On November 23rd, ’07 graduate Chris Lash and ’06 graduate Stan Seiden will bring their Yale University improvisational comedy group to Wayland High School. The group, called “The Purple Crayon,” will make Wayland High School a stop on their fall tour.
The Purple Crayon was founded in 1985 and is Yale’s longest continuously-running improvisational troop. The name was inspired by the children’s book Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson, a story of a boy who creates his own imaginative world by drawing with a purple crayon.
Several past members of the Purple Crayon have gone on to be highly successful; alumni can be seen in Beverly Hills 90210, Renegade, and the movie Dead Poets Society. Phil LaMarr, the founder of the Purple Crayon, went on to create MadTV, an American sketch comedy television series.
Improvising is an interactive theater technique where cast members feed off the audience to create short comedy skits on the spot. The Wayland improv show will take place at 2 pm on Sunday, November 23rd in the Wayland High School Little Theater. Tickets cost ten dollars and can be purchased at the middle school and high school main offices, as well as at the Wayland Depot. Proceeds of the show will benefit CAPA (Creative Arts Parents Association) and the Purple Crayon.