Cathy Salit and Ken Hughes in the Castillo Theatre production of This is Your Ridiculous Life

On my way to see This Is Your Ridiculous Life, I thought I knew what to expect, since I had seen Castillo’s previous production of TIYRL at its previous location on Greenwich Street last year: Selected audience volunteers have the chance to be “interviewed” by a resident therapist, while the Castillo ensemble reenacts various scenes of the audience members’ lives...

What I had forgotten though, was just how comical it was. The Castillo ensemble, directed by David Nackman, cleverly transformed the mundane aspects of audience members' lives into the most ridiculous, absurd, and delightful interpretations ever imagined. Random events from random people’s lives were instantly brought to life in three dimensions on the stage through a combination of wit, abandon, and a bit of stage magic. It was instant entertainment: within moments of an audience member’s recollections, the ensemble was in costume breathing new life into old memories. In addition to this magic were the masterful improvisational soundscapes by the sound engineer Michael Klein.

Pam Lewis and David Nackman

One would think that to offer one's own life experiences as improvisational fodder would require a fair amount of courage on the part of the audience volunteer. With that in mind, TIYRL must attract some of the bravest audiences in New York. I had been told before the show that if I had wanted to be an audience volunteer, I would have to put considerable effort into getting the director’s attention between skits. They weren’t kidding.

As much as I tried, I didn't get a chance to get up on stage, but I did get to talk to some of those that did. One audience volunteer, Rachel, was an attorney whose “ridiculous life” revolved around photographing celebrities and rubbing elbows with gorgeous Argentinean polo players in the Hamptons. The Castillo ensemble skillfully portrayed not only the Argentinean men, but their talking horses too. When I asked Rachel why she volunteered to get up on stage, she said, “Well, I just really like talking to people about the things I do and the places I go. I also like talking in front of large groups of people. What better place to do that than on a stage!”

Incidentally, several audience volunteers that night were part of a therapy group on a theater outing. I don’t know what they were in therapy for, but it surely wasn’t for lack of courage. One fellow told me that he wanted to get up on stage because he wanted to try something new. Group therapy was good, but now he wanted to speak to a therapist in front of an audience.

Another woman from the same therapy group told about how she was most interested in how the ensemble would portray not only the people in her life, but also her pets.

TIYRL was improvisational chutzpah at its finest. It took not only skill on the part of the ensemble, but chutzpah on the part of the audience as well. Next time I go to a production of TIYRL, I'm going to sit way up front and center. Look out!