Florida Studio Theatre Announces All New Improv Show

Florida Studio Theatre's improv troupe is shaking things up this spring with an exciting, fresh form of spontaneous fun. At FST Freestyle, Sarasota audiences will be able to see free-form improv-a daring improv style with no rules or limits-on Saturdays at 7:30 pm in FST's Bowne's Lab starting April 14, 2018. Full menu and bar are available for all performances. Doors open one hour prior to the show. Tickets are $15 and may be purchased from the FST Box Office in person, by calling (941) 366-9000, or online at www.floridastudiotheatre.org.

FST Freestyle doesn't have a prescribed format; instead, FST Improv members "follow the funny," starting a new scene or storyline when sparked by an action, statement, or suggestion. No matter how many exciting and unexpected directions FST Freestyle goes in, everything that happens in the show is connected, whether it is inspired by what took place in previous scenes or by an initial audience suggestion. Every performance is hilariously one-of-a-kind, because each show is completely driven by the improvisers' discoveries and connections in the moment. FST Director of Improv Will Luera explains: "Most improv shows have some 'structure' or safety net behind them-whether it is the format of a competition or a pre-determined line-up of games. Free-form removes that safety net. We literally don't know what the show will be about or what it will look like. That level of freedom is exhilarating for the cast and audience alike."

Luera created free-form improv while he was the Artistic Director of ImprovBoston, a group that has performed numerous times at the Sarasota Improv Festival, which will be celebrating its 10th Anniversary this July. Today, free-form improv has established itself around the world, in places like Toronto, New York, Boston, Madrid, Bogota, and Amsterdam. "Many improvisers see it as the purest form of improvisation," said Luera. "It's been very well received by Sarasota audiences since the first Improv Festival [ten years ago], so I felt that it was time for FST to try it as well. I'm personally very excited that Sarasota audiences get to experience [free-form improv] every week!

Back for another season of breaking out of the box are returning cast members: Will Luera, Christine Alexander, Jason Cannon, Andrew Deeb, Michael Fraser, Chris Friday, Patrick A. Jackson, Joey James, Darryl Knapp, Emily Levin, Kihresha Redmond, Natasha Samreny, Sergei Glushonkov, Michelle Neal, and Jim Prosser.

Performances of this bold, original style with FST Freestyle begin on April 14 and run through June 30, 2018, to be followed by the 10th Annual Sarasota Improv Festival on July 12-14. Performances of FST Freestyle will be held every Saturday at 7:30pm. Full menu and bar are available. Doors open one hour prior to the show. Tickets are $15 and may be purchased from the FST Box Office in person, by calling (941) 366-9000, or online at www.floridastudiotheatre.org.

About Florida Studio Theatre

Known as Sarasota's Contemporary Theatre, Florida Studio Theatre was founded in 1973 by Artist Jon Spelman. Starting out as a small touring company, FST traveled to places such as migrant camps and prisons. the company eventually settled down into a permanent home, acquiring the former Woman's Club building - now renamed the Keating Theatre. In the years that followed, Florida Studio Theatre established itself as a major force in American Theatre, presenting contemporary theatre in its five theatre venues: the Keating Theatre, the Gompertz Theatre, the Goldstein Cabaret, the John C. Court Cabaret, and Bowne's Lab Theatre.

Even with its growth, Florida Studio Theatre remains firmly committed to making the arts accessible and affordable to a broad-based audience. Under Producing Artistic Director Richard Hopkins, FST develops theatre that speaks to our living, evolving, and dynamically changing world. As FST grows and expands, it continues to provide audiences with challenging, contemporary drama and innovative programs.

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