EVENT: Providence Improv Fest kicks off 10th year

The Providence Improv Fest begins Thursday night, and this summer it’s turning 10 years old. Founded by a group of improvisers in 2003, the Fest has been bringing professional and semi-pro improvisational theater to Rhode Island audiences every summer. WPRO’s Kim Kalunian sat down with long-time improviser and member of the PIF organizing committee, Casey Seymour Kim, to get the details on this year’s festival.

Kim Kalunian: So tell us, what exactly is PIF?

Casey Seymour Kim: PIF is the Providence Improv Fest!  It is a chance for the New England area to come to Providence and enjoy the incredible variety of forms that make up the craft of Improvisational Theater.

KK: Tell us about improv and why it’s a super entertaining and hilarious art form.

CSK: Improvisation is all about a sense of community – a community that is party to a certain level of risk-taking.  At the most immediate level, audience members become part of the performance when they suggest elements for the scenes or games.  

But there is another level of involvement that develops simply by watching something that you know is being created on the spot.  Ideally the energy from any performer is constantly flowing out to the audience–and in an improvisational piece, that energy and level of communication is taken to the nth degree.  If a challenge has been made — if a character is told to sing or dance or speak poetry — then the audience becomes even more invested.  If a dangling narrative question is resolved, everyone is thrilled.  

Generally, improv audiences are incredibly supportive.  You don’t get a lot of heckling, as you would in stand-up.  They are delighted by and applaud the attempt as much as the success.  

KK: What’s special and different about PIF this year?  

CSK: First off, the featured acts:  We have a wonderful quality of headlining acts this year–we have returning performers such as Jill Bernard, who does a one-woman improv musical and the NeoFuturists, who perform 30 short plays in 60 minutes–as well as newcomers such as the Magnet Theater, who have routinely been hailed as one of the best groups touring.  

Secondly–the Fest is taking place over two weekends!  Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, July 11-13 and July 18-20.

Thirdly–while there are still shows at 95 Empire Street (formerly Perishable Theater), this year shows will also be performed at the Southside Cultural Center at 393 Broad Street, where Trinity Repertory Company began.  It is also now home to the Providence Improv Guild, which has been growing and educating the local improv community.  

KK: There’s bound to be some familiar faces on stage… what local groups are performing?

CSK: RI is represented by a number of high quality groups performing at the Fest: from Providence you have Improv Jones and the Providence Improv Guild Teams.  From Newport, you have Bit Players and Sky Punch.  In-between you have a number of other teams such as BYOI, Pete and the Other Guy, and Speed of Thought Players. 

KK: Are there workshops this year? Classes to be taken?

CSK: There are workshops for PIF participants, given by some of our headlining groups.  There are also two workshops designed for the public: the first weekend has a teen-exclusive workshop that tackles the transition from Improv to Sketch, taught by Melissa Bowler and Kate Teichmann.  The second weekend has a workshop for teens and up that is Out of Your Seat and Onto the Stage: Improv Basics, taught by Casey Seymour Kim.

KK: If people love PIF and want more improv, where and how can they get it in RI?

CSK: There are so many groups around this state–you can check local theater and comedy listings.  For regular shows, you can check out the improv resource that is the Providence Improv Guild, which hosts different groups and improv comedy in a variety of formats every Friday evening at 393 Broad Street.  Or you could also check out an Improv Jones show, which remains every Saturday night at 10 p.m. at 95 Empire Street.

 KK: So this year is the 10^th Anniversary of PIF. What’s the journey been like from then to now?

CSK: The Fest was the brainchild of [Trinity Rep company member and improviser] Mauro Hantman, who realized that we had a few groups locally and thought it would be fun to pool our talents and resources for a night.  So, really, the first Fest involved just three local groups–Improv Jones, Unexpected Company, and Speed of Thought Players.  It was just one night, one venue, and it was packed.  This success then led us to think that we could just open it up and see who was interested in coming–and it turns out, a lot of people!  It’s been a lot of learning and a lot of fun–we’ve had groups from across the US and Canada, and from as far away as Oxford, England.  Even with the economy on the fritz, we were still able to attract significant out-of-town groups this year, such as Zarzamora, from Austin, TX and Sistine Robot, from Washington, DC.

KK: What type of work and organization goes into making PIF happen year after year?

CSK: Initially it involves just figuring out what groups and performers are doing exciting things in the world of improv.  That means paying attention to festivals, online boards, etc.  Then we figure out if there’s going to be a theme or focus for the year.  For example, a few years ago, when the economy was really tanking and everyone was taking a “stay-cation” instead of going on vacation, we decided to do another fest that focused on the local groups.  (It also fell in nicely with the “grow local/go local” movement that was gaining momentum.)  

After that’s been decided, the committee gets to work–we all have our areas that we’ve grown used to doing–whether it’s contacting headlining groups, finding venues, figuring out poster and design concepts, wading through video submissions, etc., etc.  At this point, there is a core of us that have been doing it since the beginning, so we all have a sense of what needs to be done when, and can function pretty efficiently as a collective–so it’s been a lot of fun.  Even then, we’ve realized that there are still ways to grow the Fest without sacrificing the intimate and friendly environment that has become its signature–looking to grants to attract the higher-profile performers, for example.

KK: Rhode Island is looking to become a “State of the Arts.” How important is improv to the local arts scene?

CSK: I think that the burgeoning improv scene shows that there are a lot of people who have intellectual and artistic curiosity–as well as enough generosity of spirit to want to play and share the act of creating something together.  This area has so many schools and artists, producing enough imaginative upstarts, that a lively improv scene seems a natural extension of that demographic.  (The growth of the Providence Improv Guild is proof of that–it’s only one year old and has been able to help the Fest by sponsoring the appearance of Jill Bernard.)  

I also think that as arts education has become gutted in many districts, the opportunity for young people to explore stage craft is really becoming valuable–which is another reason that the Providence Improv Guild has taken off to the degree that is has–especially with its teen classes and groups.  Improv provides people with the opportunity to meet, share, say something that’s been on their minds, have a communal discussion, or simply be entertained–it can all happen depending on the format that’s being performed.  

KK: Give us the details on tickets, show times and where people can find more PIF info.

CSK: The Fest begins Thursday night, July 11, at 95 Empire Street.  A complete schedule is on our website: providenceimprovfest.com. In general the shows are Thursday through Saturday, 8pm and 10pm, with a couple of midnight shows. Each show has at least two groups performing in it.  Tickets are $10 per show, and you can buy them ahead of time through Brown Paper Tickets, or buy them at the door.  There is a Festival Pass available–as well as a sweet punch card deal that allows you to see a free show for every three shows you buy tickets for.  

KK: Sounds great! Anything else you’d like to add?