Theater

Providence Improv Fest Marks Its Tenth Year

Are you ready to laugh?

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Anyone who has ever been in the audience at any live performance knows that they’re part of something special, something unique. There, in that moment, you’re part of something that hasn’t existed before – and will never exist again. At no point in time has that precise combination of audience, performers, story and endless other ingredients been configured in precisely that way. Perhaps this holds most true for improvisational performances. Those are intricate webs, spun seemingly out of nowhere, and all on the spur of the moment. It’s often hilarious, often surprising, and always impressive.

It’s no wonder that the improv scene is growing in Providence. Casey Seymour Kim, a 14-year veteran of the seminal Providence collective Improv Jones, says that our vibrant arts community is perfect for these fearless, DIY-minded performers for whom comedy is a serious business. Well, they don’t take themselves too seriously, of course – that would be bad form. But let’s just say that these folks know from funny.

And this month, there’s going to be a lot to laugh about. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Providence Improv Fest (July 11-13, 18-20), a two-weekend event chock full of denizens from the local improv scene, as well as some representatives from farther afield. According to Seymour Kim, the festival began ten years ago, incubated by Mauro Hantman, also a member of Improv Jones. Seymour Kim says that Hantman was inspired by the growing presence of local improv options, and wanted to organize a festival to showcase the groups. “It was hugely successful,” remembers Seymour Kim. “We were packed. So then [Hantman] said, ‘you know, we could keep doing this.’ And the next year we just opened it up, and we were surprised at how many groups were looking for festivals and wanted to come out.”

Seymour Kim says that the growing improv scene has fit in nicely with the cultural revolution; within three years, the festival had grown to the point where it was attracting international groups. But that growth hasn’t come at the expense of intimacy. In fact, Seymour Kim says, she’s consistently received feedback from both patrons and participants that the cozy feel and friendly atmosphere of the festival, which attracts an audience averaging from 500-600, is one of its most loved attributes.

This year, the festival will feature more than 40 acts hailing from all over the country. Headlining the festival this year are Jill Bernard, The Neofuturists, Airwolf and The Magnet Tourco. Tim Thibodeau, one of the PIF organizers, says that audiences will be experiencing “the best of the best” of the national scene from the headliners, who offer a mix of styles, as well as local groups like Improv Jones, SkyPunch!, Bit Players, Thibowla Virus and local teen teams including Friday Night Live, Swine Flu and Trinity Zoo.

If my recent experience at the Providence Improv Guild (one of the sponsors of the festival) is any indication, collaboration and community are common side effects of improv. On a rainy night in June, I was fortunate enough to sit in and watch two levels of classes (there’s an educational component to groups like PIG as well as with the festival itself, which offers public workshops for $5) “play” onstage with one another, as they say in improv parlance. I was amazed at how quickly everything congealed – not just on stage, but in the audience as well. Though you start out as strangers, you start to feel invested, acquainted. Audience members interacted with the performers, offering them suggestions for scene titles and topics along with the requisite hoots and hollers of approval.

The sense of teamwork loops back to the performers, as well. As Seymour Kim rattles off the names of some of the groups popping up all over the state, she points out that there’s often an in- tersection of people. A prime example is Melissa Bowler, who created PIG and serves on the PIF committee. Bowler was on hand at the PIG performance, greeting audience members, adjusting lighting, announcing cast members, and watching husband (musician and fellow improv performer) Keith Munslow on stage with an “open jam” group – a randomly assembled group of performers whose on-the-spot creations underscored the beautiful symbiosis that happens in these rooms.

“Even if [the performers] fail, it’s gorgeous to see them try,” Seymour Kim says of improv, where the art of authenticity is paramount. She laughs, remembering how when she first started out in the form on auditions in California, she was terrified, saying that if she trusted the words that were going to come out of her mouth, she wouldn’t need a script.

providence improv fest, comedy, theater, entertainment, improv, comedy, funny, shows, providence monthly

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