While across town piano lovers will be listening to the closing strains of music from the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, an entirely different kind of entertainment will be dished up at Farmers Alley Theatre.
It’s the fourth annual Fourth Annual Kalamazoo Improv Festival, May 10 - 12, presented by
Crawlspace Eviction Productions. The festival rounds up comedic talent from Chicago, Grand Rapids, Denver and -- for the first time this year -- Minneapolis.
The three-day event gets under way Thursday, May 10. Kalamazoo Mayor Bobby Hopewell will be the guest of honor for Thursday night's VIP Show in which he is interviewed for about 15 minutes and improvisers then present a version of his life he may or may not recognize.
Friday and Saturday nights will have two shows each night, each with three different acts. Improv actors take suggestions from the audience and create scenes and characters. Many of the improv teams have come up with their own twists on the form -- one group presents a soap opera style, another switches scenes furiously.
Local rock group Fishlips will perform before each show.
Those who want to experience improv from the other side of the stage are invited to participate in workshops offered at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday, May 12, for $15 each.
The festival opens with an 8 p.m. show on Thursday, and 8 and 10 p.m. shows Friday and Saturday. Tickets are $10 general admission for each show, or $25 for a fest pass for admission to all shows. A free improv jam will take place Friday night at 11:30 p.m.
Dann Sytsma, of Crawlspace Eviction, is anticipating a weekend that will entertain those who have been to previous fests and those new to the form.
"This year's Fest is not only featuring some of the favorite teams of past years, we also have Jill Bernard coming in to do her nationally acclaimed one woman improv show: Drum Machine," says Sytsma. "Plus, we'll be featuring an improvised soap opera Friday night. Kalamazoo Mayor Bobby Hopewell will be our special guest for Thursday's VIP show, which is guaranteed to be an interesting night of comedy. The schedule has been tightened up to make sure every show is a grand slam dunk, as they say in sports games."
Writer: Kathy Jennings, Second Wave
Source: Dann Sytsma, Crawlspace Eviction Productions
Photo: Crawlspace Eviction
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