Ninth Annual Detroit Improv Festival Brings Big Names To Detroit

Top names in sketch and improvisational will converge on Ferndale August 7-10 in the ninth annual Detroit Improv Festival. Headlined by Paul F. Tompkins, The 313, Flying Chuck, and more, this year's festival will take place over four venues in Ferndale and Hamtramck. With more than 60 improv troupes from across the US and Canada performing in more than 20 shows, there will be something for everyone.

The festival begins Wednesday, August 7 at Go Comedy! Improv Theater and continues through Sunday, August 11 with performances at Go Comedy! Improv Theater, The Ringwald Theater, and The Loving Touch in Ferndale, and Ant Hall in Hamtramck.

The week's headliner performances include:

Paul F. Tompkins and Bajillion Dollar Propertie$

Friday, August 9 at 8:00pm & 10:00pm at The Loving Touch.

Currently appearing on Pluto TV, 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, Ryan Gaul, Tawny Newsome, and Drew Tarver. Tickets for this event are $25.

The 313

Saturday August 10 at 8:00pm & 10:00pm at The Loving Touch.

The powerhouse improv troupe, The 313, features some of the funniest names in comedy formerly from Detroit and now living in Los Angeles. Members performing at the Detroit Improv Festival will include Maribeth Monroe (The Good Place, Workaholics), Jaime Moyer (Bob's Burgers, A.P. Bio), Nyima Funk (Whose Line Is It Anyways?, Key & Peele), Josh Funk (Key & Peele), and Marc Warzecha (Reno 911). Tickets for this event are $25.

Flying Chuck featuring WWE Superstar Luke Harper

Wednesday, August 7 @ 8:00pm at Go Comedy! Improv Theater

Thursday, August 8 at 10:00pm at Go Comedy! Improv Theater.

Flying Chuck is a Los Angeles based improv troupe featuring some of LA's best irmpovisers with current and former professional wrestlers including WWE Superstar Luke Harper. Tickets for this event are $20 and $15.

Tickets for all Detroit Improv Festival performances run from $10- $25 with a full-festival pass available for $125 and are are available online at www.detroitimprovfestival.org.

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.

Performances Venues for The Detroit Improv Festival include:

Go Comedy! Improv Theater
261 E 9 Mile Rd
Ferndale, MI 48220
Wednesday, August 7 @ 8:00pm, 10:00pm
Thursday, August 8 @ 8:00pm, 10:00pm
Friday, August 9 @ 8:00pm, 10:00pm
Saturday, August 10 @ 6:00pm, 8:00pm, 10:00pm

The Loving Touch
22634 Woodward Ave

Ferndale, MI 48220

Friday, August 9 @ 8:00pm, 10:00pm

Saturday, August 10 @ 6:00pm, 8:00pm, 10:00pm

The Ringwald Theatre
22742 Woodward Ave
Ferndale, MI 48220

Wednesday, August 7 @ 8:00pm

Thursday, August 8 @ 8:00pm, 10:00pm
Friday, August 9 @ 8:00pm, 10:00pm
Saturday, August 10 @ 8:00pm, 10:00pm

Ant Hall

2320 Caniff Ave

Hamtramck, MI 48212
Thursday, August 8 @ 7:00pm

The Complete Performance Schedule is as follows

Ticket prices in (parenthesis).
Full festival passes with access to any performance are available for $125.
Information on troupes and performers can be found online at:
http://www.detroitimprovfestival.org/performer-info.html

Wednesday, August 7

Go Comedy! Improv Theater
8:00pm ($20)
- Natural Born Killaz (Detroit)
- Tiny Breakfast

- Pete 'n Oli 'n Friends

- Flying Chuck featuring WWE Superstar Luke Harper

10:00pm (Free)

Fresh Sauce Improv Jam

The Ringwald Theatre
8:00pm ($10)
- Cougar Den

- We Are Funny Girls

- Hedgehog's Dilemma

- Before Ghosts

- Wieck and Petersen

Thursday, August 8

Ant Hall

7:00pm ($15)

- Planet Ant Home Team (Detroit)

- The Improv Project

Go Comedy! Improv Theater
8:00pm ($15)
- McGarnackle (Chicago)

- Quicksand (New York City)

- Fish Dinner (Detroit)

10:00pm ($15)
- Busy Bar (Milwaukee)

- Hot Doggies (Toronto)

- Merit Badge

- Flying Chuck featuring WWE Superstar Luke Harper

The Ringwald Theatre
8:00pm ($15)
- True Colors (Detroit)

- Strictly Platonic (Dayton)

- DIF All Stars

10:00pm ($15)
- Hot Takes (Detroit)

- The Gay Agenda (Detroit)

- Hot Mic (Cincinnati)

- Don't Laugh with Human Amusements (Detroit)

Friday, August 9

The Loving Touch

8:00pm ($25)

- Local Spot (Baltimore)

- Velvet Hammer (Portland)

- Paul F. Tompkins & Bajillion Dollar Propertie$

10:00pm ($25)

- Fake Cops (Toronto)

- Forever Fifteen (Detroit)

- Paul F. Tompkins & Bajillion Dollar Propertie$

Go Comedy! Improv Theater

8:00pm ($20)
- Four First Names (Orlando)

- Wet Bandits (St. Petersburg, FL)

- Two Sketchy Dames (Cincinnati)

- Stacejam

10:00pm ($20)
- The Brothers Jacokes (Detroit)

- alot. (Chicago)

- Snooze Button (Kansas City)

- Messing With A Friend with Josh Funk

The Ringwald Theatre
8:00pm ($20)

- Jibber Jabber (Chicago)

- Presto Change-O (Detroit)

- Handsome Naked (Recently appeared on NBC's Bring The Funny)

10:00pm ($20)
- Rock-O-Matic (Detroit)

- Sad Trombone (Philadelphia)

- Empanada Grande (Grand Rapids)

- Orange Tuxedo (Los Angeles)

Saturday, August 10

The Loving Touch
6:00pm ($10) - Podcast Block
- History Made Up

- Spooked

- The Walking Dicks: A Table Read by Marc Warzecha

8:00pm ($25)
- ABC Family (Detroit)

- The Bad Dog Featured Players (Toronto)

- The 313 (Los Angeles)

10:00pm ($25)

- Moonmonster (Detroit)

- Whiplash (Philadelphia)

- The 313 (Los Angeles)

Go Comedy! Improv Theater
6:00pm ($15)
- Alex O'Jerome (Pittsburgh)

- Broken Bones (Washington DC)

- Slim Line (Detroit)

- OTR Improv (Cincinnati)

8:00pm ($20)
- VerizonQwest (Phoenix)

- Dubalicious (Detroit)

- Messing With A Friend with Margaret Edwartowski

10:00pm ($20)
- Pepperoni Pizza Cats (Toronto)

- Kitty Hawk (New York)

- In Process with Chad Damiani

- 2-MAN NO-SHOW (Toronto)

The Ringwald Theatre
8:00pm ($20)
- Hugs & Pullups (Detroit)

- HugSquared (Detroit)

- Stacejam

10:00pm ($20)
- Two Girls One Trenchcoat (Toronto)

- League of Pointless Improvisers (Ann Arbor)

- Gentleman Frog (Toronto)

- Handsome Naked

The Complete Detroit Improv Festival Workshop Schedule is as follows

Details on each workshop and instructor bios can be found online at
http://www.detroitimprovfestival.org/workshops.html

Thursday, August 8
5:00pm - 7:30pm

Making Object Work for You | Jaime Moyer | Go U! Traning Center

Friday, August 9
4:30pm - 7:00pm

Sell It! | Craig Cackowski | Go U! Training Center

The Bigger Picture | Pj Jacokes | Go U! Training Center

Saturday, August 10
11:30am - 2:00pm

Le'ts Be Real Here | Carla Cackowski | Go U! Training Center

Emotional Enhancement | Marc Warzecha | Go U! Training Center

Strong Initiations | Steve Kleinedler & Ralph Andracchio | The Ringwald

Going Bigger & Beyond, the Technique of Play | Ken Hall & Issac Kessler | Go Comedy!

2:30pm - 5:00pm
Save The Show! A Guide to Creating Epic Sets | Chad Damiani | The Ringwald

Digging Deeper | Andy Perkins | Go U! Training Center

Short Form Games & Hosting | Chucho Perez | Go U! Training Center

Advanced Musical Improv | Stacey Smith | Go Comedy!

Sunday, August 13
12:30pm - 3:00pm

Solo Improv | Dean Haglund | GoU! Training Center

More information and tickets for all events and workshops, are available online at www.detroitimprovfestival.org.

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