BWW Preview: Impro Theatre and Instant Karma Present the Middle Ground Between Scripted Scenes and Complete Chaos in TWILIGHT ZONE UNSCRIPTED

There are many dimensions of performance art--some beyond that of traditional theatre. These dimensions are as vast as space and as timeless as infinity, and in the middle ground between scripted scenes and complete chaos is a performance style we call Improvisational Theatre. Improv requires performers with honed comedic timing and the ability to spontaneously incorporate momentum-creating story elements into a scene. Improvised scripts are stories that are being written as they are performed--every character decision reveals unexplored corridors in the maze of a reaction-based narrative. Excellent improvisational theatre, like that of LA-based Impro Theatre Company, offers committed performances in which unexpected plot points are seamlessly and skillfully introduced into the storyline, fostering an anticipatory excitement in the audience. Impro Theatre's twists and turns are clever and contextually faithful to the thematic aesthetic of their productions.

Impro Theatre's most recent local performance, Jane Austin Unscripted, was a hysterical (and totally loyal) spoof of an archetypal Victorian romance novel. This weekend, Impro Theatre (presented by the Santa Barbara production company, Instant Karma Improv Comedy) returns to Santa Barbara with enactments in the style of The Twilight Zone, the classic mystery series from the early days of television. Twilight Zone Unscripted includes four short "episodes" emulating the sci-fi series' sometimes campy, sometimes chilling universe of tilted realities. Twilight Zone storytelling celebrates the art of the unexpected twist; these unforeseen revelations are designed to completely reshape the context of a scene--which, incidentally, is identical to the concepts embraced in comedic improvisation. In this spirit of predictable unpredictability, The Twilight Zone seems an ideal match for an Impro Theatre Unscripted production.

The Twilight Zone television series took itself seriously during its production run, but compared to the intricate storytelling and realism available with modern television, The Twilight Zone is a cultural relic. Yet even in its antiquation, the sci-fi serial is fashionably noir. Impro Theatre will doubtlessly offer a comedic performance that accurately conveys the stylishly peculiar accents so identifiable with the sudden surprises of that infamous other dimension, a dimension whose boundaries are that of imagination. That's the signpost up ahead--your next stop: Impro Comedy's Twilight Zone Unscripted!

Instant Karma Presents: Impro Theatre's Twilight Zone UnScripted. Featuring Jo McGinley, Stephen Kearin, Ryan Smith, Kelly Holden-Bashar, Lisa Fredrickson, and Nick Massouh.

Friday & Saturday, November 20 & 21 8:00pm
@ Center Stage Theater
www.centerstagetheater.org
www.improvcomedysb.com