Dallas' Stomping Ground Is Having a 48-Hour Comedy Show To Raise Money

Improv actors have to learn how to commit to a bit even if there's a sudden change in the scene in a matter of seconds. Now imagine having to commit to the same principle for two whole days.

Nonprofit Stomping Ground Comedy Theater is holding a special 48-Hour Laugh-a-Thon from Friday, Oct. 13, through Sunday, Oct. 15, on its main stage. The show will present around 50 comedians and comedy groups and hopefully raise thousands in donations. Stomping Ground's co-founder and artistic director Lindsay Goldapp says the organizers hope to raise $50,000 by holding two days of live and streaming comedy shows.

"There are a couple of theaters who do something like this," Goldapp says. "The one that I really drew inspiration from was the [HUGE Improv Theatre] in Minneapolis, another nonprofit theater and we are really big fans of them. They do something like this every year as an annual fundraiser. We want to do our annual fundraiser the same way."

The first show starts at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 13, and the final act starts at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 15. Guests can see the show in person by buying tickets for individual performances or in blocks for 12, 24 or for the whole 48 hours. You'll need to find your own place to sleep, change and shower if you want to go the full weekend.

"I'll get a hotel room nearby but it's probably only going to be to shower and change," says the marathon's tech director and one of its performers Justin Wayne. "Between tech shifts and performing, I'll be there."

The marathon show will feature performances by some of Stomping Ground's sketch and improv troupes such as Crime Night, SideScroll, Broadway(ish) and My F*cked Up Thanksgiving, as well as guest troupes from around Dallas-Fort Worth. The show will also offer one-off show concepts such as Petprov, with performers trying to do scenes with their real pets, the improvising morning show Wake Up Stomping Ground! and the drunken Buzzed: Brunch Edition. Disney Channel star and YouTube Let's Play-er Parker Coppins, better known as Parker Plays, will also do a livestream incorporating some of the theater's live comedy elements.

Also, 10 core performers and one musical director will be on hand for the entire 48-hour show, taking turns to nap and freshen up in between sets.

"The only thing I'm trying to balance it with is parenting," Goldapp says. "As long as my son is clothed and fed and all of his basic needs are met, I'll be there."

A tech crew will also be on hand to make sure that the lights work for the live performances and to preserve the livestream on Facebook and other online media channels.

"The big challenges are making sure we're turning over between shows efficiently so the schedule doesn't get backed up," Wayne says. "Normally, we'd just talk to them before a show, but we want to have more details planned than we normally would for an average night of shows."

The money Stomping Ground raises with its 48-hour fundraiser will help expand the scholarship program for its training center, provide more youth and teen programming by hiring more instructors and help the theater's community outreach through its Improv4Life program, which uses the principles of performance to help people with Alzheimer's and anxiety.

"I very much appreciate being part of the Stomping Ground community and supporting them however I can," Wayne says. "I very much believe in their mission, and it's a unique challenge too."