‘Comedy Enlightened,’ a new collection of plays by Darwin’s Waiting Room, comes to The Players’ Ring

In ancient Rome, slaves farmed the land, managed businesses, and built cities. In an upcoming play, the slaves find it just as challenging to get a goat off a roof.

“The head slave is in charge of making sure everything happens,” said playwright Eric Doucet. “Of course, everything goes wrong.”

“All Goats Lead to Home” is one of six short plays written by Doucet in “Comedy, Enlightened,” which local comedy troupe Darwin’s Waiting Room will perform this month at The Players’ Ring in Portsmouth.

In “The Inner Light Movement,” the audience is encouraged to join a cult. “Cool Hand Kenny,” a nod to a prison-break movie, follows the adventures of an Alabama chain gang. Other bits involve a 100th birthday party in a retirement home and a woman who literally fishes for men.
The show features local cast members Kevin Baringer, Samuel Bennett, Shawn Crapo, Rachel Elias, G. Matthew Gaskell, Richard Harris, Liz O’Connell, Melissa Moore, Grady O’Neil, Matthew Richards and Christopher Savage.

Bennett stars in all six plays. “They’re all ridiculously hilarious,” he said. “They all push the norm. It’s not your average comedy show.”

One of his favorite roles is Charlie, a disgruntled and irritable 97-year-old man at a birthday party. He said the character embodies the amusing way some people of a certain age no longer feel the need to watch what they say. “He’s seen it all,” Bennett said.

Bennett is a stand-up comedian and says making people laugh is a kind of test. “When you’re enjoying it and everyone can tell that you are, it makes it easier,” he said.

But he believes the real key to comedic acting is knowing when to improvise. “There has to be a little chaos to the organization of it,” he said.

Doucet said the humor in his plays isn’t topical or time sensitive but universal, as characters are thrown into a variety of strange situations. His influences include the British comedy series “Fawlty Towers,” “The Twilight Zone” and his own research as a high school teacher.

Liz O’Connell acts in nearly all of the short plays. Her favorite role is as mistress of the house in “All Goats Lead to Home.” The character’s main concern is maintaining control because she would hate to soil herself without a “wiper,” she said. There’s no explanation for how the goat got on the roof, and it leads to a comedy of errors.

“It’s hard to explain. Some of it is so out there, but it’s hilarious when it all comes together,” O’Connell said.

No goats were harmed in the making of this production—the animal is played by various actors. “You never see it, just hear it,” O’Connell said.

Darwin’s Waiting Room is a Seacoast-based theater troupe that produces original, family-friendly comedy for the stage and screen. It has a membership of about 70 performers, artists and technical crew, including co-producers Doucet and Kaitlyn Huwe. As is typical with the group’s shows, the ensemble wears jeans and T-shirts, uses minimal props and no set.

O’Connell has previously acted in several of the 10 films by Darwin’s Waiting Room, but has also adopted dramatic roles in plays like “At My Window” at The Players’ Ring last fall. She finds comic acting both challenging and rewarding.

“Comedy is actually very hard, but so much fun,” she said. “If you can make an audience laugh, there’s no greater feeling.”

“Comedy Enlightened” runs through Jan. 22 at The Players’ Ring, 105 Marcy St., Portsmouth, 603-436-8123, www.playersring.org. Show times are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 7 p.m. (2 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 22). Tickets are $15 to $12.