Arman Chi has loved sketch comedy for as long as he can remember. After joining Electric City Improv and connecting with a handful of like-minded writers, that lifelong love turned into a writing group — and the writing group turned into Mock Turtle Soup, a brand-new sketch comedy show built from scratch by a team of Northeast PA comedians.
Mock Turtle Soup plays the Electric City Trolley Museum on Sunday, October 4 at 2:00 PM. We talked to Arman about swords, straight faces, and bringing homegrown comedy back to his hometown.
In your own words, what is your show about?
Mock Turtle Soup is a comedy sketch show. Naturally, it’s about everything and nothing. The collaborative writing has produced a variety of styles of humor that includes silliness, absurdity, parody, musical comedy, slapstick and one painfully deep glimpse into the ridiculousness of the human condition. The show really has tremendous variety and I’m excited for our cast to have fun making the audience laugh!
What sparked this piece?
I’ve loved sketch comedy as far back as I can remember. I think everyone has at least a few classic sketches that have stuck with them from SNL and other shows. I had written a few sketches years ago and hadn’t used them. Then I joined Electric City Improv in the past year and connected with a few like minded comedic writers and performers and we started a writing group. This caused us to generate new ideas and sketches and it evolved into a new sketch show.
What does “Fringe” mean to you as an artist?
Well, as someone born and raised in Scranton, it means a lot to me to be able to bring our show to the Scranton Fringe Festival. Our whole team lives near Scranton in Northeast PA and I’m proud and grateful that we’re able to bring such creativity and talent to the local scene.
What do you want someone to feel — or think about differently — after seeing your show?
I’d like the audience to leave with a smile on their face of course. Our show is all about having fun and bringing out the laughs. It would be great if some of the more biting bits resonated with people and made them think about things a little differently.
What’s been the hardest or most surprising part of making this?
Keeping a straight face while rehearsing and also figuring out how many swords to include in each scene.
Catch Mock Turtle Soup at the Electric City Trolley Museum on Sunday, October 4 at 2:00 PM, as part of the 2026 Scranton Fringe Festival. Buy tickets here.
