South Florida Improv Jam - SFIJ 4 - Improv South Florida

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Comedy to flow at Improv Jam
Performers for Gilda's Club benefit to eschew scripts in workshops, show Saturday at Kravis Center

Palm Beach Daily News
August 7, 2005
By By Jan Sjostrom, Daily News Arts Editor

Mod 27, known for its shows at Klein Dance, will perform Saturday at the Kravis. Troupe members, from left, are Tom O'Donnell, Jeff Rifenberg, Kat Keirnan, Dave Hyland and Dustin Sharpe.

So, you think you're funny. Or maybe you'd just like to be. Either way, you can sharpen your wits during the free improvisational comedy workshops Saturday at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts.

The workshops lead into the South Florida Improv Jam, held that night at Persson Hall in the Cohen Pavilion. Five improv troupes hailing from Palm Beach to Miami-Dade counties will participate.

The Miami-based troupe Just the Funny started the event four years ago, "to get the groups to finally start talking and working together," said David Christopher, co-founder of Just the Funny. They've played to packed audiences at the three previous jams.

Five years ago, South Florida had only a couple of professional improv troupes, said Christopher, who created Just the Funny in 1999. Now, www.improvsouthflorida.com lists eight companies in the tri-county area. Saturday's lineup will feature Impromedy, Just the Funny, Laughing Gas, Mod 27 and THEY improv.

Improv is getting a boost from several quarters, Christopher said. Although it's been around since the 1950s, improv really hit its stride when television shows such as Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Saturday Night Live and MADtv began exposing it to broader audiences. "People have gotten interested from there and have formed their own groups and shows," Christopher said.

Other than Second City, which is booked again this season, the Kravis hasn't presented much improv. But there's a lot of interest in it locally. "Many of our high schools and colleges have improv troupes as part of their drama clubs or a separate activity," said Tracy Butler, the Kravis' director of education.

The workshops, which are taught by the performers, came about because the Kravis is committed to education, and because teaching improv is a good way to build audiences, said Dave Hyland, co-director of Mod 27, the Lake Worth-based troupe hosting this year's jam.

Although improv's popularity is growing, most troupes have trouble finding places to perform regularly, which is why they typically get stuck in late-night slots, Christopher said. Theaters are busy with their own programming and comedy clubs prefer more profitable, well-known comedians. Mod 27 is among the few improv troupes with a consistent venue. It performs on the first and third Saturdays of the month at Klein Dance in Lake Worth.

Improv is often imperfectly understood. "A lot of people when they hear the word improv think it's stand-up," Hyland said. "That couldn't be further from what we're doing."

Stand-up comedians typically work from a script, whereas improv players rarely have more than an outline as a springboard.

The show on Saturday will impose even more uncertainties. Instead of working with their usual colleagues, the troupes will be broken into four mixed groups. The groups will get three or four hours to rehearse, then they'll go on stage, where they'll have about 25 minutes each. The show will end with all players united in a mega jam session.

Improv comes in a number of packages — short form (based on a game), long form (extended into full scenes), sketch (pre-rehearsed), extreme (like short form, but with elements of danger), dramatic (not necessarily funny). Audiences on Saturday probably will see examples of them all.

Not knowing what will happen next is the allure of improv. "It's so scary it's exciting," Hyland said. And anyway, "A lot of times my sense of humor gets me into trouble," he said. "This is a way for me to have an outlet without getting into trouble."

Improv can be a channel for others, too, he said. "Everybody can be funny, if we just get out of our own way," he said.

Workshop topics are: long form, sketch writing, short form and scene study. The workshops will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Cohen Pavilion. Reservations are required. The show, which costs $12, will start at 8 p.m. Proceeds will benefit Gilda's Club in South Florida, which provides support in a home setting for people living with cancer.

For information, call the Kravis at 832-7469.

About The South Florida Improv Jam

The South Florida Improv Jam is an annual improv benefit performance that celebrates and promotes improvisation throughout South Florida. The goal of the event is to raise money for charity, and to get local improv groups to get together and work together in an effort to get local audiences to support theatrical improvisation as an art form.

The South Florida Improv Jam is not a competition and is not geared towards the promotion of any one group, but to all of the improv groups that participate, and improv as a whole in South Florida.

The South Florida Improv Jam is used by permission from the Miami based improv group, Just The Funny to local improv groups wishing to host the event. The event is held once a year, with proceeds from the event going to local and national charities, and for the maintenance of improvsouthflorida.com.

Improv South Florida is the official information outlet and resource for The South Florida Improv Jam.

SFIJ History

SFIJ 1

SFIJ 2

SFIJ 3

SFIJ 4

SFIJ 5

SFIJ 4 Stats

Date:

Saturday, August 13, 2005

Location:

The Kravis Center for the Performing Arts - Cohen Pavillion
Palm Beach, FL