More Details About San Francisco Improv Festival 2008
More Information
Website: http://www.sfimprovfestival.com/
July 31-August 2: Two-Person Improv Weekend with Cathcart and Olson, Aye Diego
Cathcart & Olson (Chicago, IL)
Hailed as "a trip out of the mundane and into something original and fun" by Centerstage Chicago, Cathcart & Olson perform rapid-fire comedy that celebrates and analyzes current trends, human behavior, and the struggle to maintain balance in a chaotic world. Characterized by strong relationships, vibrant characters, and rich slice-of-life comedy - each scene is a tightly wound drama that happens to be hilarious.
Since meeting in the fall of 1997, Melissa and Jay have performed together in many productions, including the improvised one-act play, Chairs (Critic's Choice – Chicago Reader, Four Stars – Edinburgh Guide), Gerard Byrne’s multi-media art installation, In Repertory (Dublin Fringe Festival), and the independent television pilot, Stray Dogs. Cathcart & Olson are honored to have performed at The Tim Sims Playhouse in Toronto, many venues all over Chicago, and comedy festivals across North American including the Toronto International Improv Festival, the Philadelphia Improv Festival, the Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival and the DC Comedy Festival.
Aye Diego (Boston, MA/Los Angeles, CA)
Critically acclaimed two-person improvisational show Aye Diego (with Artistic Director of ImprovBoston Wil Luera and Zabeth Russell from IOwest's Trophy Wife and Apple Bottom Gang) brings the tale of Diego and his love-starved companion, weaving the tale of intertwining relationships and hilarious situations. What will Diego and Companion do? Only the suggestions from the audience will decide. Aye Diego has been seen at The San Francisco Improv Festival 2005 and numerous festivals around the country. SFIF is pleased to have these two incredible actors and improvisers back for its Two Person Long Form Weekend!
August 7-August 9: The Genre Weekend with The Election Show, Get Up
Wing It Productions presents The Election Show (Seattle, WA)
Election Show is a completely improvised election where your vote decides the winner! Follow the candidates though a brutal primary, debates, attack ads and scandals all based on audience suggestions! Who will win: The upstart challenger or the incumbent president? Your vote can make the difference! This is one election where you can actually Make Change with your suggestions! The Election Show has been seen at The Chicago, Seattle, Miami, Toronto, Phoenix and DC Improv and Comedy Festivals and has been called Hilarious by the Seattle PI.
Wing-It Productions is a non-profit organization is dedicated to enlightening, educating and entertaining audiences of all ages by producing theatrical events, which explore theater by utilizing its improvisational roots. Our goal is to create improvisational-based theater and to bring the art of improvisation into the mainstream thought of our everyday culture
Get Up (Austin, TX)
Get Up members Shana Merlin and Shannon McCormick have been working together in different improve troupes, such as The Heroes of Comedy, and performances, such as No Shame Theatre, since 2002. In 2005, they decided to form a two-person improv troupe. In their debut show at FronteraFest 2005, they won Best of the Week with their original format "24 (minutes)," an improvised parody of the hit show "24," where they solve a matter of national security in exactly 24 minutes while the clock is ticking onstage. Later that year in "The Giants of Austin Improv Show", they debuted their format "Fast Forward," where they interview an audience member and turn his life into an action adventure thriller. In 2006 they added sound improviser Sara Farr to their ensemble to provide a live soundtrack and scoring to Shannon and Shana's improvised stories. Get Up's latest format begins with the audience randomly selecting the theme music for the show, listening to it, offering ideas as to what images the music suggests and the performers use that as inspiration for an improvised comedic one-act play.
August 14-16: Battle of the Sexes with Silver City Pink and SPF7
Silver City Pink (Los Angeles)
This ensemble of talented women improvises a fast, funny, and fluid three-act show based on monologues, taking the stories in outrageous unforeseen directions.
Silver City Pink is a group of eight women who met at The Second City, LA. They were selected performers in the LA Improv Festival and the Del Close Marathon in NYC. They were recently awarded the $500 grand prize as champions of the League Night competition at the Westside Eclectic theater in Los Angeles where they competed with other groups from all over the city. Silver City Pink is coached by Second City LA performer Carrie Clifford (of Razowsky and Clifford)
SPF7 (San Francisco)
SPF7 is a comedy group from San Francisco. They perform live doing improvisation and sketch comedy. They produce video projects. The majority of the time, they are good friends. SPF 7 is Alex Aschinger, Bob Brindley, Chris Yule, Jay Starr, Justin Lamb, and Sammy Wegent.
Improvisationally, they have been seen all of The Bay Area at The Darkroom, The Climate Theater, The Eureka Theater and The San Francisco Comedy College (both performing and teaching improvisation). They have toured to festivals all around the country and run their own festival in their hometown of Seaside, Florida
We are please to have the men of SPF7 Back again at The San Francisco Improv Festival; the ensemble appeared for the first time at SFIF 2005.
August 21-23: Closing Weekend: Race and Comedy Weekend with Pale Irish Bastards and Oui Be Negroes
Pale Irish Bastards (Los Angeles)
The Pale Irish Bastards are J. Anthony McCarthy, Taylor Johns and Jim McCaffree. Come see what 3 bastards do until the pub opens. Or after it closes. We don't really know the difference anymore.
Oui Be Negroes (San Francisco)
Oui Be Negroes is the original African American Sketch Comedy Ensemble in the country. Since 1994, the company has toured all over the United States, Canada and internationally with their style of political and social humor. Originally from Chicago and now residents of The Bay Area, the Negroes (Shaun Landry, Marcus Sams and Hans Summers with special guest Los Angeles Appearance by Negro Alum Ronnie Ray) is returning to the SFIF for their third year.
San Francisco Improv Alliance
The San Francisco Improv Alliance is a group of talented actors dedicated to the work of Improvisational Theater. The Alliance offers performance opportunities to upcoming ensembles, self produced shows, Co-Production of pre established ensembles, Master Class Workshops of the finest Bay area and National Ensembles and Community Outreach in the field of Improvisational Theatre.
