It’s recognized as the pre-eminent improv festival in the Southeastern United States. And it’s bigger, bolder and funnier than ever. This year’s Sarasota Improv Festival features 17 improv troupes, more than 80 artists, 29 performances and 17 interactive workshops. From musical improv and fast-paced games to bold, boundary-pushing performances—every show is a one-of-a-kind experience.
Whether you’re a die-hard fan or new to improv, this high-octane weekend brings together top improvisers from across the country and around the globe for two unforgettable days of unscripted comedy.
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Among this year’s performers are:
FST Improv is Sarasota’s original antidepressant. FST Improv is the place to go when you’re looking for some fun, need reminding that everyone is wacky, or have nowhere else to go. Inspired by audience suggestions, FST Improv creates characters and sketches completely on the spot. No one – not even the performers themselves – knows what is going to happen next. It is this element of the unknown that makes every FST Improv show unique, and what makes for some of the most exciting moments onstage. FST Improv performs in the Keating Theatre at 6 p.m. on Friday, July 18.
Following FST Improv in the Keating Theatre on Friday night is Parallelogramophonograph. Over the past 19 years, this improv troupe has performed over 1,500 shows. Fiercely dedicated to the craft and art of improvised theatre, PGraph has held a weekly show in Austin since 2006 and spent years developing award-winning original formats and studying scripted theatre, improv, and storytelling. Troupe members have toured the country and the world performing and teaching their unique brand of improv with ensemble appearances in over 65 cities in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Europe, and the U.K. They also appear in Bowne’s Lab at 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 19.
Dad’s Garage is all-African American comedy troupe that takes classic movies like “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” and improvises what Black people were doing during the movie. It is a hilarious show featuring killer comedy, incredible guests, and a fun-filled celebration of Blackness. Come laugh, celebrate, and embrace the essence of Blackness in a way you've never seen before. The troupe performs in Bowne’s Lab at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 18 and in Keating Theatre at 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 19.
Forgotten Broadway is at Goldstein Cabaret on July 18. This Orlando-based improv troupe uses audience suggestions to recreate legendary Broadway stars, shows and tunes on the spot. It performs at 7 p.m. and again at 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 19 in Keating Theatre.
HERE is one of the most celebrated shows globally in the art form. Tara DeFrancisco & Rance Rizzutto have earned accolades in more than 614 magazines, as well as the Chicago Tribune (Critic-Recommended - highest ranked improv show), Chicago Sun Times (“Not to Be Missed”) and NPR (“Nothing Short of Genius”). So far, DeFrancisco and Rizzutto have toured 24 countries and 85-plus cities worldwide. In HERE, DeFrancisco and Rizzutto get one suggestion from the audience, which they use to create a theme that carries through from an opening number to a full storyline with characters inspired by that theme. They perform in Bowne’s Lab at 8 p.m. on Friday, July 18 and in Goldstein Cabaret at 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 19.
North Coast Improv is New York City’s premiere hip hop improv comedy team. With a cast of improv comedy veterans, North Coast’s explosive performances have been packing comedy venues, universities, and festivals nationwide since 2009. Built around a single suggestion from an audience member, the show’s improvised scenes escalate into full-blown hip-hop songs, facilitated by resident beatboxer, Doctor Brick. With their seamless melding of comedic timing and freestyle rapping abilities, North Coast frequently blurs the line between comedy show and concert, drawing audiences from the comedy, hip-hop, and theater communities for an experience that has been hailed as “mind-blowing” and “next level” by critics and audiences alike. The team performs in Keating Theatre at 8 p.m. on Friday and in Bowne’s Lab on Saturday at 6 p.m.
UnAuthorized is team of teachers from The Second City New York. They do it all — short form high-energy games with lots of laughs and long-form scenes that explore wild, zany characters! UnAuthorized performs in the Keating Theatre at 4 p.m. on Friday, in Keating Theatre at 4 p.m. on Saturday and at 7 p.m. in Bowne’s Lab on Saturday as well.
In the Broadway world, a "sitzprobe" is the first time the orchestra and the cast of a musical rehearse together. The cast of Shitzprobe skips rehearsal, throws away the script and makes up a musical on the spot. Every song, lyric, line of dialogue and dance move is totally improvised, accompanied by a live band who are also making up everything as they go. Each performance of Shitzprobe is the premiere of a never-before-seen musical, and YOU help create it — each show is based on an audience member’s suggestion of a title of a musical that doesn’t yet exist. Past audiences have helped to create shows like “Cindy Goes to a Yard Sale”, “Can She Even Walk in Heels?”, and “Not My First Rodeo”. Shitzprobe performs in the Gompertz Theatre at 4 p.m. and again at 9 p.m. on Saturday, July 19.
Sand is at Goldstein Cabaret on Saturday. Sand is a Chicago-based improv comedy group that has been performing together since 2009. Named “Chicago’s Best Improv Team” by NewCity, ‘Sand’ is Mike Brunlieb (HBO’s “South Side,” Comedy Central’s “Joe Pera Talks With You” and Netflix’s “Trial of the Chicago 7”) and Thomas Kelly (Showtime’s “Work in Progress,” NBC’s “Shrink,” Chicago “Med” and the feature film, “Monuments”) with the musicians Jeff Rukes and Dan Wilcop. Their unique style of improvisation has led to a devoted following and extensive touring in the United States and internationally. A Sand show is often laugh-out-loud funny and heartfelt in equal measure. Brunlieb and Kelly let their long-form exploration of characters evolve in surprising ways as the show unfolds. “They’re able to tap into a darkness that would lead lesser performers to alienate an audience quickly, And yet they pull it off with a strange sense of empathy that allows for full-on laughter at the most unexpected of topics,” said NewCity Magazine. See them in Goldstein Cabaret on Saturday, July 19 at 6 p.m.
Since 1991, Orlando-based SAK Comedy Lab’s professional ensemble of improv actors has entertained audiences with its unique brand of live improvised comedy. SAK Comedy Lab takes suggestions from the audience and makes up characters, scenes, and songs on the spot. The actors' comedy is fun and edgy for adults, but also widely enjoyed by our younger fans. They are in Keating Theatre at 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 19.
Visit https://www.floridastudiotheatre.org/events-and-tickets/15th-annual-sarasota-improv-festival for additional information, including the other improv troupes and performers who are participating in this year’s Sarasota Improv Festival.
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