pgraph-anniversary-photo-booth_Cropped Steve Rogers Photography
Parallelogramophonograph
Parallelogramophonograph
PARALLELOGRAMOPHONOGRAPH (Austin, TX) is an Austin, Texas-based theatre company that loves to make up dynamic improvised plays and theatre in the moment. Fiercely dedicated to the craft and art of improvised theatre, PGraph has held a weekly show non-stop for over 17 years. Intrigued by the challenge of telling fantastic fully improvised stories together as an ensemble, PGraph spent years developing original formats and studying the arts of theatre, improv, and storytelling. They've toured the country and the world performing and teaching their unique brand of improv with ensemble appearances in over 65 cities in the US, Canada, Australia, France, and the UK. They've received a B. Iden Payne for "Outstanding Work in Improvised Theater," an Austin Chronicle "Best of Austin" award, and several Austin Critics Table nominations.
The Cast
Kareem Badr
Kaci Beeler
Roy Janik
Valerie Ward
KAREEM BADR is an actor, writer, and improviser based out of Austin, TX. Kareem’s stage credits include Salieri in Amadeus, The Actor in The Woman in Black (Penfold Theatre) and Nazrullah in Heartland (for both Vortex Rep and Luna Stage in NJ), for which he was awarded the B. Iden Payne for Lead Actor in a Drama. He is one of the owners of The Hideout Theatre, and co-authored Do It Now, a book of essays on instinctual narrative improvisation, with his award-winning improv group Parallelogramophonograph. His fiction podcast script, Curtains, won the Austin Film Festival script competition in 2020.
KACI BEELER is an artist, improviser, writer, and stage and film actor based out of Austin, TX. She has been performing improvisational theatre since 2003 and has toured to over 85 cities and 11 countries to perform and teach. Some career highlights include being named Best Actor/Actress in The Austin Chronicle "Best of Austin" Awards, studying with the PUNCHDRUNK theatre company in London, and improvising in character for HBO’s WESTWORLD experience. You can hear Kaci on national TV and radio daily as a brand voice for Domino’s.
ROY JANIK, in addition to being a member of the renowned ensemble Parallelogramophonograph, is one of the owners and the Artistic Director of The Hideout Theatre in Austin, TX, which specializes in narrative and genre-based improv. Over the years, Roy has directed and created countless shows at The Hideout, including Death by Musical and Austin Secrets, the latter of which has inspired productions in Seattle, Portland, Rhode Island, and more. He is particularly fond of teaching his workshop called "Chase the Ball," which explores a focus-based perspective on improvising.
VALERIE WARD has been a fixture of the Austin Improv scene for over 20 years. She has traveled the world teaching and performing, and co-authored Do It Now, a book on narrative improv, with the rest of her ensemble, Parallelogramophonograph. She is as comfortable playing the upper crust of 17th century French society as she is doing off-the-cuff abstract performance art with her absurdly funny trio, Echo Lake. She also has a fiercely analytical story brain, which she put to good use creating and directing shows such as A Bedtime Gorey, The Dahl House, and A Deed So Dark.
More Festival Performances
Festival Workshops
Dive into your own spontaneity with Sarasota Improv Festival Workshops! Our offerings allow you to learn from the experts with intimate trainings led by Festival artists from across the country and around the world. Featuring workshops in a wide range of improvisational styles and techniques, there is something for improvisers of all experience levels at the 2023 Sarasota Improv Fest. All workshops take place Saturday, July 22.
