Laughing Stock

photos by Ellen Stair and John Aylward

Attendees at Point of No Return Improv’s 17th anniversary show in February were given a choice of flags to take to their seats: unicorn or dragon. Throughout the performance at the Quirk Cultural Center, the audience was divided into those groups and exchanged insults in mock battles for supremacy — or at least for the biggest laughs. Troupe members, both onstage and planted among the audience, continued to provoke with taunts like, Unicorns go home and Dragons rule. The bit took turns as performers improvised off of whatever off-the-wall remarks flew around, no matter how goofy things got.

“It’s surprising and delightful,” says Co-artistic Director Tracy Cubbal. “You can take what you might think would be a mistake and turn it into a gift.”

The 42-year-old Twinsburg resident joined Point of No Return Improv in 2011, some 10 years after the troupe had formed. At its bimonthly performances at Quirk, Cubbal relishes riffing off extemporaneous short scenes — a la “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” — with fellow members, including Al Mothersbaugh, the cousin of Devo rocker Mark Mothersbaugh.

Cubbal shares what she’s learned about the gifts of improvisation.

How does improv work?

TC: Anyone that’s heard anything about improv knows the rule of “yes, and”: You accept another person’s idea, and then you add to it. Sometimes it’s silly. Sometimes it can be profound.

How do scenes get started?

TC: Each scene has a rule, like the characters have to sing their lines, or one person always has to be kneeling, one person sitting and one person standing — and they can switch. And we get a suggestion from the audience as a jumping off point.

What does the point of no return mean?

TC: We’re close to the Cuyahoga River. The point of no return is a certain point by which you have to make a decision if you are paddling down a river. If you improv a scene, it generally requires you to make a quick decision. It goes by in a blur.

How has doing improv changed you?

TC: I am by nature a very shy and introverted person, so I had to bring all my fake-it-till-you-make-it confidence. Improv is really good at teaching listening skills, communication, empathy. It’s so much easier for me to talk to people and try things that would be pretty scary. It’s my belief that you can do anything if you set your fear aside.