Philly Improv Theater Announces All-Female Improv And Sketch Comedy Festival, Plays 7/16-18

Philly Improv Theater (PHIT) announces that it will host a three-night festival of funny women in July. The festival, cheekily named Bonerama, will showcase sketch and improv performances by some of the funniest female performers in the region. The festival runs Thursday, July 16-Saturday July 18 with shows at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. each night. Each performance will be at 407 Bainbridge Street. Tickets for each show cost $10 each and are available online at www.phillyimprovtheater.com or at 267-233-1556.

The brainchild of Alexis Simpson, Artistic Director of PHIT, Meg Favreau, Managing Director of PHIT, and Tabitha Viadurri, the founder of the sketch group, The Sixth Borough, the festival will shine the light on some of the area's funniest women.

"I've seen too many women take a backseat to their male counterparts onstage. They allow themselves to be relegated into traditional roles," said PHIT Artistic Director Alexis Simpson. "There are a lot of women in Philadelphia who don't do that - Meg and Tabitha are two examples of ladies who write incredible roles for themselves and other women. They aren't afraid to put on a moustache or play something ugly. I think Bonerama will be a great opportunity for women to write the roles they want to play, and take risks they may not otherwise be willing to take."

The festival opens with the improvised comedic docudrama, The Real Housewives of Philadelphia on Thursday, July 16, at 8 p.m. On TV, audiences have loved The Real Housewives of New Jersey. PHIT kicks off this three-night festival with a circle of Philadelphia "wives" playing out the familiar drama of backstabbing, gossiping, money-grubbing, and being engaged 19 times, but with a twist of that local Philadelphia charm. Real Housewives of Philadelphia was originally conceived by Amie Roe. It features Roe, Alexis Simpson, Meg Favreau, Liz Scott, Alli Soowal, and Kristen Schier.

The Real Housewives are followed by a CAGEMATCH at 10 p.m. This CAGEMATCH pits the improvised slumber party, Brenda against Pony Coat, an all-female clowning ensemble.

At 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, the ladies from BWP and Cecily and Gwendolyn take the stage. BWP is Liz Scott and Alli Soowal's improvised two-woman show where their characters Connie and Connie solve the audience's problems, while dishing on their own and distributing snack cakes to deserving audience members. Cecily and Gwendolyn is the brainchild of Karen Getz and Kelly Jennings. At the suggestion of the audience, Cecily and Gwendolyn embark on a fantastical journey each performance.

Their performances are followed by a two-night showcase of The Bonerama Variety Hour at 10 p.m. At each show, the best female improvisers and sketch comedians in the city will present new works created for the festival.

Festival Schedule

Thursday, July 16
8:00pm Bonerama: The Real Housewives of Philadelphia
10:00pm Bonerama: CAGEMATCH: Brenda vs. Pony Coat

Friday, July 17
8:00pm Bonerama: BWP and Cecily & Gwendolyn
10:00pm Bonerama: The Bonerama Variety Hour

Saturday, July 18
8:00pm Bonerama: BWP and Cecily & Gwendolyn
10:00pm Bonerama: The Bonerama Variety Hour

*All tickets are $10.

Philly Improv Theater (PHIT) is the only longform improvisation theater in the Metro Philadelphia area. Founded as a nonprofit in 2005, PHIT embraces the art of improvisation as an end rather than a means - creating and producing improv, sketch, and alternate comedy shows in the tradition of theaters like Chicago's Second City and New York's Upright Citizens Brigade. To further this philosophy, PHIT offers it's own take on the theories and concepts behind good improvisation in a full curriculum of classes for performers of all skill levels taught by local talent and through master classes with distinguished performers and teachers from all over the world (including Impro author Keith Johnstone, Joe Bill and Mark Sutton of The Second City, and former SNL writer Ali Farahnakian). In addition to performing as part of PHIT's weeklong residency at The Shubin Theatre each month, local improv troupes produced and presented by PHIT have toured extensively on the East Coast and performed in festivals throughout North America.

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