What’s better than crying from laughing at a comedy show? Crying from laughing at a sold out comedy show that’s for charity!

Comedy Club paired up with Crystal Lake Central’s Laughletes for their second annual Hilarity for Charity event on January 28. Each year the schools choose a foundation or charity to raise money for through their event.

This year, the teams raised over $400 for the not-for-profit Dole Foundation. The foundation’s objective is to create a therapeutic, creative, and inspiring environment through the arts for youth, the elderly, and people with disabilities.

The event originated last year when Mr. Kingston, the CLC club’s adviser, invited the group to participate. The Crystal Lake and Cary areas seem to be laughter-deprived, as only half of the district schools have comedy clubs. Luckily enough, these two comical clubs more than suffice.

“The idea is that performing together will draw a larger audience, which is always a good thing, but particularly so when you’re trying to raise money for a good cause,” Comedy Club adviser Mr. Neff said.

Those who performed in the show were selected by Mr. Neff and the leaders of the group seniors Emily Kreiger, Madison Carlson and Brad Porter. The show was 90 minutes in total. Each club got their own spotlight for 40 minutes and the last 10 minutes was a hilarious joining of the two. Both clubs performed some sketches but mostly improv for the majority of the show, which means you really have to think on your feet.

“A sketch is just acted out as written. We use improv in games to bring something fresh to the show, because most clubs do either/or,” Carlson said. This was her second time performing in the event.

“It’s very different [improv] for everybody,” said Porter, who is also a two-timer of the event. “I’ve been doing improv for a very long time, so I didn’t get up there super nervous, but I think everybody has to be a little nervous.”

Preparing to perform improv is hard because, well, it’s improv. The group would meet on their regular days during the school week, which were limited due to winter break and finals.

“We spent one day writing sketches, memorized them, and then worked on some parts that we thought were a little rough,” Carlson said.

The Laughletes also invited Comedy Club to join in a three-hour improv workshop one Sunday in order to not only practice improv, but also get to know and reconnect with members of the other group. Hilarity for Charity is always fun for both clubs because most don’t get to see members of the other besides this event.

“It was really fun because it was a lot of catching up with the Central comedy club team, which made for a really chill and playful mood,” Carlson said. She said that mood helped them cope with their pre-show nerves.

Both leaders agreed that they hope the club continues on doing charity shows and collaborating with other schools in the future, as they have with CLC and Batavia High School’s comedy club in previous years.

“I think it’s a great experience for all members of the club who are only used to a C-G audience in C2, and they can get a better look into what performing for the public is like,” Porter said.

“I hope they start feeling like they’re professional comics who can go anywhere and make people laugh. They’re brave to get up on stage and do what they do. They’re some of the coolest kids I know,” Mr. Neff said.

Speaking of these cool kids, check your calendar because Comedy Club is having their spring show on April 27 and they never disappoint.