The Milky Way Improv Festival, held in Roseville, CA (Near Sacramento) will be celebrating it’s second year March 21-23 and we couldn’t be happier. I had the privilege of attending last year and they treated us right. Great venue, great people and a great town! I had a chance to interview the Festival Producers and owners of Blacktop Comedy Paul Burke and Betsaida LeBron:
This is your second year throwing the Milky Way Improv Festival. How did the idea of doing this festival start?
We had attended a lot of improv festivals (Seattle, Austin, San Francisco, Chicago, Phoenix, Los Angelas). An improv festival is this perfect blend of talent, passion, and openness. It’s all about the art form at a festival, and everyone wants to share, and listen to ideas. Simply attending the festivals inspired us. We wanted to bring the Roseville/Sacramento community a festival that could showcase incredibly talented improv productions from all over. We want this area to be inspired, and realize, “We can do that with improv?!”
Why Milky Way Improv Festival as a title?
Maybe there’s life on other planets! We’d hate to limit our festival to Earth and possibly miss out on some improv troupe submission from Gliese 581. We wanted to suggest this festival is big and welcoming. We want to include as many teams as possible. There’s so much amazing improv being produced and performed, and we welcome all of it to the Milky Way Improv Festival.
What’s the improv scene like in the Roseville/Sacramento area?
I’d say ‘growing’ and ‘learning,’ describes the scene. New faces drop into an improv class every week and keep coming back! Seeing new performers, people who have NEVER stepped onstage before, realize, “I can do this!” is pretty inspiring. As performances go, you can find both long and short form improv in Roseville/Sacramento. Everything from a classic harold, to an all female acappella improv group perform in Sacramento/Roseville.
What are your goals for the second year?
The first year was so fun and we got a lot of positive feedback. We did learn a number of things and are excited for the 2014 festival.
Our goal this year is threefold.
First, let the improv community know about our festival. We’ve met a number of improvisers who have told us, “we didn’t know about the Milky Way Improv Festival.” That’s on us, and we’re working to fix that.
Secondly, we’re looking for lineup of shows that extends beyond California. California troupes and beyond, we welcome your submissions!
Thirdly, we’re looking to offer more improv courses. As the local improv community grows, we would love to bring them, and all festival goers, a variety of classes. Interested in teaching a class? We’re accepting submissions!
What can improvisers expect if they attend your festival?
We want you to enjoy yourself. Think of this as a weekend long party for improv. One of the biggest perks of the festival is our theater venue. We’re lucky enough to partner with a Tower theatre in Downtown Roseville. The Tower Theater is a gorgeous 200+ seat theater. Social events at local bars and restaurants will be planned and organized, so you will have an opportunity to spend time with other performers. Discounted hotel rooms will be arranged. If you would like to teach a class, a classroom with be provided to you. What would you like to see at our festival? One thing we do well is listen, and are always open to ideas.
For those who haven’t been to Roseville/Sacramento, what are some of the things people can check out in the city during the day or any places to visit?
There are lots of great things in the region. Here are just a couple (we’ll list more on the website soon):
Placer County Wine Trail
Hiking and Biking trails
Award Winning Restaurants
Sacramento Kings basketball
The Crocker Art Museum
white water rafting in Montreal
Old Town Sacramento
Maybe I’m biased because Sacramento is my hometown, but I have to say this festival was amazing and the venue is a great place to do your improv show! It’s an amazing theater and you’ll get a great crowd! Paul and Betsaida have created a wonderful community here and the Sacramento/Roseville area is a great place to explore. It’s Gold Rush town!
To submit to the festival instantly on NIN click HERE.
Nick Armstrong
Nick is Camp Director and Founder of Improv Utopia an improv retreat for grown ups in California and Pennsylvania. He is also one of the founding members of the National Improv Network. We are always looking for better ways to serve the community. Drop us a line and let us know what you want! To e-mail nick e-mail nick@nationalimprovnetwork.com. For more information visit: http://www.nickarmstrong.com or http://www.improvutopia.com
