COMEDY | Ad-lib acting

The Portuguese Rodeo Clown Company performs two shows at the Hoogland Center for the Arts, Aug. 3-4. What is a Portuguese Rodeo Clown Company, what do they do and why see them? For those who missed their 2006 Springfield performance, they are an improv group, formed in Detroit in 1995, who take audience suggestions to act out scenes in the same manner seen with The Compass Players, The Second City and on the TV shows, Saturday Night Live and Who’s Line is It Anyway. Thinking fast on their feet, you’ll enjoy the wit, twists, acting, humor and more as the ensemble crafts about 12 scenes lasting 5-7 minutes each. The PRCC includes founding members Mark C. Holden of Detroit, who is a professional actor, and Alice 96.7’s Johnny Molson, who trained in The Second City alongside Holden. They are joined on the Hoogland stage by locals Patrick Russell, Mary Kate Smith and Mary Young. Watch clips of members in action on PRCC’s Facebook page.