Tom Fedor/The Gazette Five local celebrities will perform Friday in the Frederick Arts Council’s “Improv with the Stars.” Performers, shown during a recent practice, include Frederick Alderman Michael O’Connor, state Del. Kelly Schulz (R-Dist. 4A) of New Market, Brunswick City Administrator Rick Weldon, Stephen Parnes, the head of the Banner School in Frederick, and Bob Miller, a radio talk show host with 930 WFMD.

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Tom Fedor/The Gazette Performers starring in the Frederick Arts Council’s “Improv with the Stars” event work with improvisational artists Courtney McLaughlin of the Comedy Pigs and Joe Brady, the theater director at Hood College, to prepare for the performance. Bob Miller, left, and Stephen Parnes try not to laugh as the work together in a dialogue-based game in which they must hold a conversation by alternating statements and having each sentence begin with the subsequent letter of the alphabet.
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Tom Fedor/The Gazette Performers starring in the Frederick Arts Council’s “Improv with the Stars” event work with improvisational artists Courtney McLaughlin of the Comedy Pigs and Joe Brady, the theater director at Hood College, to prepare for the performance. Bob Miller, left, and Stephen Parnes, of the Banner School, try not to laugh during a recent rehearsal as the work together in a dialogue-based game in which they must hold a conversation by alternating statements and having each sentence begin with the subsequent letter of the alphabet.
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Tom Fedor/The Gazette Brunswick City Administrator Rick Weldon and Kelly Schulz (R-Dist. 4A) of New Market rehearse a dialogue game called expert translation, in which one persons pretends to speak in a foreign language ad the other makes up translation. Both are performing in Friday’s “Improv with the Stars” event, hosted by the Frederick Arts Council.
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Tom Fedor/The Gazette Kelly Schulz (R-Dist. 4A) of New Market, center, can't contain her laughter during a recent rehearsal for “Improv with the Stars,” as Bob Miller, right, adds his humor to a guessing game, while Stephen Parnes looks on and Frederick Alderman Michael O'Connor, left, guesses the odd character trait of each of the performers. Five local celebrities will star in the Frederick Arts Council’s show, including Schulz, Parnes, O’Connor and Brunswick City Administrator Rick Weldon, as well as Bob Miller, a radio talk show host with 930 WFMD.
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Tom Fedor/The Gazette Five local celebrities will perform Friday in the Frederick Arts Council’s “Improv with the Stars.” Performers, shown during a recent practice, include Frederick Alderman Michael O’Connor, state Del. Kelly Schulz (R-Dist. 4A) of New Market, Brunswick City Administrator Rick Weldon, Stephen Parnes, the head of the Banner School in Frederick, and Bob Miller, a radio talk show host with 930 WFMD. Weldon and Courtney McLaughlin, center, are frozen in position as Schulz, right, comes in to replace McLaughlin in this physical game during a recent rehearsal.

Tom Fedor/The Gazette Five local celebrities will perform Friday in the Frederick Arts Council’s “Improv with the Stars.” Performers, shown during a recent practice, include Frederick Alderman Michael O’Connor, state Del. Kelly Schulz (R-Dist. 4A) of New Market, Brunswick City Administrator Rick Weldon, Stephen Parnes, the head of the Banner School in Frederick, and Bob Miller, a radio talk show host with 930 WFMD.

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Michael O’Conner (D) spent 20 years in radio and television before being elected to the Frederick Board of Aldermen in 2009.

He also performed in plays, including “My Fair Lady,” “The Mousetrap,” “You Can’t Take It With You,” “HMS Pinafore” and “Peter Pan.”

And on Friday O’Conner will join other current and former politicians, as well as an educator and a local radio talk show host for an improvisational comedy performance in Frederick city.

“This is very different than sitting at the dais and trying to maintain decorum,” he said of the unscripted performance. “I’ve done nothing quite like it.”

For the performance, O’Conner will be joined by state Del. Kelly Schulz (R-Dist. 4A) of New Market; Brunswick City Administrator Rick Weldon, a former Frederick County commissioner and state delegate, as well as Stephen Parnes, the head of the Banner School in Frederick and Bob Miller, a radio talk show host with 930 WFMD.

The “Improv with the Stars” event begins at 8 p.m. on Friday at the Cultural Arts Center in Frederick. Tickets are $15, and proceeds will benefit Frederick Arts Council programs and classes.

“We are always seeking ways to engage the public in the arts,” said Shuan Butcher, Executive Director of the Frederick Arts Council. “This fusion of ‘Dancing with the Stars’ and ‘Whose Line is it Anyway?’ is one way to get local community leaders involved.”

The performers have been practicing leading up to the event, which is expected to include comedic skits performed with improvisational artists.

“The other stuff has all been scripted,” O’Conner said of his previous acting experience. “With this you’ve got to roll with the punches. You have to be prepared for the unforseen.”

O’Conner said this will be a good way for audience members to see politicians as human beings.

“It’s an opportunity to see folks participating in a different realm,” he said.

Weldon also is not new to performing in front of an audience. He has been active in community theater, having worked in several regional companies in Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia.

This will be his first shot at performing improvisational skits, he said.

“I’m terrified,” he said. “It’s not like anything I’ve ever done before.”

Weldon said there is no comparison to acting in a play using a written script, to performing spontaneously and creating dialogue and plots as you go along.

“It’s like walking on a tight rope without a net,” he said.

Schulz would probably agree.

“I’ve been told just not to think about your next response,” she said. “I’m obviously a little nervous. I loved the two practices. I’ve become much more comfortable.”

Schulz, who is serving her first term in the Maryland House of Delegates, said after a week working with fellow lawmakers in Annapolis, she finds the Friday night practices a relaxing way to end the week.

“After two hours, I come out a brand new woman,” she said. “The gift of laughter is so crucial to our world.”

sgreenfield@gazette.net