Unexpected Productions Hosts 30 HOUR IMPROVATHON FOR 30 YEARS Tonight

30 HOUR IMPROVATHON FOR 30 YEARS! From 6pm Friday to midnight Saturday, Unexpected Productions hosts an improv mega-show! Come celebrate 30 years by laughing. We will have 30 hours of improv. See different styles and show all created by your suggestions.

30 hours of non-stop improv excitement with only a 5 minute break every hour. Audience members who make it through the entire thing will receive a lifetime pass to see any Unexpected show! Lots of different shows and formats and special guests, all comically improvised to keep you entertained for 30 hours!

WHY WOULD WE DO THIS? Are we insane?... maybe a little! Unexpected Productions is celebrating 30 years of performing in Seattle. Now we want to celebrate by doing what we do best...entertaining Seattle. We only hold this event once every few years, and this one is special.

The final show begins at 10:30 PM Saturday ending at midnight. Celebrate Unexpected Productions' 30 year anniversary. Buy a ticket or a weekend pass. The weekend pass allows you to come and go as you please during the Improvathon, or buy a one-time ticket and stay as long as you can. $15 entry fee or $20 for a 30 hour non-stop pass that allows you to come and go. Click HERE for tickets.

Unexpected Productions started out 30 years ago in a Chinese restaurant in Pioneer Square. It has evolved into a leader in improv in Seattle, the greater Pacific Northwest, and the United States. Almost every improv troupe in the city saw it's origin in members that came from Unexpected Productions troupe or students; including Jet City Improv, Blood Squad, ComedySportz, Sisters of Sal, NerdProv, Waiting for Jenkins, Devils Ham, Girls with Power Tools, Cat Pack, Fat Kid Magic, as well as countless others initially drew their artistic first breath in an Unexpected Production rehearsal, show or class. Artistic Directors, Directors, Administration at regional theaters such as Seattle Shakespeare, Seattle Public Theater, Seattle Children's Theater, Book-It Repertory have spent considerable time as members of Unexpected Productions.

Their International Festival of Improv, now in its 17th year, has brought improvisers from around the world to Seattle. After the festival, they bring back to their homes styles and expertise that they learned in Seattle at Unexpected Productions. This festival is so popular that other theaters in cities throughout the world have modeled their own after this Seattle design. Unexpected Productions has a global impact that takes Seattle past the city limits.

From its home at the Market Theater in Seattle's Historic Pike Place Market, Unexpected Productions has created well over 150 original shows. In addition to creating original works, for 30 years, Unexpected Productions' has produced and presented Seattle TheatreSports, the first Theatresports in the United States, and Seattle's longest running show....ever.

Artistic Director, Randy Dixon, a Seattle native, has been with the company 30 years. Dixon is a respected instructor and teaches improv all over the world. He is known for creating the "Seattle Style" of improv, combining the teachings of Del Close and Keith Johnstone in a style that is unique to Seattle and praised the world over. He has written books and numerous articles on the art of improv and storytelling and is in demand as a teacher and director to bring this uniquely NW approach to improv around the world.

Unexpected Productions is notable for a nonprofit theater, for 30 years they have operated in the black, almost exclusively from ticket sales, with little funding from government or corporate support. While doing this, they are providing affordable shows that are unique for Seattle and audiences around the globe.

For 3 decades, Unexpected Productions' Improv School has taught new skills to tens of thousands of students. Now, improv troupes in cities across the country boast members educated by this unique institution.

Many corporations have hired Unexpected Productions not only to teach improv skills, but skills that can apply to everyday life; Active listening, verbal/non-verbal communication, creativity, acceptance of ideas, responding quicker in the moment, flexibility to change, problem solving, and appropriate risk taking. Multinational corporations based in Seattle, like Amazon, Microsoft, Boeing, and Starbucks, have integrated Unexpected Productions' trainings into their daily operations. Local groups like the Space Needle, Boeing, Microsoft, Virginia Mason and Group Health have also integrated Unexpected Productions' distinctive teachings. For 30 years, Unexpected Productions has been helping make Seattle unique.