Comedy show at Wesley bringing different religions together
Wesley Church, After Hours improvisation group and three comedians are joining forces to perform a faith-based comedy show.
"Religarious" will combine religion, comedy and discussion at 8 p.m Friday at Wesley at CMU, 1400 S. Washington St.
“I wanted to create an event to show everyone that religious people can be comedians and have fun too," said Ryan Lathrop, Religarious creator and Grant senior. "I want to show people how religious perspectives can leak into comedy and how they are related."
Jeffrey Conolly, Khurum Sheikh and Central Michigan University alumnus Ben Curley will present a variety of stories, jokes and discussion. Each performer will do five to seven minutes of stand up and then provide time for discussion after, Curley said.
Registered student organization After Hours Improv will also be performing sketches.
The purpose of the event is to show different religious and comedic point of views and how they should be respected, Lathrop said.
A lot of things shape comedy, especially upbringing and religion, he said.
“Ryan found several comedians who have a background to bring to the table," Curley said. "We all have different things that make us knowledgeable about the subject, but we’re also comedians. It’s going to be funny, but we’re going to try and get people to think.”
The night will be full of jokes about religious things that have been seen or heard by each comedian, Curley said.
Curley said humor is a good way to bring people together and people should come with an open mind and come ready to interact and ask questions.
Pastor Charlie Farnum, director of Wesley, said he is excited to see people discuss their faith openly while having a good time.
"Not much is better than a free comedy show," Farnum said. "We’re not trying to get anyone to convert or anything — we just want some discussion and thinking going on"
