Urban Yeti Improv: The Valley gets a dose of laughter Saturday night

PALMER — Saturday at 7 p.m. is the premier night of Urban Yet Improv’s first show in the Valley. The show will take place at the Glenn Massay Theater, located in the Mat-Su College’s campus. Admission is free via grant from the Mat-Su Health Foundation. For many Valley residents, this is a seldom seizable opportunity to experience professionally quality comedy, without having to drive for Anchorage.

The Urban Yeti Improv group is a local improvisational comedy team that takes their cast’s on-stage chemistry stage to stage, never the same and always trying to have fun with the audience. Urban Yeti members typically pick a theme “inspired by an array of sources,” according to their website. Audience interaction is tightly ingrained with the Urban Yeti experience, as they draw much of their energy from them.

One cast member, John Parsi explained in an interview with Alaska Public Media in 2014 that relatability with the audience usually hits home.

“You’ll do something as easy as someone pantomime struggling to open a jar and the audience will connect with that and think it’s hilarious because everybody experiences that,” Parsi said

With improv comedy, each show is different. The Urban Yeti Improv group holds true to that spontaneousness and even zaniness with each performance, which has achieved them a growing success and recognition, hence their expansion to a Valley audience.

This Saturday night, the laughs are free for anyone in the Valley who wants to check out the Urban Yeti Improv Group. According the Urban Yeti Improv’s website, this event is collaborating with the Mat-Su’s Journey Program, a wellness program sponsored by the Mat-Su College that aims to promote good health and activities.

“We’ll be serving up laughs to promote happiness, balance and good mental health,” the Urban Yeti web site says.