Hijinx Comedy Depends On Audience Participation

“Sneakers!” “A pickle!” “Shower stall!”

The actor holds up his hands and when the audience is silent, says, “I’ll take shower stall.” He steps backstage for a few seconds to plan his death while the others on stage say in deep, intoning voices, “Death by shower stall … the ultimate foot fungus facilitator … of doom.”

No, it’s not some bizarre dream. It’s Friday night at Hijinx, Spokane’s longest-running improvisational comedy show. What is improvisational comedy, you ask? Well, it means there’s no script; everything is spur of the moment. Needless to say, it makes for a very funny show. What makes Hijinx even better though, is that the audience is a vital part of the equation. Each scene is built around a suggestion from the audience. Here’s how it works:

While there is no script, the shows consist of a pre-set lineup of certain scenes. The scenes are kind of like games that the performers and audience play. For example, in Relay, all but one of the actors leave the room and the one left behind gets a story going from the audience. The scene goes something like the childhood game of telephone. The cast returns one by one and either tells or acts out the story. Each time it gets funnier and funnier until the original story is hardly recognizable.

This isn’t the only scene, however. There seem to be hundreds of others: Die, Taxi, Arms Expert, Slide Show, Alphabet, Machine, Building Blocks and many more. The best part about Hijinx is that you will never, ever see the same show twice. It’s always hilarious and the cast is energetic and entertaining.

Hijinx runs every Friday night on the sixth floor of the Masonic Temple, 1108 W. Riverside. The show starts at 8 p.m. and is open to all ages.

Forget going to another movie. Try Hijinx for a change. Admission is $3 ($5 for adults).

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Join the Hijinx Show is every Friday night at the Masonic Temple. Fun starts at 8 p.m.