ImprovBoston Celebrates Geek Culture, 4/25-29

For four days at the end of April, ImprovBoston is celebrating all that is Geek, with their sixth annual Geek Week. From April 25-29, the theatre will feature improv, musical, sketch, and stand-up comedy and storytelling that celebrates science fiction, fantasy, comic books, anime, videogames, and superheroes – everything geek. Geek Week begins on Wednesday, April 25th and runs through Sunday, April 29th. Tickets cost $18-$12 and are available online at www.improvboston.com or by calling 617-576-1253.

Geek Week takes over both the ImprovBoston Mainstage and Studio space. It begins with a performance by Comics and Comics on the ImprovBoston Mainstage at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 25. This hilarious evening features stand-up comedians performing the geekiest stand-up comedy imaginable. The material presented within the show covers all things fanboy: comic books, movies, videogames, role-playing, action figures, etc. The show was created by stand-up veteran Tom Franck who books comedians who are not only the finest working today, but who have the geek street cred appropriate for the show. Franck himself can claim the ultimate nerd comedian status as an appearance in Green Lantern 143 labeled him as the top comedian in the DC universe.

The week continues with shows all night long on Thursday, April 26. That evening features a killer closing set featuring stand-up comedy from The Nerds of Prey and a sketch comedy show from Sawyer and Hurley called The Complete Works of Batman (Abridged). Nerds of Prey is a stand-up comedy dream team consisting of five guys who would never be picked to play for any sort of organized sport's team. They are: Tim Vargulish, Matt D., Gary Petersen, and Sean Wilkinson. The show is hosted by Casey Malone. ImprovBoston sketch comedy darlings Sawyer and Hurley take on the caped crusader in this tour-de-force comedic tribute to every on-screen appearance of their favorite super hero. The show begins with the introduction of "The Batman" in 1939, and then leapfrog forward in time – catching comedic glimpses of every live-action incarnation of the Dark Knight – from the campy 1960's to the dark 2000's.

Friday night in the studio features Sarah Koske's humorous but scientifically and medically-based lecture on the Virology of Werewolfism. It describes the history of werewolfism, symptoms of clinical disease, pathophysiology of the condition induced by the virus, and addresses treatment and prevention. Her talk is followed by an appearance from pedantic humorist Jennifer Dziura, best known as co-host of the Williamsburg Spelling Bee. This piece, ¡The Punctuation Show! (How to Use Tiny Symbols to Make Meaning Without %$^&#* Up), is a fun-filled (and pun-filled) romp through the major punctuation marks, those that never quite took off, and some unorthodox uses of punctuation. Dziura makes those tiny symbols on the printed page mean more than you ever imagined.

Friday Night closes on the Mainstage with stand-up comedy from Anthony Scibelli. His material examines life, death, video games, sex, Star Wars and video games. Utilizing his background in stand-up and improv, Anthony charms audiences with his dry wit and healthy sense of the absurd. His show is followed by a Harry Potter themed sketch comedy show, HufflePuffed! from Greensboro North Carolina's Mon Frere.

Saturday starts with the ImprovBoston Family Show on the Mainstage and continues throughout the night. Thunderstood, A.J. Schraeder's multimedia experience that examines the absurdities in life that most people overlook because they aren't as weird and nerdy as he is, begins the closing set on the MainStage. Fictional comedian, Andrew 12-Sided Dice Clay, the ultimate geek comic closes out the Studio. He's the bad-boy of the comic book shop who shares raunchy rants about Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, Doctor Who, Krull and Batman.

Geek Week closes Sunday April 29. Uke Skywalker Meets Mando Calrissian (in the Cloud City) performs in the first show on the Main Stage. A cover song in their inimitable style starts the set; a series of short improvised scenes -- with puppets -- follows, based on audience suggestions and inspired by the song. The evening continues on the MainStage with a performance of True Believers from Vagabond Theatre. True Believers is an ensemble play that tells the story of star-crossed lovers, psychotic fanboys, aspiring comic book artists, cybernetically enhanced humans, and girls who dress like Princess Leia as their lives intertwine over a weekend at a comic book convention.

Geek Week Schedule:
WEDNESDAY April 25th
Mainstage
8 p.m. Comics on Comics/ Quest
10 p.m. Geek Night Out/Ninja Sex Party

Studio
7:30 p.m. Liquid Fun: "Kamchatka" / Made of Plastic: "The Dungeon Master's Guide"/ Hamaconda: "Leap-Year"
9 p.m. Caitlin Durante/Aeropuerto: "Dodgeprov"/ Achievement Unlocked

THURSDAY April 26th
Mainstage
8 p.m. Briami Sound Machine/ The Itching Man A/V Society Presents: Brian Longwell & Evan O'Television
10 p.m. Nerds of Prey/ Sawyer and Hurley: The Complete Works of Batman (Abridged)

Studio
7:30 pm Achievement Unlocked / Sarah Connor (Standup)/ Matt Kona "One Liners and Tangents and Beards, Oh My! Becoming a Wizard of Oz Geek as an Adult"
9 p.m. Magic the Gathering the Show/ Prom Zombie/ Matt Kona "One Liners and Tangents and Beards, Oh My! Becoming a Wizard of Oz Geek as an Adult"/Will Luera "Mysteries of the Universe Explained"

FRIDAY April 27th
Studio
7:30 p.m. Jack Lees/ Kevin Anglin / Ed Hill / Nick Lavallee: The Other Dude
9 p.m. Sarah Koske Presents: "What Do Werewolves Have in Common with Cold Sores? Lycanosis: The Virology of Werewolfism"/ Jen Dziura's ¡The Punctuation Show! (How to Use Tiny Symbols to Make Meaning Without %$^&#* Up)
10:30 p.m. Jenny Zigrino / Maximum Power / Gymkata

Mainstage
8 p.m. 2010: Our Hideous Future-The Musical!/ The Telethon
10 p.m. Anthony Scibelli / Mon Frere: "HufflePuffed!"

SATURDAY April 28th
Mainstage
6 p.m. Family Show
8 p.m. CSI: Boston, Special Comedy Unit/ Kevin and Matt Geek Out
10 p.m. Thunderstood!/ Jake Young /Overthinking It / Mike Lawrence

Studio
7:30 p.m. Maximum Power/ Ed Hill/ Megan O'Keefe "Julie Bell on Julie Bell"
9 p.m. Board to Pieces/ My Favorite Movie/ Kevin Anglin
10:30 p.m. Made of Plastic: "The Dungeon Master's Guide"/ Andrew 12-sided Dice Clay/ Talk Time with Nzyborg the Vengeance Demon

SUNDAY April 29th
Mainstage
7 p.m. Reckless Sidekick Productions "Hero Envy"/Uke Skywalker Meets Mando Calrissian (In the Cloud City)/ Jack Lees
9 p.m. Kevin Anglin* (Hosting slot) / Vagabond Theatre Presents: "True Believers"
10 p.m. Micah & Michelle/ Daft Agenda/ Harry Roasts "GEEK WEEK"

Studio
7:30 p.m. Rebels Without Applauze/ Nick Lavallee: The Other Dude / Magic the Gathering The Show
9:30 pm Run Button Podcast/ Niraj Shah/Board to Pieces