Lisa Powell couldn’t have guessed what was ahead when she signed up for a class, just for laughs.
One improv class led to another and then another. Her affection for comedy and a bunch of new pals culminates in a show that gets a little more outrageous every year.
Powell is in a cast of 24 women for “Panties in a Twist,” a sketch comedy event written, directed and starring women only. The annual show, in its 13th year, opens on Saturday night, followed by a Sunday matinee, at the Wells Theatre.
“You’ll laugh, and you might cry,” said Powell, about the zany production that includes singing, dancing and offbeat humor.
Powell used to spend her spare time learning about terroir and grape varietals to inform her wine selections.
“This has been an excellent replacement for that,” said the Suffolk resident and proposal manager by day. “You make friends in your first class and continue those friendships to the next one.”
Finding community can be challenging when you age, said Powell, who refers to herself as an ’80s child and credits Push for the diverse number of friends she has made in the last three years.
Push Comedy Theater opened in the NEON District in 2015, the extension of a comedy troupe called The Pushers. The 90-seat theater on Granby Street offers a friendly vibe, whether you’re Sandy Carden, a James Madison University theater graduate from 2001 or current Tidewater Community College student Jessica Wickenden, 20.
Wickenden, whose tattoos outnumber her vast piercings, didn’t know what to expect when she auditioned for her first role outside of a school play. She didn’t anticipate so many Pushers sitting in on that initial reading.
“Everybody was so nice immediately,” said the graduate of Hickory High School in Chesapeake. "Nobody in there made you feel like you didn’t belong. This is a really fun place to be. It’s just a crowd of girls. It’s fantastic.”
Carden has been part of every show, minus the fifth, when she had just given birth. “Panties in a Twist” started with 16 women. While several were featured, others were more background players. The show has since morphed into a collaborative production.
“You want everyone to have their moment,” Carden said. “Really, it’s a collaboration, and you want people to feel that. It’s always so cool to bring together the seasoned players with the newer players and get that coalescing.”
What was once competitive is now more nurturing, Carden added. The typical demographic for standup and improv is middle-aged white men.
“We really wanted to make sure that women had a voice in comedy,” said Courtney Richard, an original Pusher, who assumes a production role now.
“The show is written by women and performed by women, but it does more than just span topics about women.”
Men in the audience laugh just as much as women.
“Panties in a Twist” pushes the envelope in funny without offending, said Richard. “I think that women can be a lot dirtier than people expect.”
Sketches are submitted in advance of casting, and many come from out-of-towners. Richard and a team sorted through 60-plus submissions this year. Roughly 24 sketches made it into the show.
Spoiler alert: Almost everyone in Hampton Roads will relate to the sketch on the weather extremes that can happen in just one day. What happens when allergies interfere with locals out for leisure? How about an unorthodox boxing match with a knockout ending?
Not surprisingly, political satire is in the mix.
“The news today is a mess,” Richard said. “You can’t get more wild than the actual news. I think we’re complementing that with some silliness.”
The Wells Theatre, 108 E. Tazewell St., Norfolk. Visit Push Comedy Theater for tickets and more information.
