The Improv Network is holding a fundraiser so we may continue to operate.
Traditionally, our costs to operate have been covered by festivals utilizing our submission services. With festival cancellations due to Covid, we have lost that stream of income.
We are asking you to please consider donating $12 today. $12 covers a full day of our costs to operate as we do now. Our goal is to raise enough money for one year of operations ($4,380) over the next 30 days.
The Improv Network supports the largest user generated database of improv teams and theaters in the world. It provides instant festival submissions for teams, easy festival application management for festivals, and resources and educational tools that include blogs, videos, podcasts, and interviews. On our website, you can find teacher and workshop profiles, connections and chat features with our worldwide improv community, and professional landing pages for individuals, teams, and teachers, all with no ads.
The Improv Network is run by a board and staff consisting of all unpaid volunteers. Therefore, the $12 each day covers our website, hosting, interactive user database and platform, and all connected software.
We ask that you please consider donating or sharing this. Our mission is to connect improvisers and provide every team, theater, and performer, anywhere in the world, access to the support, information, tools, and resources they need to create outstanding improv and run positive, safe, and diverse theaters and festivals. Now, we are asking for your support.
Any amount helps and is greatly appreciated. We value your time and your part in our community. Thank you.
Update
A special virtual event will be happening on April 24th. Check back soon for more details.
COVID-19 has had a huge blow across the world. For performers, theatres, and festivals, social distancing can be both emotionally exhausting and financially worrying. It’s been amazing seeing the improv community sharing ideas and love with each other. The following isn’t intended as a definitive resource, but a gathering of some of the best ideas being shared out there. I’ll do my best to credit ideas wherever possible.
Hopefully, these things will help us all get through this safe and sound.
Communications about COVID closures
As theatres, there are a lot of people you need to communicate with to make sure that your message is clear. Some ways of communicating might slip through the cracks with all the other changes. Here are some quick things to remember.
Update your webpage to remove any cancelled shows or classes. Put a message on your front page.
Update your voicemail (thanks to Jessica Brown for reminding me about this one).
Update any automated email lists. Also, send an email to your mailing list.
Contact the local press about your closure. Take down any listings.
Take your tickets down from any place they’re available online.
Contact any business partners.
Contact any sponsors. Some sponsorships are based on advertising in your slideshows/programs. Be transparent with them. Most will understand and it will help maintain your relationships down the road.
Pirates of Tokyo Bay added a dedicated page for updates so patrons can gather all this info in one place.
Festivals have some additional concerns:
Contact hotels
Contact your venue if it’s not your regular venue
Obviously contact performers, but also be available to help them to get in touch with their airlines
Contact your designers / merchandise providers
Financial Resources During COVID Closures
For many theatres, after covering rent and utilities each month, they will just break even. Even with a nest egg, savings will deplete quickly.
Local art guilds exist in most places. They’re overwhelmed right now.
Local, state/province, and national governments all have their own programs. It couldn’t hurt to look at their specific relief offerings.
Oozebear is a place to do online shows with very little technical knowledge needed.
For those with a little more know-how, there are many conferencing tools out there. Zoom seems to be the most commonly used by theatres right now to both improvise with their teams and teach, but experiment with others and see what works best for you and your needs.
P-Graph has always been one of the leading voices out there in playing with technology. They’ve already started streaming. Look to them for ideas (and buy their great book while you’re at it).
Elana Fishbein is teaching a course online on Sunday March 29th.
Quarantine Improv Facebook Group is not exactly a performance opportunity, but a place for us to share bits and keep each other sane.
Ways to still bring in income with these
Keep gift cards available on your site for future shows.
Leave donation tabs on your website and social media offerings
Sell tickets to your online shows. Be aware that these shows are still in development and people are also underemployed right now, so be more accommodating on ticket prices or sliding scales.
Alternatively, open a Patreon giving donors access to online shows
Don’t be aggressive. Remember, many of your patrons are worried about their own income. Put the ball in their court to make donation and ticket payment options in their hands.
Stay safe out there (and in there). We’re all learning how to cope with this, but improv has always been about adapting. Spolin, The Committee, The Compass, Neutrino – they all learned to reach audiences and celebrate the art in new ways. If we truly believe that a lack of a script is a gift, not an obstacle, then let’s treat COVID the same way. Let’s not view it as an obstacle that hinders our old ways of performing, but as a way to free us to find new ways to celebrate and share improv with people in these days. We hope you will keep supporting each other and sharing what is working for you. Maybe some of these methods will even stick around after theatres open up again, and they will continue to enhance our improv community so we may reach even more people.
Hello theater owners and festival runners. We hear you and we know that most of you are non-profits or very small businesses and any closure is hard. The Improv Network has always been one to be the center of all theaters, a free online resource for you. So we are raising funds to allocate to those hurt the most by closures. So what you can do? Please share the link (See below) to anyone and everyone you can to give anything from $5 to $500 etc. Doesn’t matter, just anything. Please share this with friends, theaters, co-workers and family. Let’s all work together to save what will be most likely financially devastating to some theaters. In the spirit of “Got Your Back” Let’s have all of our backs!
Guidelines to Applying: Now we don’t know how much we will raise, but what we do, we will allocate it all back to applicants based on their needs and what we have.
GUIDELINES TO APPLYING FOR HELP:
We have received many applications and have closed our application process. All money raised will be distributed to theaters that have already applied. If we raise substantially more money and can help more theaters, we will open the application process back up.
The board of The Improv Network will approve theater applications
You can apply for aid regarding rent and bills. Please provide evidence that you have shut down, and for how long. We need evidence that you will have trouble paying bills.
The Network will award a full or partial grant depending on how much money we raise.
Please only apply if your theater is experiencing significant financial trouble caused by the shut downs.
Email laurel@theimprovnetwork.org if you have any questions
Over the past four years, The Hambook has published essays on improvisation for free online. Now, it is releasing all of its works in one hardbound compendium, The Complete Hambook.
The Hambook was conceived in 2015 after I had a whispered conversation with a friend about improv theory. We were at an improv venue’s bar, surrounded by improvisers who had just performed, and felt we couldn’t talk openly about our love for the art form. I felt embarrassed to admit that I loved improvisation and wanted to try new things. Things may have changed now, but around that time, I felt a sincere fear to express an earnest interest in the art. I felt that taking it any more seriously than my peers did might label me as uncool. But the truth was that I had moved across the country to Chicago for improv alone. Not to study comedy, not to find my voice, and not to make it big. Just to improvise.
I went home and looked at my bookshelf and saw books about all sorts of different arts. They discussed new ways of approaching the arts and made new arguments. Then I looked at my improv books, and I only saw a few. All of them said mostly the same stuff, the contents of which had grown stale and hadn’t been updated since their authors first started teaching it back in the 90’s.
I created The Hambook to inspire discussion in a community that desperately needed it. Improv has mostly an oral history, passed from teacher to student, but that knowledge often gets lost in the mix and we barely know who to credit for specific ideas, forms, and moves. I thought that if we could publish a magazine every few months, years from now we would be able to point to the smart individuals who created those ideas. We could also watch as opinions are discussed in real time, as one author reads an essay they disagree with and writes a rebuttal a few months later.
We could also watch how the society surrounding improvisation grows and changes. We could discuss how to live a balanced life as an improviser, how to keep relationships while teams fall apart, how to use improv terminology properly, and how to invest in our audiences. So many positive changes could be made to the culture if we just came at this art formally, proudly, and carefully.
That’s why it had to be a magazine, not a “zine.” It had to be a PDF, not a blog. It had to be a book, not a podcast. I tried to take this project as seriously as possible so that the contributors and readers would feel proud to care about improvisation. As I hold the book in my hands now, I couldn’t be more proud.
The Complete Hambook is over 650 pages, contains over 60 essays, and is being sold at cost, so no one is making money from this project. You can buy it at thehambook.com. Thank you for your support!
There is no euphemism suitable for the end of Amy Louise Sebelius’ life. Early in the morning on November 24th, our Amy Lou died. While filled with love, her death was the only somber part of her life. The rest was technicolor.
Amy Louise Sebelius, Amy Lou, was a goddamned firefly wrapped in a rainbow riding a unicorn while reciting Henry the 4th. She was moonbeams and fireworks screaming across a perfectly blue-black star studded sky. And standing next to her, on-stage and off, I always felt like I could fly.
At its very best, improv is about vulnerability. We stand up in front of people and invite them to watch us swan dive into a trust fall again and again and again and again. And because of the incredible faith in each other it takes to do that in tandem, the people we stand up on that stage with often become closer than the closest of friends. Amy Louise Sebelius was that for so many of us, and for me.
I met her at the inaugural Camp Improv Utopia Yosemite. But before I met her, I heard her voice. Raspy and yet lilting, laughing and yet poignant. Her energy was like a red carpet unrolled into Oz. “Heyyyy, come in!” she said excitedly. “Oh my god, do you believe in ghosts? You have to hear this story.” I was immediately wrapped up and carried away by her energy.
We spent that weekend in Yosemite learning a new improv form, which itself is a gift. But the greatest gift for me, was that I got to learn about her. I watched her initiate with rapturous excitement. When I perform, I often feel uncomfortable with situations or initiations that skew toward the absurd. And then there’s Amy Lou. She was so beautifully comfortable with the fanciful. She would initiate something that on face value seemed so unattainably absurd, but then would instantaneously become grounded and filled with delight. I learned from her joy. I gravitated to her passion. I basked in her shine.
I remember a day, toward the end of her life, where I was sitting at the foot of her hospital bed working on my laptop as she slept. It was late in the afternoon. I heard that raspy voice say, “Would you look at how beautiful this is. We are so lucky.” I looked at her and saw a blissful smile across her face. I followed the light in her eyes to the window where the sky was filled with the most beautiful early sunset. We sat there for a moment taking it in. The moment was ended by her hedgehog finger puppet telling me that he wanted some chocolate. The perfect mixture of tenderness and hilarity, that was Amy Lou. Beauty and bits, always and forever.
To say that I will miss her doesn’t feel like it even comes close to describing the grief left in her absence. I just know that I want to be the kind of performer that lifts others up and carries them along on a skyrocket of delight. And I know that I want to live a life filled with the love and joy and technicolor that she carried and flung into the atmosphere everywhere Amy Lou went.
If you want to honor her there are lots of tangible things you could do. You could put on some red horn-rimmed glasses, you could do a Harold, you could eat pizza, you could pet your favorite kitty. But the best way to honor her is simply to stop now and then, take a deep breath and honor the beauty in front of you, because that’s what she did every day of her life. And after you take that deep breath and acknowledge the moment, take off your shoe, make a puppet out of your sock, and do some bits for the person standing next to you. And laugh. Beyond it all, laugh. She’ll hear you and if you listen close enough, you will be able to hear that inimitable raspy voice laugh back and say, “Oh my god! I love you!”
How lucky I was, we all were, to love and be loved by our Amy Lou.
**This piece is an editorial, and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Improv Network or any of its members or staff. It is also not an endorsement of any political candidate for office.**
Several months ago, I wrote an article entitled “Improv Is My Therapy” which detailed how some of the philosophies that we are taught in improvisation are similar to those that one might experience during the course of therapy. A few days ago, Donald Trump, was nominated to be the 45th President of the United States. Many people in the community have felt very upset by this, and I too have felt a roller coaster of feelings since the announcement. Regardless of where you stand on the election, we can agree that this election has been extremely divisive. But, in the end, we’re all on the same team. So once again, I call upon the great wisdom of the improv philosophers who have come before us to guide us in this difficult time along with ketamine bipolar therapy.
Rule #1: Don’t Deny
Our two-party system is essentially a two-person show in which instead of building something together, we just wait until we have a chance to initiate and dominate the scene. There are also some people sitting on the back line, wanting to contribute, but they are largely ignored (we should probably also listen to what they have to say). One of the first things we learn in improv is to never say no. It’s safer to say no, it’s easier, it means that we get to be in complete control of a situation that nobody has the answers to. (Improv and real life are oddly similar, no one really knows what is going to happen next – and some people claim that they definitely know what should happen next).
And this isn’t to teeter into moral relativism. There are times when one side is wrong, when something is clearly going in one direction and someone throws in an upsetting curveball. But in many cases, we have something to learn from the other side. If you want to play the game of a scene, but your partner wants to play with patient narrative work, you both bring something valuable to the stage and you can build something amazing if you work together to integrate both of your respective strengths. But before you build, you must accept what is given to you. The reflex to outright deny someone else’s perspective because they aren’t like you is dangerous and unproductive. On other news, checkout https://www.emergencyhomesolutionsoc.com/mold-removal-orange-county-eco-friendly-options/.
Rule #2: Yes, And
Accepting isn’t the only step. Once we’ve come to a place where we have acknowledged each other, we should then build. Both parties come in with an idea of what will be, but somewhere in between those two perspectives is the actuality of what should be. America is a wonderful mix of diverse viewpoints and perspectives; consequently, there will be many views on what is right for our nation to do. There is no answer or decision that will be universally loved by everyone. People are going to walk away from the stage feeling like the initiation that they had wasn’t listened to, that their scene was edited too quickly, or that people didn’t get the game that they were trying to set up. And it sucks, but we are building something together.
Rule #3: Treating Your Partner Like a Genius
are a bunch of ! Every, last one of them! They’re irrational, selfish, and worst of all, they don’t care about American values. Anything that they say is completely farfetched and not worth the air molecules that were vibrated to transmit the sound wave carrying their message. Look, there are definitely people from either party that are dumb as hell. But there are also sane, educated people who are going to make decisions that you disagree with. Why did my teammate initiate a Harold opening in which everyone had to do a handstand? Why is that a good idea? Ugh, those Groundlings-trained people are ridiculous! (Ridiculously funny, such great shows!) If we don’t’ take the time to understand the other side, we’ll just build more animosity. And yes, there’s a chance that it won’t always be reciprocated, but when it is it’ll be worth it!
Rule #4: Don’t Be An Asshole
All of what I’ve said assumes that the other person is acting in a relatively civil manner. In the same way that we should have respect for each other on stage (not grabbing, kissing, choking, etc… without consent), we should also be respectful to each other in this discourse. I have many friends who are legitimately scared for their lives because of what they feel a Trump Presidency may enable people to do (and the events in the past few days have corroborated those fears). Using your views or the success of your chosen candidate to terrorize others is just as bad as the person who always initiates honeymoon scenes to try and kiss their fellow teammates. It may feel like we are in different countries, but we all pledge allegiance to the same flag (there are some people who pledge allegiance to a slightly outdated American flag – I don’t know what to say in response to them).
Last Thoughts
Part of what fueled the fervor of this election was a group of Americans who felt that they were not listened to, and supported the first person to tell them “I hear you. Your concerns are valid. And let’s take those concerns and let’s make your country be as great as you want it to be.” And yes, we might not agree 100% with all their concerns, but if we don’t ever listen, if we never assume that they might have valid concerns, and if we don’t try to build something together with them, then we can never grow as a team. In that regard, Donald Trump is a helluva good improviser and I sincerely hope that he will be a good President (even though I personally, have many concerns about his recent and past actions). As artists, it is important to use our voices to build bridges and support the voices of those who feel unheard, but also to stand up for what is right in the world. Striking that balance between the two in the upcoming years might be difficult, but I believe in our ability to do it. You all look like geniuses to me.
NIN’s year of the teacher was amazing. We created the Teacher Tool which will allow you to submit yourself, for free, as a teacher to a festival and let theaters know when you’re in town so they can hire you if you in the neighborhood…NEATO! With that said, I’d like to chat with our readers about hiring veteran teachers to come to your festival and/or theater to do teaching or coaching workshops. There is huge value in this. I think we have a responsibility as theaters and festivals to start training the next generation of improvisors to become great teachers and have the tools and knowledge they need to succeed.
A lot of theaters, festivals and communities are still young. I’d say about 80 percent of the theaters and festivals I go to fit in this category. For theaters, a lot of communities are growing pretty fast and we are basically making teachers out of students or recent alums. I get it, the demand is there from incoming students and you want your business to push forward, but what about the teachers? Teaching is a different art all together. Especially teaching something like improv. Just like improvisors who need training, so do teachers. Sure, you may have to shell out a few dollars to get a master teacher to come out, but your return on investment is going to be huge. The better the teacher, the better the business, and the more chance to have returning students. The better the student, the better the performer, the better your audiences will get because of the quality of work – Trickle-down Improv-nomics. You may not see the money right away, but invest in your theater it will be worth it in the long run. I know some theaters are doing this already and to you guys! YAY! You’re ahead of the game and I’d be interested to hear about the experience. You have to think big picture. I know it’s hard to think that as we try to figure out how to pay our rent for next month or buy more paper towels for the bathroom, but the long game is where it is at and it’s worth it.
For festivals, what a great opportunity to offer this course to your community and improvisors coming into town. We are so focused on the teaching of improv skills and forms, we are forgetting that a lot of these improvisors are going to become coaches or teachers eventually. If you’re inviting a master teacher to come to your festival, have them do an improv workshop, but also have them add an instructor workshop. Why not? You have them there. Again, may cost more, but I feel this is something that would do really well. After all these people are the best in the business and have years of experience in teaching. They know what works with students and what doesn’t.
I want to take a second to thank all the teachers and coaches out there for doing the work and committing to our art form. You’re paving the way for the future of improv. Right now we may not get paid as much as we deserve but I do see a day where that will change and it’s all because of the blood, sweat and tears coming from your passion. So, thank you!
Nick Armstrong
Nick is Camp Director and Founder of Improv Utopia an improv retreat for adults in California, Yosemite and Pennsylvania. He is also one of the founding members of the National Improv Network and performer and teacher at iO West and The Groundlings. He has also taught many workshops at theaters and festivals around the world.
For a group of people who pride themselves on never going on a script, we fall back into a lot of the same sayings over and over again; “Support Your Partner”, “Heighten the Game”, “Play to the Top of Your Intelligence”. We sometimes get into such vain repetition that we kind of forget what those words really mean, and also assume that those we’re saying it to will somehow understand exactly what we mean.
Around NIN circles, one of those sayings is “A rising tide lifts all boats”. Now, if you know me, you know I believe that to the core of my soul. But just because we say those words a lot doesn’t mean we can always back them up. We’ve become so confident that it is true, that we never really talk about that idea in a real clinical or analytical sense. Maybe we should.
Well, it turns out there is some math to support it. Some 18th Century Math to be specific. That kind of thing was all the rage among the prominent nerds of the 1760s. But I don’t think we want to go that far back today.
If you haven’t watched his videos or read his book, they are absolutely filled with very straightforward ideas which are great tools for marketing your theatre or your festival. In fact, you should really watch his whole video here when you can. Each of his points could be the topic of a blog post (and if there’s interest, perhaps there will be.) But today, let’s just talk about one of them.(slightly altered to fit this post)
This is an alpaca
This is a dog
Thought Experiment
If you’re reading this you may live in a major city, or at least near one. I want you to think about that city and answer the following question. You can’t Google or research this answer. Simply answer.
Are there more dogs or alpacas within the city limits of the city you’re thinking of?
It’s not a trick question. You know the answer. It’s obviously dogs. You don’t need statistics to know that’s correct. But why do you know that?
You know that because you see dogs. There are dog parks. There are dog grooming centers. There are magazines about dogs. There are clearly lots of dogs in the city. That doesn’t mean there are no alpacas around. There probably are. Maybe in a zoo or in a farm somewhere. There just aren’t nearly the same number of dogs, or you’d know.
The brain is pretty smart. That kind of reasoning is how humans cope day to day with making informed decisions without firm hard statistics at every moment. It helps us make good decisions. But that part of the brain can also be hacked.
As few alpacas as there are in your city, there are probably even fewer Powerball millionaire winners. But it doesn’t feel like it, does it? Every week on the news, they show the newest winner. Every jackpot billboard has a picture of a winner. A different winner on every billboard. You start seeing Powerball winners. They must be real, because you see them. And the more Powerball winners you see, the more likely you are to get a Powerball ticket. Even if you’ve never bought a lottery ticket. I’ll bet you thought about it more than you thought about getting an alpaca. Tell me I’m wrong.
The truth is, people make decisions based on familiar things. When I am hanging with my troupe and we think about grabbing a bite, pizza is an option. Because pizza places are everywhere. When I visited Vancouver last month and we talked about where to eat, people suggested grabbing donairs because there are donair joints everywhere in Vancouver. You know why we don’t consider that in Phoenix? Because no one I know has ever heard of a donair. There is actually a Canadian donair places within short driving distance of me. I just never saw it. And even if I saw it before, I probably wouldn’t have gone in because it wasn’t familiar. Pizza must be good or there wouldn’t be pizza places everywhere.
We’re Alpacas
If you own an improv theatre, if you run a festival, if you have a troupe: You, my friend, are an alpaca in your town. Improv is growing faster than it ever has. People know it beyond just a TV show now. Some day we’ll be ferrets. Some day we’ll be goldfish. And I know someday, we’ll be adorable puppies. But today? We’re alpacas. It’s OK. Own it.
When the people in your town think of getting a pet. They think about getting a dog. When they think about going out. They think about going to a movie. Advertising your shows, fliering the local record store, putting a poster up on that community board? It’s not enough. The people who see those fliers know that you have it in your mind to do improv. Big whoop. It doesn’t mean it’s worth their time. That attitude is not going to change as long as you’re the only improv flier they ever see.
There are more improvisors in your town than there are alpapacas. There are way more improvisors in your town than there are Powerball winners. There are probably more troupes and theatres in your town than there are Powerball winners. So act like it. Put that face out to the people of your city. Let them see a different improv troupe when they turn the corner. Let them know about what the guys across town are doing. Put up a poster for the festival being put on by the people you only talk to three times a year.
There are still so few of us out there, people don’t know we’re here. Why in God’s name would you hide that fact by not promoting shows around town that are not your own? Show your city that improv is worth doing. Show your city that improv is worth seeing. Invite those people to join a real true improv community. Because if you do, they will. It’s not just a warm fuzzy thought, it’s solid business sense.
So yeah, a rising tide lift all boats. But that tide doesn’t just appear from nowhere. That tide is the people of your city and they will lift you up. But you have to let them see the boats.
Currently Bill is an instructor at The Torch Theatre and producer for the Phoenix Improv Festival. And he wants to give a special shout out to Jeter’Z, NCT Phoenix, Chaos Comedy and ImprovMania who make the greater Phoenix area an place of improv.
Recently, in Los Angeles there was an increased awareness of sexual harassment. A few people in the community were accused of sexually harassing women to the point that they didn’t want to take classes at certain theaters because their instructor was harassing them and creating an unsafe experience for the students. It got crazy and the LA improv community was damaged by it. This harassment affected many major theaters in the LA market. The harassment had been going on for a few years but no one came forward until recently. Why did this happen? Partially, the victims didn’t feel that they had a safe place to come forward and talk about it. They didn’t know who to talk to. There was no policy or the policy wasn’t enforced and the victims felt they would be ridiculed and possibly shunned from the community. It sounds crazy, but it’s completely understandable. This happens in other industries all the time. So, how do we help solve this? How do we protect our improvisors from this horrible and gross thing? Your theater needs a Sexual Harassment Policy and procedures on how to report them.
There should be a NO TOLERANCE Sexual Harassment Policy that any member of the theater who teaches or performs there should have to read, agree and sign. It should also be made clear how someone, male or female, can seek help if something like this comes up. They need to know that they are safe and that they can report this stuff so it doesn’t spiral out of hand as it had in LA.
It’s beyond me that we aren’t thinking of this and it hurts that we even have to, but we do and we need to protect our improvisors from people who may want to hurt them. So if you don’t have one, get one quick and implement it immediately. Set up a system of reporting and let them know that they will be safe in reporting it. You may want to consult a legal entity if you have one and you may want that person to handle any reports that are being submitted. If you have the money to take it one step further, recently one of the theaters I belong to, iO West, hired a Human Resources Manager to oversee all policies of the theater including sexual misconduct. It’s a step in the right direction and great job iO for taking this seriously. I know some other major theaters have policies as well. For those larger theaters that can afford something like this, if you haven’t already…you should, there’s no excuse. For you smaller markets, it doesn’t matter how small you are you have to at least have a policy and implement it and make sure your company understands it. Your improvisors are your family and you should do anything to protect them and make them feel safe. Let’s have each others backs!
The San Diego Improv Festival launches into its second year in February. I was able to interview Kevin Dolan one or the Producers of the festival. Check out what wonderful things this city and the festival have to offer.
This is your 2nd year of the SDIF. Tell us how the SDIF came about.
Amy Lisewski, the Artistic Director of Finest City Improv (FCI), has always believed in bringing the top improvisers to perform and teach workshops in San Diego. Even before FCI had its own space, she would have the best people she knew down from LA to teach workshops during the day and perform on the same bill with local teams at night. Once FCI had its own theater – and one that is attached to a hotel no less – having multi-day festival was a natural step.
It is unique to have a festival where the theater and hotel are connected. Tell us about that and what the hotel has to offer for improvisers.
FCI has a great location, attached to The Lafayette Hotel, Swim Club & Bungalows. The place has a retro feel reminiscent of a Hollywood-style property you would see in a 1940s movie. The hotel restaurants have tasty food, the lobby is a great place to relax, and the rooms have been recently remodeled. And of course there is a swimming pool which we use for the festival’s big social event: the pool party on Saturday afternoon.
The biggest advantage to being attached to the hotel is that it’s great for connecting with other improvisers. We want the San Diego Improv Festival to be a social event as much as it is an improv event. We want people to make friends and come back every year to see those people again.
The neighborhood surrounding FCI is also “uber-hip,” or so I’m told. I can definitely tell you it has some good restaurants that don’t cost a fortune.
What can improvisors expect?
Our goal is to make SDIF the perfect weekend vacation for the improviser.
Even if your team isn’t performing at the festival, you can participate in our open jam on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights before the shows start. This is an opportunity to get on stage and play with the people you’ve been partying with all week.
We also have a full workshop program, with four already scheduled and four more in the works. Improvisers will be able to take up to two workshops on Saturday (10am and 3pm) and two on Sunday (11;30am and 3pm). Workshops will be two and a half hours long to facilitate getting adequate stage time for all attendees. Nick Armstrong and Karen Graci from LA, and Colleen Doyle and Jason Shotts from Chicago, are the confirmed workshop instructors.
Then there are the parties. I already talked about the Pool Party on Saturday afternoon – it’s scheduled between the morning and afternoon workshops – and that’s the social highlight of the festival. There will also be parties either on site or very close by on Friday and Saturday nights after the shows. With the hotel so close by, the parties were very popular last year and I expect it to be the same this year.
And of course we’re going to have a great lineup headlined by King Ten from Los Angeles and Dummy from Chicago; as well as other great teams from Chicago, New York, and other places closer to home.
The San Diego Improv Festival is the perfect improv vacation: take great improv workshops, see world class improv teams, party with fun improvisers, and participate in an improv jam (or two).
If accepted to the festival what do improvisers have to look forward to? Discounts? Workshops?
Performers will receive a wristband which will allow them to get into shows free of charge when there are seats available (at start of show). Performers can guarantee a seat by buying tickets or a festival pass in advance and are given a 50% discount. Performers will also receive a welcome package upon arrival.
Tell us about your great city…What can improvisers from out of town do while they’re there?
Of course, San Diego has some of the nicest weather anywhere in the world. Also, FCI is not too far from Balboa Park, home of the San Diego Zoo as well as a number of popular museums. San Diego has a number of micro-breweries, for those who like beer. And of course the beach isn’t far away. Surf’s up!
What have been some of the biggest challenges putting a festival on?
There are a so many details involved in staging a festival. We are fortunate to have people like Kat Brown, Erin Hanehan, and a great team of volunteers to make everything go smoothly.
Nick is Camp Director and Founder of Improv Utopia an improv retreat for adults in California and Pennsylvania. He is also one of the founding members of the National Improv Network and performer and teacher at iO West as well as member of The Sunday Company at The Groundlings. He has also taught many workshops around the country.
The Improv Network is holding a fundraiser so we may continue to operate.
Over the past four years, The Hambook has published essays on improvisation for free online. Now, it is releasing all of its works in one hardbound compendium, The Complete Hambook.
