Seventh Annual Detroit Improv Festival Brings Big Names to Detroit

Metro Detroit will be the center of the comedy universe as top names in sketch and improvisational comedy arrive for the seventh annual Detroit Improv Festival August 9-13. Headlined by Paul F. Tompkins, Sam Richardson, Tim Robinson, Susan Messing, The 313, Mama's Boy, and more, this year's festival will take place over four venues in Detroit and Ferndale with more than 50 improv troupes from across the US and Canada performing in more than 20 shows.

The festival begins at Downtown Detroit's Boll Family YMCA Wednesday, August 9 with a fundraiser performance benefiting The Detroit Creativity Project. Performances continue at Go Comedy! Improv Theater, The Ringwald Theater, and The Local Kitchen Ballroom, all in Ferndale, through Sunday, August 13.

The week's headliner performance includes Paul F. Tompkins and the cast of Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ Saturday, August 12 at 8:00pm and 10:00pm at The Local Kitchen Ballroom. From the Seeso Network, Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ is a partially scripted, partially improvised comedy, from creator and executive producer Kulap Vilaysack. It follows an ensemble of seven ambitious real estate agents who work at a cutthroat firm in Los Angeles. Along with Tompkins, the cast features Dan Ahdoot, Tim Baltz,Ryan Gaul, Mandell Maughan, Tawny Newsome, and Drew Tarver. Tickets for this event are $25. Tickets for all Detroit Improv Festival performances range from $5-$25 and are on sale now at www.detroitimprovfestival.org. A complete performance schedule follows this release.

In addition to live performances, The Detroit Improv Festival will also bring some of the most acclaimed improv instructors and coaches to the motor city for a week of workshops from basic improvisation to advance scene work and more. Registration for workshops ($40) is available online now at www.detroitimprovfestival.org. A complete workshop schedule follows this release.

The Detroit Improv Festival is produced by the Detroit Improv Collective, Inc., (DICo) a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation dedicated to advancing the art of improvisational comedy in the metro Detroit area. DICo's artistic mission is to promote the benefits of improv to local organizations to encourage team building, goal setting and self-esteem lifting among their members.