more on CSz's local demise

Bobo spoke with Kasey Christie, who initiated the Spokane branch of ComedySportz five years ago, who's closely involved with the national offices of CSz, and who is a patent attorney here in town.
Christie decided last summer that he wanted out because of other time commitments; so did general manager Lisa Griffin. Basically, it was a case of the organization's two spearhead figures running out of time for commitment. They sold the business last September to their former sales manager, who "had some tumultuous things happen in his life," and the business went under.
Christie continued his involvement, playing improv-comedy shows both here and at the Portland branch in the months since he decided to sell the CSz license in Spokane.
Christie emphasizes that Griffin deserves "great praise -- she's the one who kept it going the last several years, not me."
"But it never really took off in Spokane," says Christie -- "never really had enough money. It really requires a dedicated full-time person."
Improv comedians tend to catch the bug, and there are still CSz veterans around town, and some talk of trying to revive the Spokane chapter.
The space on Riverside Avenue sits empty; it's owned by Rob Brewster's Conover Bond company.
But the process for obtaining a license from the national CSz organization is now "more formalized," Christie says. Anyone who wants to revive CSz here, he says, "needs good business sense, money, and knowledge of how to train people to pull off improv comedy."
"ComedySportz captured a lot of souls in Spokane," says Christie. 'It was a blessing in the lives of many people to have positive comedy in the community."