Dust off your funny bone, Somerville – Awkward Compliment Comedy Night is on a mission to amuse you.–Photo by Harry Kane

By Harry Kane

On any given Thursday night, in the dungeon of Somerville Theater, a sketch comedy group brings a burst of laughter to the doldrums of everyday monotony.

At 8 p.m. the show begins with Matt Donaher, a geeky fellow with a nasally voice, who gives a diatribe of his sexual desires. It can get a little raunchy at times but it’s good fun. His other jokes were good too. They go something like this: “I made the mistake of going into a Target on a Saturday wearing a red polo and tan pants. I spent six hours explaining the difference between an LCD and LED TV to a guy,” Donaher joked.

Next comes one of many local improv groups. It’s all over the place: Straight up craziness. This week it was Danielle Soto and cohorts in an improv group called Castus Conception.

Shaun Connolly, 25, stand–up comedian was hilarious. Connolly is a high school teacher; his bit involves the dramatization of one of his student’s ridiculous writing mistakes on a homework assignment.

The show itself is called “Awkward Compliment Comedy Night.”  They usually have 2 to 3 stand-up comedians and another improv or sketch group. The show ends with a 30-minute finale with the mainstay group.

Mark O’Connell, 38, is part of the mainstay group, Awkward Compliment. The group has been together for a little over 4 years now. It consists of Brian Dibello, Ryan MacFarland, Mat Dann, Stephen Serwacki, Patty Barrett and Mark O’Connell.  The players are all in their twenties and thirties.

The routine they do is called “Awkward Cab Confessions.”  During the set there are three different cab ride scenes that they use to generate ideas and characters for other scenes. The idea is that they establish memorable characters and put them in scenarios that the audience finds memorable and funny.

Memorable moments from last Thursday night’s cab confessions included a bit called “Rupert the Swan.” It was ridiculously funny to watch a comedian portray a swan in a taxicab.

For $5 bucks you can sit and laugh until you start to cry. A must see.