Hype Dreams

Matthew Rice lives a double life. By day, he’s a mild-mannered litigation analyst, crunching writs and legalese for a big-name law firm. But by night, Rice changes out of his suit and tie to join up with nine others, a small cadre of like-minded individuals known as Hypothetical 7 who dabble in the black arts of improv. And since midtowners recently had to say sayonara to the slapstick staple known as Stanford and Sons, Hypothetical 7 provides one of the few comedy options in the urban core.

“What originally drew me to law school is the same thing that drew me to comedy — the possibility of getting up and performing for people and trying to convince them of your point of view,” Rice says. Disillusionment soon followed. “What I found out about litigators is that [the ratio of time spent] being in a courtroom versus filing briefs is about 20-to-1, maybe 100-to-1. So becoming a lawyer lost some of its luster.” Perhaps acting in his own defense, Rice started Hypothetical 7 with a group of theatrically inclined friends.

Eleven years later, the collective is kicking off another season at the Westport Coffee House. Its shows typically involve some combination of standard club improv fare, what Rice describes as “gimmicks and one-liners or long form, where you take a suggestion and, 30 minutes later, it’s over.” In addition to riffing on staples such as “the world’s worst (insert profession here),” Hype 7 also performs blackouts (short, energetic bits that help cleanse the audience’s palate) and — improv heresy! — prerecorded video segments.

Bits such as “Audition” — in which Hype 7 makes up a play, act by act, in front of the audience — pay tribute to the form’s humble beginnings. “It’s challenging not letting it wander off into space and keeping it funny and interesting. It isn’t just knowing how to react but how to act.” And everyone needs reminders about that.