FST to Present 5th Annual Sarasota Improv Festival, 7/12-13

After the snowbirds have gone and the sun is searing, the 5th Annual Sarasota Improv Festival returns on July 12 and 13 for two nights of non-stop comedy with 16 of the hottest groups on the national improv scene. Acts from Chicago, Boston, Austin, Miami, Atlanta and everywhere in between will perform on the Cabaret stage in the festival that Sarasota Magazine called "high-energy" and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune called "hilarious." Pricing varies, with passes available for the weekend at $59, nightly at $49, individual shows at $10/each, and Special Event tickets at $25. Workshops are also on sale and are $29 for a two hour session with a professional improv group. Tickets are available now by calling the Box Office at 366-9000, by going online at floridastudiotheatre.org or by visiting the Box Office at 1241 N. Palm Avenue in Downtown Sarasota.

In one hour slots, groups will perform different types of Improv shows: traditional Improv games, long-form comedy, short sketches and musical improv. Returning to the fest after sold-out appearances on FST's stage are Available Cupholders (Austin, TX), Dad's Garage (Atlanta), SAK Comedy (Orlando), Jester Theater (Orlando), ImprovBoston (Boston), Stacked: All-female Musical Improv (Chicago), The Third Thought (Tampa), Hawk & Wayne (St. Petersburgh), Lazy Fairy (Sarasota), and the "home team" troupes to kick it all off, FST Improv (Sarasota) and Vintage Whine (Sarasota). Sure to be audience favorites are new kids on the block, Smith & I (Chicago), Sick Puppies Comedy (Boca Raton) and Mad Cowford (Jacksonville).

Rebecca Hopkins, Sarasota Improv Festival Director and FST Managing Director said, "It is hard to believe it is already the 5th Anniversary for the festival. The first year we did it we thought it might be a onetime event, but Sarasota loves to laugh and has embraced it fully. Every year we've grown and this year is no exception. The groups we bring in are at the top of their game. This year we are thrilled to have The Improvised Shakespeare Company. I cannot begin to tell you how hard what they do is, but the brilliant part is how easy they make it look. That's the magic of Improv. I mean these are all highly skilled, professionally trained, professionals with skills."

This year a brand New Group has been added as a special event on the Gompertz Stage. The Improvised Shakespeare Company is based on one audience suggestion: a title for a play that has yet to be written. From this suggestion they create a fully improvised Elizabethan style show, to bring you one and a half hours of 'off-the-cuff' comedy. This hit group hails from Chicago where they have been called, "Smart, sophisticated, downright hilarious" and "Staggeringly brilliant" by TimeOut Chicago. The New York Times agreed stating, they are filled with "on-the-spot soliloquies and perfect pentameter," and Timeout New York stated, "Don't Miss Them. Seriously." The Improvised Shakespeare Company has been featured at the Piccolo Spoleto Fringe Festival, the Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival, and the prestigious Just For Laughs festival in Montreal and Chicago. They have been named Chicago's best improv group by both the Chicago Reader and the Chicago Examiner and has received a New York Nightlife Award for "Best Comedic Performance by a Group. "Now it's time for Sarasota to decide. The night could be filled with power struggles, star-crossed lovers, sprites, kings, queens, princesses, sword-play, rhyming couplets, asides, insults, and maybe even persons in disguise, but you the audience will decide. Single tickets for this special event will sell for $25 and it will be included in Night and Weekend passes. Still not sure what to expect? Check them out at: www.improvisedshakespeare.com, Facebook.com/improvisedshakespeare or Twitter.com/ImprovShakesCo.

The Sarasota Improv Festival is growing every year, booking New Groups and increasing interest in the Improv scene. While there are many returning groups, one in particular is the Chicago based group, Stacked: All-female Musical Improv. Performer Stacy Smith said, "Stacked has performed in over a dozen festivals, but Sarasota holds a special place in our hearts. They exposed us to wonderful audiences, they chose truly wonderful talent nationwide and most importantly, they treated us like professionals. There is nothing better than feeling taken care of in a place you're unfamiliar."

Workshops will take place on Saturday, July 13 and will feature the following Improv groups: Available Cupholders, Dad's Garage, Hawk & Wayne, ImprovBoston, Jester Theater and Stacked: All-female Musical Improv. The full workshop schedule is below.

This year FST is extending its reach for the festival to include the Tampa and Orlando areas. This is made possible by a grant through Visit Sarasota County, and the goal is to increase tourism in the Sarasota area during the 'off-season'. The festival is an opportunity for audiences to come stay and play in Sarasota, see the best in Improv, and take a workshop with the professionals. New and returning improv artists especially enjoy the festival because of the talent brought in and because of Sarasota audiences. Will Luera, Artistic Director Emeritus of ImprovBoston said, "the audiences in Sarasota are not only some of the warmest and most receptive crowds we get to perform for, but also some of the smartest. Even when we pull out high-concept moves, they are right there with us and enjoying every second."

Tickets are available now and through the event by calling 941-366-9000, going online at FloridaStudioTheatre.org or by visiting the Box Office. Ticket prices vary, with passes available for the weekend at $59, nightly at $49, and per individual show at $10/each. Special Event tickets for The Improvised Shakespeare Company are $25. Tickets are available now by calling the Box Office at 366-9000 or by going online at FloridaStudioTheatre.org.

Performance Schedule

FRIDAY, JULY 12
6 p.m. - FST Improv (Sarasota)
7 p.m. - Sick Puppies Comedy (Boca Raton)
8 p.m. - Dad's Garage (Atlanta)
8 p.m. - Hawk & Wayne (Tampa)
9 p.m. - Jester Theater (Orlando)
9 p.m. - Lazy Fairy (Sarasota)
10 p.m. - Available Cupholders (Austin)

SATURDAY, JULY 13
4 p.m. - Vintage Whine (Sarasota)
5 p.m. - Smith & I (Chicago)
6 p.m. - Mad Cowford (Jacksonville)
6 p.m. - The Third Thought (Tampa)
7 p.m. - Dad's Garage (Atlanta)
7 p.m. - ImprovBoston (Boston)
8 p.m. - SAK Comedy Lab (Orlando)
8 p.m. - STACKED (Chicago)
9 p.m. - SPECIAL EVENT: The Improvised Shakespeare Company (Chicago)
10:30 p.m. - All Play

Known as Sarasota's Contemporary Theatre, Florida Studio Theatre was founded in 1973 by 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 four theatre venues: the Keating Theatre, the newly renovated Gompertz Theatre, the Goldstein Cabaret and its newest space, the John C. Court Cabaret.

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, 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.

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