Comedy Fans Learn From The Pros At The 10th Anniversary Sarasota Improv Festival

The 10th Anniversary Sarasota Improv Festival (July 12, 13, 14) will bring together over 75 of the best improvisers from all over the country, and as far as France and Spain, for three consecutive days this summer. Beyond 28 opportunities to witness skillful spontaneity performed by professional improvisers, attendees will also have 16 opportunities to dive into their own comedic creativity with one full day of workshops running Saturday, July 14 from 9AM to 4PM. Topics include learning the building blocks of narrative improv, harmonizing theatrically with musical improv, exploring mime and object work, and more. Lead by Festival performers, participants will have the chance to learn from some of the best in the industry with workshops ranging across a variety of skill and experience levels. There are even workshops available for beginners who are interested in dipping their toe in the exciting, inventive world of improv-no previous improv or performance experience is necessary to enroll in these workshops. Each session lasts two hours, and can be purchased for $35 each, or $90 for three sessions.

"From the beginning, workshops have been an integral part of the festival. It is one of the greatest benefits to the performers themselves," explained FST's Managing Director and Producer of the Festival, Rebecca Hopkins. "They have the opportunity to focus on new skills and share techniques with each other. They [workshops] have been particularly important to the Florida artists. Improvisers from all over the state come to learn from some of the top national improvisers in the field."

La Carpe Haute (Strasbourg, France) and Available Cupholders (Austin, TX) will lead workshops focusing on physicality and connecting with your body. Leading the workshop for Available Cupholders will be Michael Joplin, a certified DanceAbility instructor. DanceAbility is an organization that uses improvisational dance to promote artistic expression and exploration between people with and without disabilities. In both troupes' workshops, guests will learn to increase their physical awareness, how to listen to their entire body, and how to make interesting relationships in space with anyone.

Sessions with ImprovBoston (Boston, MA) and SAK Comedy Lab (Orlando, FL) will concentrate on short-form improv and the importance of collaboration, character-building, audience interaction, and reacting to your scene partner. For the musically inclined, the all-female musical improv group, STACKED (Chicago, IL), and one of the top hip-hop comedy troupes in the country, North Coast (New York City, NY), will lead workshops centered on the basics of musical improv. In these workshops, students will learn how to create show-stopping solos, duets, and group numbers.

According to the husband and wife comedy duo, Orange Tuxedo (Los Angeles, CA), "The same communication skills that make for a good relationship make for a good improvised scene." In their workshop, Improvise Like a Married Couple, Craig and Carla Cackowski will share exercises that encourage open communication between scene partners. Craig has appeared numerous times on Comedy Central's Drunk History, and has recurring characters on Community, Bajillion Dollar Properties, and Veep. Carla has toured all over Europe, Alaska, and the Caribbean with The Second City, America's legendary home of sketch comedy and improv. Participants who attend this workshop will receive top-notch training-Craig is the three-time winner of the Del Close Award as Teacher of the Year at iO West, the Western branch of Chicago's famous improv comedy center, iO Theater.

One of this year's headliners, ImproMadrid, will lead Looking for the End, which will build off the three primary aspects of storytelling: character, space, and event. Students will learn how to use these components to strengthen their performances as well as how each aspect leads toward a story's clear end. Looking for the End reminds students that "Everything has to do with the hero, his goal, and the way to achieve it." According to FST's Director of Improvisation, Looking for the End will bring something fresh to the Festival: "This workshop touches on what makes this group so unique, so to be able to learn from the masters will be a special treat for our community."

At the 10th Anniversary Sarasota Improv Festival, attendees can learn how to create hilarious characters on the spot by using archetypes from Austin, Texas's own Parallelogramophonograph, can receive improv (and relationship) advice from Craig Cackowski of Comedy Central's Drunk History, and even try their hand at free-style rapping with New York's North Coast. With a wide range of workshops and styles, there's an improv workshop fit for everyone at this year's milestone event.

Workshop passes are now on sale-$35 for one session and $90 for three. Sarasota Improv Festival ticket pricing varies, with 3 day passes available for $79, weekend passes for $69, nightly for $55, and individual shows for $10 each. A pass for Thursday night's performances are $29 and headliner tickets are $25 each. All Festival passes are now on sale and may be purchased at 941-366-9000, or online at floridastudiotheatre.org.

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