Tickets Now On Sale for SARASOTA IMPROV FESTIVAL

The Sarasota Improv Festival is almost here and tickets are going fast! Three day passes are completely sold out but don't worry, single tickets are now on sale. However, don't wait too long as they are going quickly. Tickets to the headliner performances from BLANK! The Musical are $25. Single tickets to all other performances are $10. All festival tickets are now on sale and may be purchased by calling the Box Office at 941-366-9000, or by going online at www.floridastudiotheatre.org.

"Nowhere else can you see so many quality improv groups performing on one weekend under one roof," says Director of Improv Will Luera of the festival. "ImprovBoston, Big Bang, North Coast, Parallelogramophonograph(PGraph), Complot Escena have all headlined festivals in the last few months and are coming together for one weekend here on the Suncoast."

With each show completely improvised on the spot, audiences and the actors on stage get the chance to experience spontaneous comedy that will never again be repeated. Kaci Beeler of PGraph recalls one such moment from last year's festival. "In 2016 we played on a stage that had a beautiful realistic kitchen set, with one bizarre detail - a huge padlock and chain around the fridge handle so that it couldn't be opened. For PGraph's French Farce show, we pretended the set on stage was the set of our improvised play, and we had so much fun speculating on why we had locked all the food away. We didn't notice the lock until we were onstage, and then it was impossible to not comment on!"

Whether you are in it for the full weekend or just to enjoy a few of your favorite groups performing for a night, the festival is designed to provide an unforgettable experience of comic relief and a LOT of fun. "In our 9th year, this festival runs much like a snowball rolling downhill," said Festival Producer and FST's Managing Director, Rebecca Hopkins. "Even though we work VERY hard to plan and ensure a great experience for everyone that attends, half the fun is not being able to predict where that snowball will roll or how big it may get. Some attendees jump on the snowball right from the start and hang on for the ride. Others take the chance to pick and choose when they jump on and off. I think the improvisers have just as much fun as the audience, if not more. As the weekend gets going, we enjoy seeing everyone get more and more energized for what they will see next. While I can't promise actual snow in Sarasota in July, we do promise a jam-packed weekend of comedy and surprises performed by the top improvisers in the field!"

The Sarasota Improv Festival only happens once a year, so don't miss it. Tickets to the headliner performances from BLANK! The Musical are $25. Single tickets to all other performances are $10. All festival tickets are now on sale and may be purchased by calling the Box Office at
941-366-9000, or by going online at www.floridastudiotheatre.org.

ABOUT FLORIDA Studio Theatre

Known as Sarasota's Contemporary Theatre, Florida Studio Theatre was founded in 1973 by Artist Jon Spelman. Starting out as a small touring company, FST traveled to places such as migrant camps and prisons. The company eventually settled down into a permanent home, acquiring the former Woman's Club building - now renamed the Keating Theatre. In the years that followed, Florida Studio Theatre established itself as a major force in American Theatre, presenting contemporary theatre in its five theatre venues: the Keating Theatre, the newly renovated Gompertz Theatre, the Goldstein Cabaret, the John C. Court Cabaret, and the new Bowne's Lab Theatre.

Even with its growth, Florida Studio Theatre remains firmly committed to making the Arts Accessible and affordable to a broad-based audience. Under Richard Hopkins, Producing Artistic Director and CEO, FST develops theatre that speaks to our living, evolving, and dynamically changing world. As FST grows and expands, it continues to provide audiences with challenging, contemporary drama and innovative programs.

PRICING:

Two Day Pass - Friday AND Saturday - $65

Single Day Pass - Saturday - $49

Single Day Pass - Friday - $49

Single tickets - $10

Single tickets for Headliner - $25

Single tickets for Just For Laughs - $6

Workshops - $35 each or BUY THREE for $90

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:

Thursday, July 13

7:00pm - FST Improv, Dear Aunt Gertrude, Equanimity, Just The Funny

8:30pm - When X Meets Y, Sick Puppies Comedy, The Third Thought, Square One Improv

10:00pm - FAST Florida All Star King of the Hill Competition

Friday, July 14

6:00pm - FST Improv

7:00pm - Brouhaha

7:00pm - ImprovBoston

7:00pm - Villain Theater

8:00pm - Dad's Garage

8:00pm - Available Cupholders

8:00pm - BLANK! The Musical

8:00pm - Complot Escena (Spanish Show)*

9:00pm - STACKED

9:00pm - Joe Bill & Friends

9:00pm - Parallelogramophonograph

10:00pm - North Coast Improv

Saturday, July 15

11:00am - Just For Laughs

5:00pm - Complot Escena

5:00pm - Hawk and Wayne

6:00pm - Available Cupholders

6:00pm - Big Bang Improv

6:00pm - STACKED

7:00pm - North Coast Improv

7:00pm - Parallelogramophonograph

7:00pm - Joe Bill & Friends

8:00pm - ImprovBoston

8:00pm - Dad's Garage

8:00pm - SAK Comedy Lab

9:00pm - BLANK! The Musical

10:30pm - All Play

For full Group Information, please visit https://www.floridastudiotheatre.org/2017-improv-festival.

WORKSHOP SCHEDULE - Saturday July 15

9:00- 11:00am

Fresh Squeezed-Characters Not From Concentrate.

Stories that matter!

Improvised Stand Comedy or The Comedic timing in Improvised Monologues

Red Light District

The Scene-Style Cheat Sheet

Lucid narrative: Conscience of all the basic elements of improvised stage writing

Playing with Emotion

11:30 - 1:30pm

Intro to Musical Improv

Power Improv Toolkit

Intro to Hip Hop Improv

Everything is Relevant. Nothing Matters.

Villainy: Being Bad Onstage

Committing To The First Moment Or Real Life

2:00 - 4:00pm

Reinventing ShortForm

The First 30 Seconds

Advanced Hip Hop Improv

The Devil is in the Details

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