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Rubber Chicken Factory leads alumni to professional success 

When Mark and Bethanie Frank came to Coffeyville Community College in the fall of 1994, they had just left Kansas City, Mo. where they were part of a professional improvisational comedy troupe run by now Topeka Civic Theatre Artistic Director, Shannon Reilly. The group was called Laughing Stock, a group Bethanie joined in high school when she was just 18 years of age.

It seemed unpredictable that this format of playing audience participation games and doing sketches ala Saturday Night Live would work for college audiences. Rewind to the spring of 1995 when The Rubber Chicken Factory Improvisational Comedy Troupe was born. The first two shows were in the CCC Cafeteria and every student on theatre scholarship, about eight students at the time, was in the troupe.
 

 Mark Frank with improv troupe

Mark Frank (right) performs with the Coffeyville Community College Rubber Chicken Factory Improv Comedy Troupe.
The first audience had ten people. No one laughed and people walked away wondering what they just saw. The second show faired much better due to better publicity and the cafeteria was packed and word got around that something funny was going on at CCC.

Years passed and the crowds got so big that the shows were eventually performed in the theatre. Two shows a year became six shows a year and suddenly in 2007 you have a full house in a theatre that holds 337 seats.

Twelve years since the first show at have passed and many past students who have performed in the group have gone on to professional success. Josh Misegades (class of 1996) is a professional equity actor in Las Vegas. Sarah Owen (1996) is the Director of Theatre at Neosho County Community College.

Jill Walterscheid (Sueltz) is a high school theatre teacher in Kansas Cit., Erin Harbaugh (Clark) teaches theatre at Tulsa High School.  Michael Bumgarner (2000), Lindsay Oyler (2004), Samantha Bruce (Kennedy) (2004), Cindy Paasch (2005), Jamie McCabe (2005), and Jason Inman (2005)  have all started or been in improv troupes at their colleges they transferred to.

Bumgarner helped create the popular improv troupe Nine Lives at Southwestern; Lindsay Oyler was a member with Chris Cameron of Texas A&M at Commerce, The Crickets. Jamie McCabe and Samantha Kennedy are now members of Zoiks. Samantha's husband runs the troupe for Emporia State University. Cindy Paasch recently started Holy Cow at Rockhurst. Jason Inman is part of a community improv troupe in Tulsa.  And Baker University just started an improv troupe largely due to attending the Rubber Chicken Factory workshops at the annual Thespian Conference.

Some students have also gone on to train at the Second City School. Drew Current (2004) currently writes and performs his own sketch comedy show at Second City and Chris Cameron (2004) has also performed shows at Second City and just recently, Zac Freisberg (2006) was accepted into the school.

Deanna Riggs (2004) was hired as a writer for the David Letterman show. This year Dustin Morby and Michelle Bringle will move to Chicago to train at The Second City School. The students who have moved on from the CCC Theatre program, at least 90% left CCC with a 4.0 grade point average and were either on presidential theatre scholarships or in the Honors program.

The Rubber Chicken Factory has also started to perform shows at colleges including, Emporia State, Rockhurst and area businesses including Amazon.com and many Christmas parties in and out of town. When the troupe started Mark and Bethanie Frank were both 27 years of age. This year they turn 40 and they still perform with their students. They are thinking of retiring from performing in the troupe, so does that mean Artistic Director Bethanie Frank is ready to shut down the Rubber Chicken Factory for good? Don't bet on it. 

As successful as it has been, the Rubber Chicken Factory is running on high speed and continues to place CCC theatre students into the professional theatre and teaching world. Maybe someday that break through chicken will find his or her way on Saturday Night Live or Mad TV. Only time will tell.

The Rubber Chicken Factory performs on the CCC campus six times a year with three shows a semester on Mondays at 9 p.m. The show, about 60 minutes each,  is not for the easily offended and does contain adult language and themes and is not recommended for children. The best part about CCC's Rubber Chicken Factory: it's always free.

Children are also being introduced to improv comedy during the summer theatre camp offered by the Franks.  The children's group is called Chicken Littles.

For more information on how to book Rubber Chicken Factory for your next party or business call Artistic Director, Bethanie Frank 620-251-7700 Ext 2188.