Science Riot, a Front Range-based nonprofit dedicated to increasing public enthusiasm for science through stand-up comedy, promises an evening of laughing and learning at the Ivywild School Auditorium on Saturday.

Billed as a “hilarious, TED talk-style performance,” the comedy show will feature seven scientists, each performing a stand-up routine based on their respective areas of expertise.

“We solicit professionals to communicate science in the form of stand-up comedy,” said event coordinator David Westmoreland. “We’ve been at it for nine years, and we’ve gotten pretty good at it.”

To the uninitiated observer, the pros and cons of fecal transplants, or the courting and mating rituals of flies, might not seem like ideal topics for comedy. But Westmoreland said the performances are well-crafted, edgy and often wildly funny.

“Some of these performances are hilarious,” he said. “We get very positive feedback.”

Phoebe Lostroh, a molecular biology professor at Colorado College, attended a Science Riot show a few years ago and thought it would be fun to try. This year, she’s directing the show.

“Our main goal is always to convey an important message to our audience, but we want to do it in a comedic way,” Lostroh said.

“For example, one of our performers is an engineer who works with lumber and structural engineering to construct buildings, which sounds really dry at first. But we identified some technical language that she can use to make double-entendres, or connect it to pop culture, and we think her routine is pretty funny.”

The nonprofit recruits experts from a broad range of scientific disciplines, including microbiology, paleontology, computer science, geology and neuropsychology, and puts them through a series of comedy writing and performance workshops. Upon completion of the crash course, a scientist is able to craft a five- to 10-minute comedic talk about a scientific topic.

Science Riot performers enjoy a good deal of latitude, Westmoreland said. There are only three rules: the talk has to be informative, the only tool they can use is a microphone and, of course, the set has to be funny.

In addition to highlighting the lighter side of science, the nonprofit aims to simplify complex scientific topics and to show that while scientists take their jobs seriously, they don’t always take themselves seriously.

Westmoreland cautions that Science Riot performances are not for children. Attendees expecting a “Bill Nye the Science Guy” vibe will be in for a shock.

“The Cool Science Festival has a lot to offer young people, but it isn’t just for kids,” Westmoreland said. “There are a number of adult-themed events that take place, and this is one of them. This is definitely adult comedy. The stuff we say is not what you’re likely to hear in a science classroom.”

Lostroh agrees that the comedy bits can get a little spicy.

“There’s usually some sexual innuendo, and sometimes some political humor, though we make sure the political humor doesn’t include any personal attacks,” she said. “It’s definitely for adult audiences.”

The idea of performing a stand-up routine in front of a live audience can be scary, Lostroh said. But audiences understand that these are amateur performers who have developed their routines over the course of a few weeks, and they tend to be supportive.

“The amazing thing, to me, is that the audience loves us,” she said “They are interested in science to begin with, and they want to see us awkward scientists succeed as comics, so they give us a lot of support and great laughs. There’s never been any heckling at any Science Riot that I’ve seen.”

The audience can also serve as a kind of feeder system for the Science Riot program, according to Lostroh.

“Every time we perform, we recruit new scientists, because they think we’re funny,” she said.

The Science Riot is one of the concluding events of the Cool Science Festival, and organizers are optimistic that the show will serve as an amusing final flourish to the two-week STEM fest.

“We love to teach the audience about science, and also make them laugh,” Lostroh said. “It’s a fun and informative way to spend a Saturday evening.”