ImprovBoston's 'GoreFest' Returns with 'Horror House' Edition

ImprovBoston presents the annual original, scripted splatter musical GoreFest XV: Horror House, complete with original music, outlandish characters, and a blood-soaked audience.

Now in its 15th year, ImprovBoston's long-running Halloween bloodbath returns for another production showcasing comedic guts, gore, and musical mayhem.

ImprovBoston invites live studio audiences to witness a terrifying season of the faux TV reality game show, The House Always Wins! "The reality show is a combination of all the tropes from an assortment of reality shows," says Director Nate Lopez. "On its base level, it's a competition show where all of the contestants live in the same house. As the contestants are eliminated, they are sent to the cellar of the house, where they are digested by the house itself for a 1,000 years."

"It's such a great show to be a part of," says Producer Josh Garneau, who began his work on GoreFest eight years ago as a stagehand in a unique bond with other cast members, including some who've found their future spouses on stage. "It's still as fun, silly, and sticky of a show as it was eight years ago."

Audiences agree. Garneau attributes GoreFest fans' love for the show to the passion that goes into this long-lasting institution. "It's the cult-like tradition that keeps our poncho-wearing audiences coming back for more bloodbaths every year. Audiences come to hear some catchy tunes, see talented actors, and get fully immersed in the goo," he explains.

The annual splatterfest involves prep work that puts producers in the Halloween spirit year-round. Writers draft a full-blown script, followed by edits, table reads, music composition, blocking, rehearsing, and of course special effects designs that make up the substantial creative process. The comedy theater's Halloween tradition requires:

- 15-20 gallons of fake blood (with a record of 45 gallons of fake blood in one run)

- 5-10 gallons of various other fake bodily fluids and gore

- A gallon of hand soap

- Two gallons of mop soap

- Two days of blood-proofing the theater (including a false floor, covered walls, and a shield for the tech booth and band)

- Two and a half days of cleaning after the run

GoreFest XV: Horror House runs now through October 31st at 40 Prospect Street in Central Square, Cambridge. Dates/times vary. Tickets are $25 general admission/$20 students at the door only. Patrons are encouraged to wear clothes they don't mind getting messy. The full schedule is available at www.improvboston.com/gorefest.

For over 30 years, ImprovBoston has been New England's leading theater and school dedicated to the art of comedy in all its forms. Voted "Best of Boston" by The Phoenix, The Improper Bostonian, and The Weekly Dig, ImprovBoston performers, teachers and students have included film stars, Emmy Award-winning comedians, and acclaimed producers, directors, musicians and writers. ImprovBoston alumni are featured on Conan, Late Night with Stephen Colbert, The Daily Show, America's Got Talent, Funniest Wins, Playboy, Last Comic Standing and John Oliver's Last Week Tonight, to name a few. In 2014, the Independent Reviewers of New England honored ImprovBoston with an award recognizing its longstanding contributions to the Boston theater community. As a nonprofit arts organization, ImprovBoston serves the community through laughter with youth outreach programs, workshops for businesses, scholarships, a national touring company and, of course, performances at its theater complex in Central Square, Cambridge.

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