Think Quick! Improv Comes To Bay Street And You Get To Play Along

The Quickest Thinkers in Comedy are about to do an improv show at Bay Street Theater and audience members better rest up the night before, because they’re going to be part of the act.

Performers Scott Baker and Vinnie Mark want to make one thing clear though: whatever bits or gags or goofs the locals get roped into, the crowd and the comedians will be laughing with them, not at them.

The comedy duo is making its debut at Bay Street this weekend with a unique improvisational approach designed to actively engage ticketholders and create a kind of immersive comedy experience.

“We have an outline that guides us, but the truth is, we never really know what’s going to happen so neither will you,” Mark recently explained. “I can tell you, our experience so far has been the laughter takes off like matches to gasoline.”

In their own words, the shows are never the same twice, audience participation is 100 percent voluntary and punchlines are never mean-spirited. Their aim is not to get a laugh at anyone’s expense — other than their own, sometimes.

Paul Anthony, manager of sponsorships and ad sales at Bay Street, had a hand in bringing the Quickest Thinkers to Sag Harbor. A comedian himself — the stand-up kind —Anthony recommended the act after seeing the pair work their magic on crowds across Long Island.

He also opened their shows a few times and said he’s always been amazed at their talent.

“Improv is incredible, but as someone who does stand-up, I also think it’s terrifying. Not everyone can do it,” he said. “These guys make it look easy and their audiences love them.”

Involving the audience in the show is what makes Quickest Thinkers stand apart from other improv acts. Typically, members of an improvisational troupe come onstage and create comedy on the fly by bouncing ideas off each other, slipping into random characters and developing skits with each performer adding something unrehearsed to the bit. The interaction remains among the troupe.

Not so at a Quickest Thinkers show.

After a kind of ice-breaker opening by Mark, which includes some of his signature stand-up and magic, the audience joins the action.

“People usually associate improv with Second City in Chicago or the Upright Citizens Brigade; companies that go a long way for a laugh,” Baker said. “We want you laughing quick and often so we get you in the thick of it with us.”

“We get you shouting out suggestions, answers to questions, we get you making sound effects for us or coming up to the stage and playing games or playing a part.”

The pair said their years of experience have made them adept at reading the mood of audience members, identifying who would most enjoy participating and knowing when to let someone who is uncomfortable in the limelight stay in the shadows.

“We make 300 people in a theater feel like 30 people in a living room … comfortable, warm and relaxed,” Baker said.

And who couldn’t use a little warmth and comfort this time of year? January and February can be bleak months on the East End. Bone-chilling winds blow right through the warmest of winter coats and skies go dark before most people have finished work for the day. If ever there was a time of year some laughter was needed, Bay Street’s Anthony said, it’s now.

“So we’re trying to fill that void at Bay Street … and this takes our comedy lineup to an entirely different level,” he said.

Having witnessed the Quickest Thinkers in action, Anthony said, he virtually guarantees the show will be well received.

“These guys know how to bring out the funny in people and watching them do it is infinitely more entertaining than anything else I’ve seen,” he said. “And it’s not just me. I’ve watched time after time audience members go up to these guys after a show, stand in a line to talk to them, and tell them how much fun they had. Trust me, you don’t see that often.”

Baker, 52, of Commack, started doing stand-up when he was 17, performing at small Long Island comedy clubs. That was around the time he first met Mark, now 57, from Lake George, who was also playing the clubs and was a member of the Long Island Laughter Company. A little older, and more experienced, Mark offered some advice to an admiring Baker, who said he later developed an improvisational act based on the things he saw Mark doing.

Since those early years, both men have worked steadily in comedy.

Mark has performed his stand-up and magic act at well-known venues throughout New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania and on several television shows, with David Letterman and Rosie O’Donnell, among others. He also appeared in the Adam Sandler film “Grown Ups.”

Meanwhile, Baker — a former New York City police officer and professional boxer — formed an improv act with fellow comedian Al Isaacs and has toured extensively in the northeast. He’s also written books, teaches improv classes (including one at Bay Street) and has a sitcom on Amazon called “Midtown.”

A recent interview with the pair showcased their ability to collaborate in cracking jokes off the cuff on almost any topic. Asked if either had ever performed at Bay Street before, Baker didn’t hesitate to answer.

“Well, we were male dancers there once, but …” he said.

In an instant, Mark jumped in.

“Yeah, but that doesn’t count. You know why?” he asked. Then, not waiting for a reply, delivered his punchline. “The women in the audience were squinting the whole time.”

That’s how it goes with this pair, on the phone, in person or on stage. The friends and colleagues who have known each other for more than 30 years finish each other’s thoughts and sentences regularly.

“If the people are unsure about what to expect from our show, well, isn’t that the cool part?” Mark wondered at one point in the interview. “There’s a mystery about the show and about us in the best kind of way.”

“We’re going to make you laugh. You’re going to make us laugh. Nobody gets hurt,” Baker chimed in, picking up where his partner in comedy left off.

“One thing I can promise you’ll hear me say at every show is this: a day without laughter is a wasted day,” Baker added. “Plus, Vinnie’s gonna kiss everyone after the show, so there’s that.”

The Quickest Thinkers in Comedy, will perform at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor on Friday, February 7, at 8 pm. Tickets are on sale at baystreet.org or by calling the box office at 631-725-9500. The price is $30 in advance or $40 on the day. The box office is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. or until showtime.