On March 1, 2025, people came to the Franklin Park Arts Center for a chance at catching the comedy show Last Ham Standing. Last Ham Standing is a skit-based improv comedy show that was started in 2003. It is split up into two halves with a 15 minute intermission in between each half. It aims to have the audience be a part of the fun, and there are many ways that they accomplish this task.
Even an improv show needs a general formula, and Last Ham Standing is not one to disappoint. Ceci Stephens, a performer in Last Ham Standing, went into more detail about this, explaining, “We start with a game. We have a list of about 150 games that we pull from, and they each have a different setup. Sometimes it’s a one word story or a guessing game where we go to a shop and ask the person who’s the shopkeeper for something, and they don’t have any clue whatsoever what we’re shopping for. It could be a plunger owned by Billy Joel that generates world peace when it’s activated.”
Improv is a skill that takes a long time to master and has many rules. Steve Heaton, another performer in Last Ham Standing, spoke of his belief of the general rule for improv. He explained, “The one rule in improv is yes, and? Whatever they say, that’s the truth in the scenes. If they come in and they say ‘Hey grandpa!’, guess what? You’re grandpa now, and you got to figure it out within seconds.”
Getting the audience interested in a skit is not to be taken lightly due to the varying senses of humor among the audience. Dave Wright, the moderator of Last Ham Standing, explained one of his methods for gaining the audiences’ interest. “When you bring an audience member on stage, it tends to get you on their side, and they tend to enjoy that more. So anytime that you can bring the audience in or use games that involve them more, that’s a big win,” he said. Bob Garman, another performer part of Last Ham Standing, stated, “If we take someone on stage, that kind of unbalances everything in an interesting way. They know that we cannot have pre arranged anything, and it’s surprising. Whatever’s gonna happen next is going to be new.”
The audience of an improv comedy show can be the dictating force on the direction of a show. Wright explained, “We interpret what we think that they’re biting on, because what they’re reacting to and responding to is going to have a direct correlation to how we plan that second half. We might veer a little bit because they’re not biting on certain types of games in the second half. Sometimes games that we initially chose were not ones that they liked.”
Last Ham Standing’s next show is on April 5, 2025, and lasts from 8 p.m. – 10 p.m. The show is a special event that is not held anywhere else in the area, and it could be your next big laugh.