Sarasota Improv Festival
Sarasota Improv Festival
The 10th Anniversary Sarasota Improv Festival will take place on July 12, 13, 14 - that's THREE days of non-stop comedy coming your way. Troupes are coming from all over the country - and from as far away as France and Spain - all ready to bring their best spontaneous hilarity to the Gulf Coast.
Featuring not one, not two, but an unprecedented THREE headliners - Baby Wants Candy (Chicago), Impro Madrid (Spain), and Impro Theatre (LA) - one for each day of the Festival. Plus, several returning favorites including North Coast (NYC), Parallelogramophonograph (Austin, TX), ImprovBoston (Boston, MA), STACKED (Chicago, IL), and Available Cupholders (Austin, TX).
FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
Thursday, July 12
7PM - FST Improv (Sarasota, FL)
8PM - Impro Theatre (Los Angeles, CA)
Friday, July 13
6PM - Florida Showcase: Dear Aunt Gertrude (Tampa, FL), Third Thought (St. Petersburg, FL), and When X Meets Y (Sarasota, FL)
6PM - ImprovBoston (Boston, MA)
7PM - North Coast Improv (New York City, NY)
7PM - Orange Tuxedo (Los Angeles, CA)
8PM - Available Cupholders (Austin, TX)
8PM - La Carpe Haute (Strasbourg, France)
8PM - Baby Wants Candy (Chicago, IL)
9PM - Dad's Garage (Atlanta, GA)
9PM - Parallelogramophonograph (Austin, TX)
9PM - STACKED (Chicago, IL)
10PM - Impromadrid (Madrid, Spain)
Saturday, July 14
5PM - Florida Showcase: Just the Funny (Miami, FL), Sick Puppies (Boca Raton, FL), and Square One Improv (Naples, FL)
5PM - Hawk & Wayne (St, Petersburg, FL)
5PM - La Carpe Haute (Strasbourg, France)
6PM - Available Cupholders (Austin, TX)
6PM - Big Bang Improv (Sarasota, Austin, NYC)
6PM - STACKED (Chicago, IL)
7PM - Sarasota Improv Festival All-Stars
7PM - Dad's Garage (Atlanta, GA)
7PM - ImprovBoston (Boston, MA)
7PM - Impro Theatre (Los Angeles, CA)
8PM - Parallelogramophonograph (Austin, TX)
8PM - SAK Comedy Lab (Orlando, FL)
8PM - Orange Tuxedo (Los Angeles, CA)
9PM - Baby Wants Candy (Chicago, IL)
10:30PM - All Play
WORKSHOP SCHEDULE
Saturday, July 14
9:00-11:00AM
Fresh Out of the Womb
Lead by Square One Improv
Do you remember the day you were born? The discovery, the curiosity. Wouldn't it be so nice to do each scene with a completely blank slate? This workshop focuses on letting each scene find its way naturally. No pre-planned ideas; no agendas. When you leave, you will feel like a newborn baby, fresh out of the womb.
See It, Feel It, React to It
Lead by Sick Puppies Improv
Do you feel like you get lost in a scene because so much information has been given already? Do you feel as though you are letting a scene run by before locking into something? In this workshop, we will work on finding that moment and how to generate everything you need to make a scene work from it so you don't have to be an idea generator. Learn how to improv more from less.
Looking for the End
Lead by Impromadrid
A good improvised story should awaken interest and emotionally touch the audience. For the construction of a good story you need a good foundation: character, space and event. From there, the improvisers work so that the rhythm of the story captivates the viewer and has a very clear ending. In the workshop, we will remember the structure of the classic narrative, the way to use it in improvisation and how it leads us towards the very clear end. Everything has to do with the hero, his goal and the way to achieve it.
A French Lesson in Physicality
Lead by La Carpe Haute
Your body isn't just a vehicle to go from a place to another. Your mind isn't just a control tower, slightly connected to your body by your spine. You are entire, so BE entire. This is a workshop about connecting the mind to the body, to recreate what should never have been separated: you. Using crazy games to create an instinctive reaction right from your body, you will learn to develop your physicality from top to toe, and to be conscious of it. Once you have forgotten your brain, you will use your body to reconnect and control your mind, create realistic reactions and surprise yourself. Accept to loose control, your body knows how you feel!
Intro to Musical Improv
Lead by STACKED
Love music? Love improv? Combine the two! Come join us for our Intro to Musical Improv Workshop! Taught by the ladies of Stacked:All-Female Musical Improv, the workshop will focus on basic song structure chorus building rhyming harmonizing theatricality and creating that perfect show stopping solo duet or group number!
Reinventing Short-Form
Lead by Improv Boston
Every decent improviser knows shortform, right? Not so fast. If you think shortform is easy, hack, or gimmicky, you're not doing it right. Discover the art of shortform. Learn how to connect with an audience, attack the stage, and find the game within the game. Geek out on structures, comedic angles, and ever-elusive hosting techniques. Gain valuable scenic, collaborative, character, audience interaction, and fast-play skills that you can apply to most any other style of improv. One thing's for sure: after this workshop, you’ll never look at shortform the same way.
It All Matters
Lead by Third Thought Improv
How to use every bit of information to create interesting & compelling scenes that are rich & full of emotion.
11:30AM - 1:30PM
Improvise Like a Married Couple
Lead by Orange Tuxedo
The same communication skills that make for a good relationship make for a good improvised scene. Real-life married couple Craig and Carla Cackowski (from the duo Orange Tuxedo) share their favorite exercises that foster open communication between scene partners! Learn how to read each other’s minds, express your ideas clearly, and avoid arguments (while still getting what you want).
Here and Now
Lead by La Carpe Haute
Why do we improvise? What do we reallywant to share with the audience? Stories of course... but not just any! Improvisers often tell stories about characters who are not here in a time which is not now... And forget the main point: the most powerful and important story is the one they are currently living on stage, with their partner. Who are they for each other ? How deep is their relationship? What are they dreaming of ? In this workshop we'll discover all of it with our feelings, our body and our instinct. Step by step we'll find what's really matter for the characters and why they are playing these scene. To be sincerely improvising here and now, with our partner.
Deft Theft
Lead by Parallelogramophonograph
We are all human beings, and as humans, we love and chase compelling stories and memorable characters. But how do we make memorable characters on-the-spot in improvised theatre? One delightful tool is the archetype Rolodex! The character types you love from books, movies, and television are right at your fingertips - and actually - already in your brain! In this workshop, you’ll learn to access and recognize dozens of character types and use your own body and voice to fully inhabit them. “Stealing” has never been this fun or useful!
Getting to Know Will
Lead by SAK
Are you tired of just adding “th” at the end of all your words in Shakespeare scenes? Unpack the beautiful language that is Shakespeare and apply it to your short- and long-form improv! Explore key Shakespearean language devices such as allusion, alliteration and antithesis (and that’s just the a’s!) and see how they can add authenticity, color and comedy to your work. No prior Shakespearean experience needed, but a little advanced reading or YouTube binging couldn’t hurt!
Musical (All Form)
Lead by ImprovBoston
Do you love musical longform? Do you love musical shortform? Have you been searching for the Unified Theory of Improv — a way to use all the improv skills, approaches, and structures you’ve picked up over the years? Welcome to AllForm, ImprovBoston’s signature philosophy. Every tool you’ve ever used is on the table when we dive into AllForm; we take this amazing freedom and kick it up a notch by adding a serious dose of music to the mix. Follow the fun to discover how every moment, lyric, beat, melody, lay-on, and movement in a show can be instantaneously deconstructed, producing boundless connections. We’ll fly the plane as we build it in mid air.
2:00PM - 4:00PM
Improvised Hip Hop
Lead by North Coast
This introductory musical improv workshop introduces you to the basics of Hip Hop Improv: the combination of free-style rapping and scene work. North Coast will guide you through the basics of free-styling which, instead of forcing the rhyme, is all about gaining access to the rhymes that have been in your catalogue since you were a kid. Learn how to set yourself up, find your flow, and weave your rapped verses into your improv scene work!
Caring About Stuff
Lead by Dad's Garage
In life, we constantly have invested feelings about what we want, actions we want to make, and words that readily spill out of our mouths. But sometimes when we are improvising we find ourselves marooned on stage, not sure what to say or what to do; we are just lost. This workshop will give you the tools to combat those uncertain moments by caring about something in your scene work, making it as effortless as living your life.
Short Form Tune Up
Lead by SAK
Short Form Improv shows are sure-fire audience favorites. For audiences, the shows are fast paced and unique. Plus, the constant need for suggestions keeps the audience invested in the show unfolding before them. But, for players, sometimes short form shows feel repetitive and un-fulfilling, often because the laughs come from the structures and "tricks" in the games. When we rely solely on these, that's when our short form needs a tune up. Join this workshop and re-discover the joys of playing short form games and putting on shows, but this time, with a long form mentality that focuses on reacting to your partner, not the game!
Mime and Object Work
Lead by La Carpe Haute
Play truly in your imaginary environment. Be more in the moment and more grounded to the reality of your scene. A clear vision of your environment, the objects and furniture around, their size and weight are a helpful friend that make your stories more believable for you and your audience. This workshop will train your body to play truthfully in your imaginary environments and make them more visible for you and your audience. It finds its inspiration in Lecoq’s work, clown, commedia dell’arte
Movement from the Inside
Lead by Available Cupholders
Feeling stuck inside your own body as an improviser? Looking for new ways to make physical choices on stage? Want to take your stage picture skills to a whole new level? This workshop based on viewpoints and the Danceability Method is for you. Michael Joplin (Available Cupholders, Los Angeles) is a certified Danceability instructor and has studied and taught contact improvisation, viewpoints, and improv comedy for over 15 years. In this movement based workshop you will learn to upgrade your awareness, listen with your whole body, and learn to make interesting relationships and magic in any space with anyone. Please wear clothes you are comfortable moving in.
Troupes
Available Cupholders
Baby Wants Candy
Big Bang Improv
Dad's Garage
Dear Aunt Gertrude
FST Improv
Hawk and Wayne
Impro Madrid
Impro Theatre
ImprovBoston
Just the Funny
La Carpe Haute
North Coast Improv
Orange Tuxedo
Parallelogramophonograph
SAK Comedy Lab
Sick Puppies Comedy
Square One Improv
STACKED: All Female Musical Improv
The Third Thought
Available Cupholders (Austin, TX) theatre ensemble is dedicated to producing experimental, enriching and entertaining improvisational comedy. The Cupholders aspire to explore and expose an art form cloaked in natural communication, believing Improv to be the theatre of everyday existence. Unlocking the power of this art form through live performance and various performative media, they strive to be on the cusp of a daring theatrical experience that takes place anytime, anywhere. Their goal is to elevate the form and playing field, shedding light on the ever-changing zeitgeist in which we live, with belly laughs along the way. "If you don't know Available Cupholders, you don't know improv." - Austin Chronicle"
Baby Wants Candy (Chicago, IL) Baby Wants Candy is one of the best known, longest runningand most celebrated improv shows in the world. The show is COMPLETELY improvised. Every note the actors sing, every song the band plays, every single character and line of dialogue is created in the moment, based on an audience suggestion. With runs in NYC, Chicago, Los Angeles and an international touring company Baby Wants Candy has worldwide base of rabid fans, has performed over 3,500 completely improvised musicals and has helped spawn the careers of top comedic actors and writers in the US. The BWC show is a roller-coaster ride of spontaneously choreographed dance numbers, rhyming verses and witty, jaw-dropping comedy.
Big Bang Improv (Sarasota, Boston, NYC) Boston style free-form that has been wowing New England audiences and at festivals around the world for years. The entire set moves seamlessly from one scene to the next at the rate of over a scene a minute all following the group play philosophy of "follow the funny". The show builds rapidly and culminates in a series of surprising and organic callbacks done through the unique editing styling and story telling of this Boston super-team. This is a high-energy improv experience that redefines itself with every performance.
Dad's Garage (Atlanta, GA) Diamond Scrapyard presented by Dad's Garage is comprised of Andy "Diamond" Coen and Whittney "Scraps" Millsap. They are two improvisers who once dated for nine months in 2011, and while the romantic fires were burning out, the creative magic was just heating up! Ever since their break up, Whittney and Andy have been improvising together. Diamond Scrapyard is a swirling wild tornado of head meets heart, in the improvised exploration of dynamic relationships and the complex emotions that follow.
Dear Aunt Gertrude (Tampa, FL) or DAG for short, is one of the longest running, long form improv teams, in the Tampa area. Their home theater is at the Box in Tampa off Fowler, you can see what’s going on at the Box at Box improv.com. And a special thanks to Crystal Haralambou more making it all happen. Without her there would be no Box.
FST Improv (Sarasota, FL) Sarasota's Original Anti-depressant. FST Improv is the place to go when you're looking for some fun, need reminding that everyone is nuts, or if you have nowhere else to go. Taking what is right in front of them, in the form of audience suggestions, FST Improv creates characters and sketches on the spot. No one – not even the performers themselves – knows what is going to happen next. It is this element of the unknown that makes every Improv show unique –and what makes for some exciting moments onstage.
Hawk and Wayne (St. Petersburg, FL) Gavin Hawk and Ricky Wayne have performed longform improvisation together in residence at American Stage in St. Petersburg as the duo Hawk and Wayne for the past nine years, each year changing their show’s format. Their new show, Anywhere, USA, is presented in the Susan R. Hough Lobby every first Sunday of the month at 7:00PM. They have also co-created a successful longform improvisation training program at American Stage, which has produced two new house teams that now are also in residence at American Stage on every third Sunday of the month. For more information on shows and the American Stage Improv Training Program, please visit americanstage.org/improv/, and please like Hawk and Wayne on Facebook at facebook.com/hawkandwayne/.
Impromadrid (Madrid, Spain) Impromadrid is an impro theater company founded in 2000. They have created 10 original impro shows and their work has been seen in many countries (Brasil, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, Portugal, Italia, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, Finland...) Impromadrid are the organizers of the International Impro Festival of Madrid. They have a school in Spain and at the present time the play in the spanish National Radio.
Impro Theatre (Los Angeles, CA) creates completely improvised, full-length plays in the styles of the world’s greatest playwrights, authors and composers. With no pre-planning or prepared scenarios, the performers combine verbal dexterity and robust physicality to bring character and plot to life in an instant, making each Impro Theatre show unique and unlike any other theatrical experience. Founded as Los Angeles Theatresports in 1988, Impro Theatre has evolved from a successful short form improv troupe into a critically acclaimed improvisational theatre company. The Los Angeles Times calls them, “Amazing! One of the funniest evenings in town. The troupe spins an entire play into comedy gold right before your eyes.”
ImprovBoston (Boston, MA) Showcasing their unique AllForm style of play, ImprovBoston improvisers expertly blends games, scenes, skillful storytelling, off-the-cuff music, and audience participation into unforgettably hilarious performances. This ensemble representing Boston's best improvisers explores a form that redefines itself with every performance. No rules. No boundaries. Just one brand of spectacular improvised comedy that has put ImprovBoston on the map for 35 years.
Just the Funny (Miami, FL) Miami's Home for Improv and Sketch Comedy since 1999 is going to bring the heat with their award-winning "Miami-style" brand of longform improv comedy based on YOUR suggestions. Big energy, big fun and not for the faint of heart, Just The Funny is going to leave you begging for more!
La Carpe Haute (Strasbourg, France) is a professional troupe of improv comedy performers. Full of energy, it is born from a strong bond between ten friendly and humbly talented comedians. Their aim is to create shows using their solid experience in improv and all the artistic aspects they have practiced, such as classic theater, clowning, music, dance, acting, directing. Their unique style is driven by playfulness, body language, and sillyness! But also, they love when their scenes are full of thruthfullness and sincerity.
North Coast Improv (New York City, NY) North Coast is New York City’s premier hip hop improv comedy team. With a cast of improv comedy veterans in New York City, North Coast’s explosive performances have been packing comedy venues, universities, and festivals nationwide since 2009. Built around a single suggestion from an audience member, the show’s improvised scenes escalate into full-blown hip-hop songs, facilitated by resident beatboxer, Ethan “Exacto” Scott.
Orange Tuxedo (Los Angeles, CA) is a two-person improv show from a husband and wife team who, collectively, have been doing improv for seven hundred years. In this show they aim to create grounded relationships formed by eccentric characters. Craig teaches improvisation at iO West, Carla teaches at The Second City in Hollywood. If you like comedy, you may have seen Craig wear various mustaches and costume pieces on Comedy Central’s "Drunk History." If you like drunken history, you may have seen Carla drink various beers on Instagram. They perform regularly at The Second City in Hollywood and recently traveled to Austin for the Out of Bounds Comedy Festival (2015), SF Sketchfest (San Francisco 2016, 2017, 2018), Phoenix Improv Festival (2016), Del Close Marathon (NYC 2016), Stumptown Improv Fest (Portland 2016, 2017), Detroit Improv Festival (2016, 2017), IF Cincinnati (2016), Denver Improv Festival (2016), Providence Improv Festival (2017), San Francisco Improv Festival (2017), and London, UK (2016).
Parallelogramophonograph (Austin, TX) In their "New Works," A Dramatists Play Service catalog is used to inspire the premier of a never-before-seen, fully-improvised one act play. The whim and desire of the audience is taken into account, creating an evening of bespoke theatre for those looking to be surprised.
SAK Comedy Lab (Orlando, FL) Nowhere else in Florida will you find a place like SAK Comedy Lab. Since 1991, our professional ensemble of improv actors has entertained audiences with our unique brand of live improvised comedy. We take your suggestions and make up characters, scenes and songs on the spot. Our comedy is fun and edgy for adults, but also widely enjoyed by our younger fans.
Sick Puppies Comedy (Boca Raton, FL) Established in 2012, Sick Puppies Comedy was started by Casey Casperson and 12 of his improv friends. After their previous company had broken up, they started performing shows in Boca Raton. Nearly 5 years later, the company has expanded to 23 cast members, 50 current students and over 400 past students to create 3 ensemble teams as well as 2 house teams. They perform most of their shows at Center Stage Boca Raton where they also teach improv and stand up comedy.
Square One Improv (Naples, FL) People say that fairytale love stories don't happen in real life. But when the players from Square One Improv met, they proved the world wrong. Square One is the sweet union of a lawyer, a real estate agent, a contractor, a drug rep, and a recording artist. Sound like the setup for a hilarious joke? That's because it is.
STACKED: All Female Musical Improv (Chicago, IL) Takes a suggestion of one word and delivers musical hilarity in four part harmony. For the past seven years, the ladies of Stacked have been amazing audiences across the nation. They've been teaching and headlining festivals for nearly a decade and are thrilled to grace the stages of Sarasota once again. Their shows full of high energy, big characters, catchy songs and no apologies. STACKED is Stacey Smith, Jenna Steege, Erin Goldsmith and Katie Yore.
The Third Thought (Tampa, FL) After a serendipitous meeting in 2010 at a drop-in workshop, The Third Thought has been delighting Tampa Bay Audiences weekly along with playing festivals around the state and the Del Close Marathon in NYC. The Third Thought offers workshops and classes throughout the area along with corporate and specialized teaching opportunities.