Kalamazoo -- the name sounds like something a comedy improv team could have made up.
Well, maybe not. Regardless, this weekend (May 12-14) the city hosts the third annual Kalamazoo Improv Festival.
The event is put together by
Crawlspace Theatre Productions.
Crawlspace Theatre Artistic Director Dann Sytsma says improv is all about making spontaneous connections, on and off stage, and that's what happens at the festival.
"Improvisers are a wonderful and crazy breed of people, and we're welcoming an army of them to town," Sytsma says.
A total of 17 teams will take the stage at Farmers Alley Theater over the weekend. The festival will feature acts that locals have come to recognize at previous fests over the past two years and new faces. There also will be the faces of those who used to do improv locally and have now moved on to Chicago and Denver.
And for those who are not satisfied merely watching the show, improv workshops will be offered all day Saturday.
Local rock group Fishlips will be performing before each show.
Grand Rapids improv actors will take the stage Thursday. Cash Box, Pop Scholars and the festivals's first VIP Show featuring Kalamazoo's State Representative Sean McCann will be part of the evening's comedy offerings.
The weekend also offers an opportunity for locals to see comedy they normally wouldn't get to see without a trip to Chicago.
Sytsma calls the festival an opportunity for "the best comedy in Kalamazoo to share the spotlight with some of the best comedy in the Midwest."
Ticket and schedule information are available
online.
Writer: Kathy Jennings
Source: Dann Sytsma, Crawlspace Theatre Productions
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