From Rapid Growth G-Sync Week of March 17-20:

Skittish for the Yiddish & Fishschtick – A Résumé Full of Laughs, Oy Vey!

According to comedian Mary Jane Pories, “somewhere between short-form improvisation, like the games you see on Whose Line Is It Anyway? and sketch comedy like The Second City, is another form of improvisation.”

And it is this longer form of improv that will surely sell out this weekend at the Dog Story Theater as not just one, but two different shows debut on Friday night.

For these improv shows, expect a wild ride through material culled from the audience as you explore the human condition. The result is a theatrical performance that plunges the comic and the viewer hand-in-hand deep into the uncharted pathos to humor.

The first of the two shows, Skittish of the Yiddish, allows the audience an improvisational dip into Jewish culture through the Yiddish language. By doing so, the actors can explore issues of language, culture, relationship, faith and even food.

The second show on Friday, Fishschtick, features the same seasoned performers in an entirely different setting. The actors bring to the stage some of their favorite characters with each of them facing a challenge. By focusing on personal, economic and societal conundrums that come their way, we learn more about the characters and ourselves.

Starring in both shows are Demian Krentz, Sayjal Joshi, Bob Dekker, Joe Anderson, Amy McFadden, and Mary Jane Pories.

In 1999, Pories founded Fishladder with a goal to create a new kind of transformational experience as she experienced via this art form with others. Understanding the power of improvisation, Pories witnesses long-lasting behavioral and cultural changes. She now provides this fun, experiential and engaging training to companies both locally and nationally.

“We get people on their feet, we get them to problem solve in the moment, and make application for sustainable change in the workplace,” says Pories. “The tools of improvisation help them navigate change by improving their ability to act intelligently and with integrity in unpredictable situations.”