By Elizabeth Lewis
A group of local students make a comeback Friday March 7 performing their popular comedy show at the Provo High School auditorium.
BYUSA sponsored The Provost Humor Company''s performance titled 'The Hybrid Solution' at the Varsity Theater last January. This Friday the group will perform a variety show titled 'Undone,' featuring skits, songs and films.
'''The Hybrid Solution'' was really successful,' said Tony Gunn, one of the Provost Humor Company''s founders. 'We sold out both shows. This is the same sort of thing. We have five to seven new skits with three short films. The thing that would define this best is a variety show.'
Gunn, a BYU senior from Provo majoring in theater studies, directs 'Undone.' Performance times are 7:30 and 10 p.m. in the Provo High School auditorium. Tickets are $5 at the door, or $4 if you bring a can of food. Those who send an email to thephc2003@yahoo.com to have their name put on the ticket will-call list will also pay $4.
Another member of the Provost Humor Company, Matt Duerden, said the show contains original, fresh material not based on anything previously performed.
'We write things that develop from hanging out that sound funny,' he said. 'We think of ideas and characters and work them into skits. We like to mix it up and do short films, songs and mini-musicals - a wide variety of different things. It''s like a smorgasbord of comedy enjoyment.'
Duerden, a BYU senior from Provo studying German, plays two characters in 'Undone.'
Jed Wells, a junior from Provo majoring in photography at BYU, said 'Undone' is a show for all groups with something everyone can enjoy.
'It''s like ''Saturday Night Live,''' Wells said. 'It''s sketch comedy, not improv. Since we do it so infrequently it gives us time to work up new things.'
Gunn, Duerden and Wells, in addition to UVSC student Michael Padakin, originally founded The Provost Humor Company as The Provo High School Reduced Shakespeare Company in 1995. The company contains a diverse group of performers with majors such as chemistry, math, computer science and elementary education.
'We did this performance group in high school, and when we got off our missions we decided to try it again,' Gunn said. 'We''ve done three shows since our missions and they''ve all been very successful. It''s been a lot of fun.'
Craig Chambers, the public relations manager for the company, said the mission of The Provost Humor Company is to bring high quality, clean humor to the community, and generate a creative outlet for non-theater students.
Chambers said the group tries to perform one show a semester, but due to the busy schedules of the students the group has not been able to perform since last January.
'We''ve had a lot of ideas that we''ve wanted to perform and show to people for a long time,' Gunn said.
In addition to the Provost Humor Company productions titled 'Coup d''?tat,' 'Freshly Rinsed' and 'The Hybrid Solution,' Gunn directed 'Peculiarities,' which played at The Villa Playhouse Theatre in Springville last October, and a Mask Club production titled 'The Hot House.