Saturday, May 26, 2012

Round out your resume with workshops at the 10th Annual LA Improv Comedy Festival





Whether you live in LA and ache for an affordable way to round out your skill set and resume, or you don't live in LA and are eager to be privy to LA teachers and styles in a single shot, the 10th Annual Los Angeles Improv Comedy Festival offers a spate of two-hour workshops that could prove to be perfect for you.

In just $25 and two hours, you can learn how to create characters, heighten your short-form game, write that award-winning solo play, tell engaging stories, be as theatrically and physically present as a WWE wrestler and more. 

There are over 50 workshops during the week of The Festival to take advantage of, and just think about it: for $250, you can enjoy ten.

Here is the current list.

Sign up ASAP to guarantee your place.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Dan Harmon sold out, Eric Stonestreet and Beer. Shark. Mice soon to follow, so get your tickets now


Here are a couple of shows you should move on:


Modern Family's Eric Stonestreet hosts the Armando Saturday, June 9 at 10pm.

The Armando involves autobiographical monologues by the guest celebrity interspersed with improvised scenes by some of the most celebrated improvisers at iO West. Nowhere else could you be privy to Stonestreet stories in such a personal and intimate setting. 


Beer. Shark. Mice. brings their famous fast-paced long-form Wednesday, June 6 at 9pm. Beer. Shark. Mice. has been considered by many to be the best improv team in the country.

Voted Chicago Improv Festival’s Ensemble of the Year and considered one of the most gifted long-form improvisational groups in the country, the cast, which includes Mike Coleman, Pat Finn, Neil Flynn, Peter Hulne and David Koechner, boasts an impressive list of credits, both collectively and individually - Scrubs, Anchorman, Seinfeld, American Body Shop, How High, My Boys, Ed, Mean Girls, Thank You for Smoking, SNL, among many others.

“Beer Shark Mice returns…with their notoriously fast-paced style of smart and clever improvisation…They’re THAT good.” -Chicago Improv Festival

And, while you're claiming your spot at these two great shows, check out the others at the The 10th Annual Los Angeles Improv Comedy Festival.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Kate Walsh and Angela Kinsey make out...



 







That is, Kate Walsh and Angela Kinsey might make out when they improvise together with their reunited team Girl Team Balls during the 10th Annual Los Angeles Improv Comedy Festival June 3-9, 2012 at iO West

They will also surely make up hilarious scenes with their teammates Betty Cahill, Laura Krafft, Theresa Mulligan Rosenthal and Shulie Cowen who collectively have writer, producer, co-executive producer and consultant credits (and Emmy nods and wins) on shows like SNL, South Park, How I Met Your Mother, The Colbert Report and many, many more.

We won't know for certain, though, what will unfold unless we go.  

Monday, May 21, 2012

Check out who's performing at the 10th Annual Los Angeles Improv Comedy Festival

Who is set to be on the 10th Annual Los Angeles Improv Comedy Festival marquee?



Eastbound and Down’s 
Ike Barinholtz


MADtv’s Frank Caeti




The Simpsons' 

Dan Castellaneta



Broken Lizard’s
Jay Chandrasekhar




Parks and Recreation’s
Mo Collins




NewsRadio’s
Andy Dick



The Office’s 
Kate Flannery




Community’s 
Dan Harmon




Broken Lizard’s
Kevin Heffernan




Breaking Bad’s
Matt Jones




The Office’s
Angela Kinsey




Author of Monument 14's
Emmy Laybourne




Broken Lizard’s
Steve Lemme




The Descendants' 
Matthew Lillard




MADtv’s 
Michael McDonald




SNL’s
Horatio Sanz




Modern Family’s
Eric Stonestreet




Broken Lizard’s
Paul Soter




Private Practice’s
Kate Walsh



MADtv’s 
Stephnie Weir 



Visit the Festival page for updates, as new performers, shows and workshops are added daily. 

Saturday, May 19, 2012

iO West interns to perform in the 10th Annual Los Angeles Improv Comedy Festival...and tonight!


If you have wondered about the folks in black tees who check ID's, hand out tickets, pull back curtains, announce shows, run lights, function as bar backs and more, then wonder no more. 

They are the interns who receive reward in free classes. And since improv is a skill requiring near-constant tune-up, many interns have been around - and will be around - for awhile. 

The interns perform on a team called I, Intern which is poised to perform on the opening night of the 10th Annual Los Angeles Improv Comedy Festival, June 3, in the all-ages Del Close Theater. 

They're also performing tonight, May 19, and next Sunday, May 27, on the 21-and-over Main Stage.

Here is I, Intern's upcoming schedule:

Saturday, May 19, 2012 11:30 on the Main Stage
Sunday, May 27, 2012 11:00 on the Main Stage
Sunday, June 3, 2012 10:00 in the DCT 

I, Intern typically performs the Harold and is coached by John Conroy and managed by Tim Wrobel and BJ Honkey Lange

Since I, Intern is such a large collection of performers of all levels and styles, each show is decidedly different with the two constants being high energy and a shared love of the form. 

Come pay heed to this behind-the-scenes team.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Registration for classes starts today



If you've wanted to learn how to improvise, or if you need to brush up your skills because improv is a must-have at auditions and on set and is a terrific life practice and is fun, then sign up today. 

Registration opens at 11am in person, noon online and 2pm by phone.

Upcoming classes include improvisation Levels 1-7... 

Writing classes, such as TV Pilot Presentations. Comedy Writers Room, Solo Performance, Joke Writing, and more...

And an advanced character workshop with Dave Hill.

While you're registering, also sign up for the one-shot workshops taught by a variety of teachers in town for the 10th Annual Los Angeles Improv Comedy Festival.

There is no better time to start than the present.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Modern Family's Eric Stonestreet to host the Festival's Armando June 9


Modern Family is not Eric Stonestreet's only family. Stonestreet is also kin to iO West

And Stonestreet will treat his siblings to a gaggle of Armandologues - Armando monologues - that inspire fellow improvisers to collaboratively conceive thematically related scenes as part of The Armando Show that closes the 10th Annual Los Angeles Improv Comedy Festival Saturday, June 9, 2012.

The show is destined to sell out early, so buy your tickets here and now.

Oscar-winner Jim Rash (and Dean Pelton on Community) to host the Armando this Saturday


Improviser, actor, comedian, writer and producer Jim Rash is slated to host this Saturday's Armando.

Surely, being a storyteller of Oscar proportions and being an active Community member, he will have salient stories to share that will no-doubt inspire this week's troupe of veteran improvisers.

What is "Armando" you ask?

The Armando Show is a 90-minute long improvised comedy show inspired by an audience suggestion. The visiting host riffs off of the audience suggestion via a true, autobiographical monologue. 

The troupe of Chicago and Los Angeles iO alum perform scenes that, in turn, inspire a response from the visiting Armando. 

Why should you see the Armando?

LA Times reviewer F. Kathleen Foley describes the event, " …This free-associative repetition melds into Zen-like flights of fancy…." 

And who doesn't enjoy Zen-like flights of fancy? 

Saturday, May 12, 2012

United States of Improv semi-finals next week


Sixteen states are represented this year in the United States of Improv battles between teams comprised of vets and new-recruits united only by their land of origin and their love of improv comedy.

Each and every Tuesday and Wednesday at 11:30 for the past several weeks, two teams have contended to see who will ultimately go to the finals at the end of the 10th Annual Los Angeles Improv Comedy Festival this June. 

This Tuesday and Wednesday, the semi-finals ensues with:

New Jersey v. Rhode Island on Tuesday 

and Pennsylvania v. The Carolinas on Wednesday.

Because the winner of each battle is determined by audience vote, you should come laugh, drink and vote two days in a row just like you would during any major election.

If not for your state, then do it for your livery.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

MADtv Reunion at the 10th Annual LA Improv Comedy Fest

Want to catch Michael McDonald, Ike Barinholtz, Mo Collins, Stephnie Weir, Frank Caeti and other MADtv alum live at a venue where you can drink beer during the show? I thought so!

And the MADtv Reunion show is just one of many at the upcoming 10th Annual Los Angeles Improv Comedy Festival at iO West this summer as it enters its 15th year of existence. 

Following is a line-up of shows so far determined. The list will grow once shows that have applied for admittance to the festival (application deadline is tomorrow, May 11) are confirmed.

SUNDAY, JUNE 3 - MAIN STAGE


8pm – Conan Writers Live! – $10
9pm – MADtv Reunion – $25

MONDAY, JUNE 4 - MAIN STAGE



9pm – Armando w/ Broken Lizard – $25
10pm – Dr. God w/ Matthew Lillard – $10


WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6 - MAIN STAGE

8pm – Girls Team Balls Reunion – $10

THURSDAY, JUNE 7 - MAIN STAGE

9pm – Armando w/ Community Cast and Dan Harmon – $25


FRIDAY, JUNE 8 - MAIN STAGE


8pm – The Extravaganza with Laura Krafft – $10
9pm – Opening Night: The Improvised Musical! w/ Dan Castelleneta & Deb Lacusta – $25


SATURDAY, JUNE 9 - DEL CLOSE THEATER

8:30pm – Two White Guys Podcast: Nerds Night Out LIVE! – $10

VISIT THE FESTIVAL PAGE FOR REGULAR UPDATES

10th Annual Los Angeles Improv Comedy Festival workshops just announced

USS Rock N Roll learned this from somewhere
One of the benefits of the Los Angeles Improv Comedy Festival is the offering of diverse workshops, from "Using Improv in Movie Acting and Writing," to the "Art of Mimicry," to "Learning Improv for the Camera..." and others just as intriguing.

And one of the benefits of this benefit is that the workshops are each just $25 (plus a $1.50 charge if you register online).

Here is a current list, should you choose to sign up right away for fear of others beating you to the punch. (Perhaps soon there will be a workshop on the use of violent metaphors.)

Monday, June 4

Tuesday, June 5

Friday, June 8

Saturday, June 9


REGISTER HERE RIGHT AWAY

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Applications for the 10th Annual Improv Festival due Friday, May 11

The 10th Annual Los Angeles Improv Comedy Festival is an opportunity for improvisers from not just all over LA or the US but the world to gather and celebrate the unique sport that is improv.

For one straight week, audiences are exposed to a variety of forms and styles, and they get to see shows before and after one another they might not otherwise get to see. 

Where else might you see Canadians and Chicagoans perform improv back to back? 

OK, lots of places, but nonetheless, this event is the highlight of the year - and even more of a highlight if your troupe is involved. 

Applications are due Friday. 


And because improvisers are known as compassionate people (not just because so many improvisers are from Canada and the Midwest where compassion is baked into every albacore tuna casserole) a portion of the festival proceeds goes toward The Chris Farley House, which is a state-certified residential treatment program that provides sober, structured living and counseling for men and women in recovery.  

Come to play or come to watch. Either way you'll come to laugh.


Thursday, May 3, 2012

Nerd night in plastic city


If you are tired of being surrounded by skinny chicks and flat-abbed bucks who spend more time on their emaciated and/or chiseled physiques than on their Star Wars references, then you will be right at home this Friday night at the iO West Theater when the nerds take over. 

You know, guys and gals with smarts and jobs - well, smarts, anyway. 

And, if you wear a costume to Nerd Night, you get in 2 for 1. 

The line-up is thus:

08:00 PM - $10
09:00 PM - $10
10:00 PM - $10
11:00 PM - $5
Don't miss the drink specials, abundant laughs and plethora of kind-hearted Skywalkers.