The only worthwhile thing I did my freshman year of college was start The Garrens Comedy Troupe. I had the idea in mind when I got to BYU, and one of my new dorm buddies, Braden Jacobs, helped me get it off the ground. We started it as a campus club, held auditions, and assembled a cast. On Jan. 22, 1993, we did our first show. It was a hit! Possibly because admission was free.
We started charging the next week, but the audience came anyway. For the next eight years, The Garrens performed on campus every Friday night, and did dozens of off-campus shows, too, at other colleges and corporate events and stuff. New cast members came and went. I went off to serve an LDS mission for two years, leaving the group in Lincoln Hoppe’s capable, supple hands. We released a cassette and two CDs of our sketches and songs. We did sketches for a giant Marriott Center audience at some campus event. I daresay we became an institution. If you were at BYU between 1993 and 2001, it is highly likely that you attended a Garrens show. You’d definitely heard of us, anyway.
And now we are doing a reunion show! The Garrens Comedy Troupe 20th Anniversary Reunion Spectacular! [BUY TICKETS!] It’s happening Sept. 14 — exactly 20 years after 7 1/2 months after that first show! (Why didn’t we do it last January? Because who wants to go to Utah in January, that’s why.) Some 30 cast members are gathering to perform an evening of sketches and songs from the old days, to be followed by what is sure to be a rollicking Improv Jam.
You guys, this show is going to be so fun. SO FUN!! We’ve spent the summer combing through our material, looking for the best stuff that’s still funny and not too dated. It’ll be nostalgic for anyone who saw us perform back then, but people who have never heard of The Garrens will also laugh at our antics and shenanigans. This I assure you! Our top priority has been to put together a hilarious show, not just to pander to nostalgia. [BUY TICKETS!]
So if you’ll be in or near Provo on Saturday, Sept. 14, please — do me a favor; do yourself a favor — come to this show! It will make laughters come out of you, all over the place.
The Garrens Comedy Troupe 20th Anniversary Reunion Spectacular!
Saturday, Sept. 14
7 p.m., to be followed (at no additional charge) by an Improv Jam
$8 in advance, $10 at the door
JSB Auditorium at BYU
Provo, Utah
Some of the things we’ll be performing:
Guys Apartment
Sharing Our Journals
Mime Guy
Social Hugs 101
Jokers Club
The General Authorities Song
… and about a dozen more sketches and songs
Some of the people who will be in it:
Eric D. Snider
Lincoln Hoppe
Lisa Valentine Clark
Daryn Tufts
Randy Tayler
Aaron Johnston
Ken Craig
Katie Craig
Joel R. Wallin
Mark Berrett
Lauren Johnston
Becky Baird
Shawn Rapier
Jjana Valentiner
Jason Ball
Marc E. Shaw
… and about a dozen more hams and idiots
P.S. It is our intention to film the show and make DVDs and downloads available later, so all is not lost if you can’t make it to Provo on the night in question. That being said, there is always the chance the video will get screwed up and we won’t be able to sell it after all. The only way to be sure you don’t miss the show is to be there live, in person, even if you have to sell everything you own to get there, it is probably worth it.
P.P.S. For a more thorough Garrens history, read this.
