OTRimprov to Present 2017 Improv Festival of Cincinnati

OTRimprov presents the 4th Annual Improv Festival of Cincinnati (IF Cincy).

IF Cincy again features national improv talent from Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, San Diego, Atlanta, Detroit, Nashville, Ann Arbor, and from right here in Cincinnati.

The festival runs September 6-10, 2017 at Know Theatre of Cincinnati in Over-the-Rhine.

Headlining the festival are:

- Heyday comprised of veteran improvisors seen with Second City, Upright Citizens Brigade, LA, Westside Comedy Theatre, and a current cast member on Comedy Central's Drunk History.

- Big Ol' Show featuring Amber Nash, best known for her role as Pam Poovey on the Emmy winning animated show Archer and Matt Horgan, the Associate Artistic Director at Dad's Garage in Atlanta.

- Matt Damon Improv featuring all women of color, their shows invite a special guest white male improv veteran who can only speak when repeating things the women of Matt Damon Improv have already said in the show - forcing them to really listen and take a baby step in a woman of color's shoes. They have performed at many Chicago theaters and the Chicago Improv Festival (CIF)

IF Cincy makes its home at Know Theatre of Cincinnati again this year thanks to Know Theatre's Jackson Street Market, which also fostered OTRimprov's success in establishing a sustainable, professional improv company offering a variety of shows, corporate training, and classes.

Last year's festival saw an increase in representation of diverse voices and perspectives on stage. The trend continues this year with women representing half of the performers in the festival as well as troupes comprised entirely of women or people of color. The producers of the festival chose to accept submissions for this year's festival and expressly sought out diverse groups. "We know how important representation is on the stage. And it's working: last year we highlighted women on our stage and in our classes right now, around 50% of our students are women. We want to make sure we are sustaining and working to increase our diversity. By highlighting some incredibly talented improvisors who also are women and people of color, we hope we can diversify our audience and continue to diversify the improv performers here in Cincinnati ," says Kat Smith, co-director of OTRimprov.

National improv performers traveling to Cincinnati are Heyday (Los Angeles), Matt Damon Improv (Chicago), Pick and Roll (San Diego), Geisha Gravy (New York City), Red Pill Players (Atlanta), Big Ol' Show (Atlanta), Lady Parts Detroit (Detroit), Brother Jacokes (Detroit), Edith Head (Los Angeles, Nashville, Cincinnati), and League of Pointless Improvisors (Ann Arbor).

Cincinnati's improv scene has exploded in the past few years and more and more groups performing regularly around the city. We are proud to showcase this growth and wealth of local talent. Cincinnati troupes joining the line-up are producer OTRimprov, Two Sketchy Dames, Highly Improvable, Family Bunker, ...and then cannibalism, Killer B's, Hot MIC, Act One, and CS6001.

Many of the performers taking the stage in the evening will also be hosting workshops over the weekend, giving Cincinnatians a rare opportunity to take classes from the impressive and diverse range of visiting national talent. Workshops will be offered by: Members of Heyday will teach their take on The Harold, a classic improv long-form piece; Matt Horgan of Big Ol' Show will focus on giving students the tools to consistently tell solid, effective stories in 3-5 minutes; Yoshee Sodiq of Red Pill Players students will leave his workshop with practical things you can do to play at a performance based level and have audience wanting more; Members of Matt Damon Improv will lead workshop participants through exercises and coached scenes that will help improvisers recognize their character status habits, grow within the scene, and empower their character; Edith Head will help students in committing to the character. Including a extended town-hall style meeting in character, this will be a great way to learn new skills.

Passes are available for taking in multiple evenings of improv, whether you want one, two, or three, four, or FIVE days of improv. The All Access Pass allows entry to all performances Wednesday - Sunday for $90, the Weekend Pass allows entry on Friday and Saturday evening's performances and Sunday's matinee for $75, and a One Night Pass is available for entry on either Friday or Saturday evening for $35.

Single tickets are $20 for Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening's performances; and $10 for Wednesday evening and Sunday matinee.

IF YOU GO:

OTRimprov presents
Improv Festival of Cincinnati (IF Cincy)
When: Wednesday - Sunday, September 6-10, 2017
Where: Know Theatre of Cincinnati, 1120 Jackson Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202
Featuring: Improv artists from Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, San Diego, Atlanta, Detroit, Nashville, Ann Arbor, and right here in Cincinnati.
Tickets: www.ifcincy.com
How Much: Wednesday, Sunday $10 |Thursday: $20 | Friday, Saturday (Two shows a night) $20 per show | All Access Pass: $90 | Weekend Pass: $70 | One Night Pass: $35 Friday or Saturday only.