Groups

TCIF 2013 Performing Groups

3 For All

In the summer of 1996, San Francisco improvisers RAFE CHASE, STEPHEN KEARIN and TIM ORR, who had first met in the late 80′s through the celebrated improv company Bay Area Theatresports, formed a small ensemble to pursue a distinctive brand of high-stakes improv.

3 FOR ALL is driven by the artistic principle that the work takes place “on a stage with no rules.”In their performances, the improvisers hit the stage with no script, no preconceptions and no safety net.

The three actors, along with the musical and lighting improvisers, work together to tell both short and full-length stories of all genres. Nothing is rehearsed, nothing discussed before or during shows, nothing held over or re-worked in future shows. Nothing but improv.

3 FOR ALL routinely plays to sold-out houses and rave audience reviews in the San Francisco Bay Area. They have enjoyed equal success in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Austin, Atlanta and Amsterdam. They have worked together on two improvised feature films, Suckerfish and Security, and a completely improvised, unedited comedy CD.

MugShots

Billy Hawk are Brian O’Connell (the Billy of the name, but you’ll have to ask him) and Jeff Hawkins, two acolytes of Miles Stroth, Del Close’s “Warchief.” Their show is heavily influenced by the Deconstruction, first performed by IO’s the Family–mixing elements of drama and comedy, fast and slow play, the real and the surreal.

They’ve performed as a duo for festivals in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Toronto, Denver, Philadelphia, Austin and North Carolina. Both like beer and Rumpleminz. They hope you enjoy the show.

Brian is a graduate of the prestigious North Carolina School of the Arts and moved to Los Angeles in 2000 to follow his dreams of a career in filmmaking.

His first feature film as writer/director, KILLER VIEW, released theatrically in the Fall of 2011 by Fabrication Films/Grindstone Entertainment. KILLER VIEW is the first feature film in history to be shot exclusively on a disposable video camera. He is also the director of ANGRY WHITE MAN, which premiered at the Hollywood Film Festival in October of 2011

A regular performer and coach at the iOWest Theater in Los Angeles, Brian derives most of his approach to improv from The Deconstruction, the form created by iO’s legendary team, The Family (Miles Stroth, Neil Flynn, Ian Roberts, Matt Besser, Adam McKay, Ali Faranahkian, and Pete Hulne). Well-respected as one of Los Angeles’s premier improvisers, Brian is famous for his encyclopedic knowledge of minutiae and his insane recall ability and memory (As a coach, he has never written down a single note. Ever.)

Brian can be seen performing at iOWest with a number of groups

Jeff Hawkins performs and coaches at IO West. He loves terrible sports teams and his Virginia Cavaliers. Wahoowa.

billyhawk

Bearded Men Improv blends live theatre with the electric energy of improvisation. They create characters both hilarious and engaging and discover a story where there was only a scene. They invite the audience not just to laugh but also to grab their seats with anticipation and wipe away a tear if so moved. Join them on an epic journey of heart-warming proportions.

The Brave New Workshop has been performing original satirical sketch comedy and improvisation since 1958, longer than any other theatre in the United States. In the more than 50 years since its founding, the Brave New Workshop has put on more than 250 original productions and exposed over 3 million people to the theatre’s unapologetic and unwavering, brand of comedy and improvisation.

ComedySportz is a fast-paced, high-energy show that combines the unpredictability of improv comedy with the excitement of a live sporting event! Two teams face off in unscripted games and scenes using audience suggestions while a referee hosts the show and ensures good sportsmanship. Also making it unique, ComedySportz is an all-ages event – fun enough for your bachelor party, but clean enough for your Grandma!

Droppin $cience  is a college improv team that constantly experiments with new openings to drive their long form improv show show. Being a college team that’s constantly changing in size and style, they’ve always kept the fun playfulness that the group started with in 2007.

Droppin $cience is the 2012 national championship team of the College Improv Tournament and was featured on Splitsider.com’s list of 12 colleges with great improv groups. They perform weekly at the newly christened pH Comedy Theater in Chicago.

droppinscience

Ferrari Mcspeedy Ferrari McSpeedy is a Minneapolis-based improv and sketch duo featuring Mike Fotis and Joe Bozic. FMcS has been around since 2001. Some people like Ferrari McSpeedy. Some people don’t. It’s OK.

FMcSPreview

 

Starring Lauren Anderson, Butch Roy and Nels Lennes, FIVE MAN JOB are the founders of the Twin Cities Improv Festival and Improv-A-Go-Go now in its tenth year. Their improv is fast and funny, sexy and aggressive.

For Better or For Worse is an improvised dinner party featuring Rita Boersma, Katy Kessler, Tim Hellendrung, and James Rone. In this comedic take on the obligatory social gathering, the audience watches as each couple prepares for, and then hosts or attends a fictional dinner party.

Every Foterson performance is like a tornado of laughter slamming into the mobile home of the ordinary! If you were to take finely honed comedic chops, years of friendship , a passionate love of the weird along with some milk and ice cream and then put those things in a blender, you’d get a milkshake that perfectly describes FOTERSON.

Foxtrot is Erin Sheppard and Ben Gartner, a choreographer and a computer engineer who resolve their differences through improv. Ben dances around technology and Erin dances around Ben. Foxtrot tackles the mysteries of science while exploring various dance styles based on audience suggestion and random song selection.

FoxTrot

The Free Association features improvisers from The Bearded Men, Minneapples, Five Man Job, Class of ’94 and more – they will take you on a white-knuckle thrill ride through the weird places of the mind.

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Gay/Straight Alliance The Gay/Straight Alliance, featuring Twin Cities improv veterans Doug Neithercott and Tim Hellendrung, is dedicated to changing the world…one improv set at a time.

Hot Dog HOT DOG is an improv duo featuring Luke Field and Jess Ross. They came up with the name while they were eating hot dogs. Expect to see them hot doggin’ it up with big emotions and strong relationships, going from absurd to neurotic to heart-breaking and everywhere in between, all thrown in a bun for one tasty show.

HotDog

Interplanetary Appeal is Jake Scott and James Rone, a Twin Cities duo who perform improv that tinkers with traditional narrative structure in shows like their acclaimed Fringe Festival hit, Deadline: A Choose Your Own Adventure Story and their Facebook-themed show, FRIEND REQUEST.

M4W Ever wonder who writes those “Missed Connections” on Craigslist? Us too. We take a Missed Connection, randomly chosen by a mysterious tech person, and create realistic, absurd, and zany situations and characters on stage. Join us as we figure out just who are these lonely, desperate and awkward people!

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Magnet Theater Touring Co  is home to some of the top improvisation talent in the country. The Magnet TourCo brings this veteran talent together for an unbelievable showcase of long-form improvisation. Performing classic and new structures with patience and craft, the Magnet TourCo consistently blow minds and wow audiences all across the world. Directed by Armando Diaz”

Magnet

Michael Keaton combines Hannah Wydeven and Butch Roy’s styles with dark and ridiculous results

KNOW THIS!!!  We will rock you.

michaelkeaton

The Minneapples Remember the days of jammies, truth-or-dare and Ouija Boards? The Minneapples take you back to a more “innocent” time with their improvised sleepover. Friendships grow stronger as bizarre stories are shared and dark secrets revealed. This mixture of narrative and mono-scene structure will take you to a world of unexpected and hilarious drama. Grab your sleeping bag and leave your inhibitions at the door, it’s time to sleepover with The Minneapples.

Mount Rushmore See George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, and Abe Lincoln duke out some improv scenes. American History as you have never seen before! Starring Sarah Brown, Joe Halverson, Dan Linden, and Meghan Wolff.

mtRushmore

The Mustache Rangers is a two-man improvisational performance group that combines the space adventures of Buck Rogers with the awkward humor of Curb Your Enthusiasm. The group’s weekly improvised podcast, which averages 10,000 downloads a month, was named the best podcast of 2011 by Mpls St. Paul Magazine. “The Mustache Rangers remind me of the classic Muppet Show – just weird enough that you can’t quite believe what you’re seeing and more than brilliant enough to pull it off,” said Butch Roy, Executive Director of HUGE.

NBA Hall of Famer Based in Vancouver and Portland, NBA Hall of Famer brings together both sides of the 49th Parallel for a selection of scenes highlighting sincere relationships in absurd situations. Michael and Jordan like to do voices.

NBAHOF

OMG: Before We Got Our Lady-bits! Who were your favorite ladies before they were rockstar improvisers and comedy geniuses? Chances are good they were awkward, potentially boy-crazy, weirdo preteens…who kept diaries. In OMG: Before We Got Our Lady Bits, women join forces to read real excerpts from their junior high/high school diaries, yearbooks, notes and more. Then, we improvise!

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Poivre is Minneapolis’ premier improvised Film Noir comedy production. A full-length long-form improvised hardboiled comedy narrative with live fully-improvised musical accompaniment by jazz trio BAD VIBES. Featuring members of Comedysportz, Bearded Men Improv, the Minneapples, the Bennets, and the 3rd Kind Comedy, Poivre uses the tone and subject matter of Film Noir and classic Hollywood thrillers to tell stories with themes and comedy relevant to the corruption and desperation of our time, while holding up a spotlight to the simplicity of the 20th century. From slapstick comedy to heartbreaking tragedy and everything in between, Poivre is an Improv show unlike any other.

Preview_poivre

Polar Bear Centric is a two man improv group featuring the talents of Pat Tracy and Chris Hill. They are Saint Paul born Minneapolis based Buddies from back in the day. Pat and Chris combine years of friendship, fast-food value meal knowledge, and a deep love for the WB network circa 1998 – 2002 into fast paced, highly energetic story telling that leaves it all on the table.

Raving Jaynes The Raving Jaynes combine dance and theatrical improvisation to create highly physical, spontaneous pieces of dance/theater. Nothing is choreographed, nothing is scripted!

ravingjaynes

Razowsky & Bernard pairs two internationally recognized improvisors for a one-night only performance. David Razowsky is the respected teacher and former artistic director of the Second City Los Angeles and, as an actor, has written and performed in ten Second City Chicago revues. During his tenure as a performer at Second City he worked with Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Jeff Garlin, and Amy Sedaris, among others. Jill Bernard is the co-founder of HUGE Theater, and has performed with ComedySportz-Twin Cities since 1993. She has taught and performed in over thirty-five states, and in Argentina, Australia, Canada, Norway, and on an episode of MTV “Made”.

RazandBern

Shadow Bunny Shadow Bunny presents a fast paced physically dynamic montage that is kind of like a firework factory catching on fire and eating too much cake on your birthday. Only with grounded ridiculousness. BOOM!

ShortCakes We’re short. We like desserts. We do improv.

South Mouth You can’t spell “absurd” without “sad rub” and you can’t spell “improvisation” without “Imp rot: a vision!” And that’s exactly what you’ll get when you see South Mouth. Yes, the rumors are true, South Mouth is a duo starring Maria Bartholdi and Jeff DeZiel. Absurdist improv with a big heart. And even bigger balls.

South-Mouth

The Stevie Ray’s Comedy Troupe creates instant comedy based on ideas you yell out from the audience. If you like the hit TV show Whose Line is it Anyway? you’ll love Stevie Ray’s. Great comedy shows for over twenty years!

The Andrew Sisters: One’s pretty. One’s gay. Together they’re both pretty gay. Time Out NY Critics’ Pick The Andrews Sisters (Andrew Cornelius & Andrew Fafoutakis) bring you fast, furious, and funny two-man improv.

https://www.facebook.com/theandrewssisters

theandrewsisters

The Score (performed by Crab Hands)

Minneapolis-based Crab Hands came together in 2012 to perform The Harold as part of HUGE Theater’s Throwback Night. The ten-member team immediately clicked, bonding over their love of off-kilter humor and on-stage murder. Crab Hands promises to bring energy, bad dancing and an empty money-back guarantee or your money back!

CrabHands

Wunderkidz:

Imagine a bear, facing foreclosure, having flashbacks of his former high school football coach. This is The Wünder Kidz.

The Wünder Kidz are an experienced long-form improv group who hail all the way from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their show is a fresh take on the classic Swinging Doors edit, which they have shaped into a brand-new, completely unique form that reveals honesty in the most bizarre aspects of life.

WunderKids

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