watch.
Mojo Dojo Comedy – 8 p.m. Wednesdays, Open Dojo
“Mojo Dojo Comedy is all about creating a fun and friendly atmosphere where people can explore the discipline of long-form comedy,” James says. “The five of us also have a lot of experience producing shows and we are excited to have a partnership with ComedySportz where we will be producing more regular shows in the Farina Arena (formerly known as the garage).”
Read more about Mojo Dojo Comedy in this article by Matthew Reddin in the Wisconsin Gazzette.
Visit the Mojo Dojo Comedy website for updates.
Says James: “We hope to be another consistent force in the comedy scene in Milwaukee.”