Baltimore Improv Festival

TICKET PRICES: Most shows are $12 general/$10 Creative Alliance members. Two of the Saturday shows are $15 general/$13 Creative Alliance members. MULTI-SHOW PASSES: $30 for an all-Friday pass. $30 for an all-Saturday pass. Or $50 for a megapass to every festival show!

THURSDAY August 12 | 8:00pm
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Grandma Hates Technology (NJ) - Stand-up Comedian Mike Weiss and his 14 year-old daughter Jessica Weiss have been performing as Grandma Hates Technology since 2009. Together they have appeared at the Philadelphia Improv Festival and the North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival. Separately, Mike has appeared in Scotland's Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Jessica has been featured in Publisher's Weekly.

MacCloskey & Myers (PA) = are a husband and wife comedy team that has performed all over the country. They met at an Improv Retreat near Woodstock, New York in 2003 and soon after began working together professionally. View past performances and learn more about their upcoming performances, including at the 2010 D.C. Fringe Festival at their website: www.MacCloskeyandMyers.com

Moving Walkways (Baltimore Improv Group)

FRIDAY August 13 | 7:00pm
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Jorgenwitz (Ohio) - is Deena Nyer Mendlowitz and Andrew Jorgensen. On-stage they make eighties references, people uncomfortable.

Population: 6 (Baltimore Improv Group)

Ladies & Gentlemen (Philadelphia) - Rodgers and Hammerstein Are Dead - but the show must go on! In this fully improvised musical comedy, the men and women of Ladies and Gentlemen turn a single audience suggestion into the next Sound Of Music. Every note, every word, every kickline is made up on the spot. Comedy! Drama! Ingenues! Midwestern States! All the qualities of the legendary songwriting duo, without all that "preparation." The King and I would approve!

FRIDAY August 13 | 8:30pm
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The Amie & Kristen Show/The Kristen & Amie Show (Philadelphia) - Amie and Kristen are America's Improv Sweethearts! Two decades of stage experience and a spontaneous, fun-loving friendship combine to deliver fast-based improv comedy full of memorable characters and girly moments.

Dunk (NYC) - Aggressive and fun improv out of New York City's Magnet Theater. To Dunk, there are no mistakes, and they will weave whatever happens into a Navajo blanket of hoopla and merriment. The whole buffalo will be used, every idea, character, thought, and silly voice. Dunk proves that tall people can be funny. Come join us in our free love improv teepee.

Gus (Baltimore Improv Group) - performs a variety of long-form improv formats, most notably, the swarm style. In December 2008, they debuted a new full-length improvised play format. For the last two years, they again pushed the boundaries of improv by doing joint shows with The Collective modern dance troupe and Gilded Lily Burlesque. In April of this year, Gus opened for BASSPROV at the Chicago Improv Festival. They are easily excitable. Gus is a self-directed troupe featuring Kathryn Carlsen, Bridget Cavaiola, Christina Kemmerer, Jody Moscaritolo, and Heather Moyer.

FRIDAY August 13 | 10:00pm
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The Lodge (Washington DC) - Welcome, willing student. You are being initiated not just into a secret society but into an elite academy of the knowing. We will impart wisdom to you so we can all improve the world until we are enlightening the public to the meaning of life. Which is 100% true, if you replace, "impart wisdom to" with "bum money from", "improve the world" to "drink ourselves stupid", "enlightening the" with "jailed for", and "to the meaning of life" with "displays of lewd behavior". A solemn oath each Lodge member lives by. P.S. The pass-phrase is, "New World Hors d'oeuvre"

Lekker (Baltimore Improv Group)

Fletcher (Philadelphia) - is an original Resident Group with Philly Improv Theater. Composed of some of the freshest and most talented improvisers in Philadelphia, Fletcher begins with candid moments from their sometimes charming, sometimes twisted childhoods, and quickly becomes a hopscotch through a psychological madhouse of mind-crumpling comedy. In addition to regular performances with PHIT, Fletcher has played the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, Philadelphia Improv Festival, Baltimore Improv Group, Baltimore Improv Festival and the Del Close Marathon. Fletcher's Cast... Zac Chase Emily Davis Andy Moskowitz Gillienne Nadeau Dan Rich Joe Sabatino Kristen Schier Andrew Stober Fletcher is directed by Scott Sheppard.

SATURDAY August 14 | 7:00pm
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Unleashed (New York) - is Rochester, NY's premiere long-form improv troupe. Performing together for the first time in 2005, the troupe set out to bring new and different types of improv and comedy to their audiences. Their past shows have included short-form, long-form, interactive events, and sketch comedy. The current show emphasizes Chicago-style improv. Unleashed! recently performed at the 2009 Toronto Improv Festival and the 2010 North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival.

Cascade (New York) - is about the importance of small changes. The Cascade follows a single moment in two characters' lives again and again, exploring three parallel realities and the difference that a look or tone can make. The show, featuring Jenny Dunne and Rick Andrews, is fully improvised and guaranteed to satisfy your insatiable need for art on the nature of time and consequence, or we'll travel back and do it again so that it does.

Mister Licorice (Baltimore Improv Group) - was formed in the fall of 2007 by the Baltimore Improv Group, guided by the creative vision of Jim McGarvey, whose early attempts to create a new format of improv based on NASCAR were quickly shot down by the cast. From the ashes of NASCAR-prov rose a new and exciting troupe that made regular appearances in Baltimore as well as Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia. The cast members are now scattered between New York, Chicago, and Baltimore but keep coming back to Baltimore because who the hell doesn't love this city? Current cast: Jim McGarvey, Alex Hill, Kathryn Carlsen, and Bob Carter.

SATURDAY August 14 | 8:30pm
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Evan the Loyal (Baltimore Improv Group) - Evan the Loyal combines Prescott Gaylord and Mike Harris, the former and current Artistic Directors of BIG, mostly because no one else will have them. This marriage of convenience has led to ongoing searches for the elusive "third member" of Evan the Loyal; a spot generally filled by an audience member. Their style has been alternatively described as "wildly physical", "rule breaking", and/or "two douchebags messing with each other." Evan the Loyal will be playing the Out of Bounds Comedy Festival in Austin over Labor Day weekend. Performers: Prescott Gaylord & Mike Harris. Director: Kathryn Carlsen

m@& (Philadelphia) - What happens when you have to create a live, unscripted improv comedy show and your only help is someone who's never even seen improv before? m@& (pronounced "matt and") stars Matt Holmes (Rare Bird Show, Philly Improv Theater) and an unwitting stranger pulled from the audience. Me + You = Comedy

iMusical (Washington, DC) - joins the unpredictable playfulness of comedic improvisation with the emotional power of musical theater. A cast of singer-improvisers instantly creates a compelling new show with each performance, comprised of completely improvised scenes, lyrics and music, all inspired by a single audience suggestion. The Washington Post calls iMusical "spot on," and they have performed to standing ovations in several comedy festivals (Philadelphia, Baltimore, Del Close Marathon in New York at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater), as well as at venues across the DC area, including the Kennedy Center. Under the direction and accompaniment of Travis Ploeger, former longtime member of New York's renowned Chicago City Limits, iMusical explores the human condition via song and laughter ... as only WIT can!

SATURDAY August 14 | 10:00pm
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Nobody's Token (New York) - From the people who brought you The Cosby Show, I mean, the people who were brought up ON The Cosby Show, we present: Nobody's Token. Nobody's Token is always a brand new episode of wacky characters and out of this world situations that you know and love, in a sitcom you've never seen before, and won't get to see again. Based on your suggestions, the best improvisers in New York bring you a show you've never seen before: a live, improvised sitcom. Every night you'll scream with laughter as we bring the funny out of your TV and right in front of you. Tell your wacky neighbors, sexy housewives, and cute kid sisters to stay home, because you're seeing Nobody's Token. Out of control situations, hilarious characters, and surprising plot twists will keep you chuckling all the way home after a Nobody's Token show. A unique experience every night! You can come back to each performance in the festival and be treated to an all-new cast of characters in a completely new situation. The show is based exclusively on audience suggestions, so come back to see what this talented improv troupe invents next.

Plan B (Baltimore Improv Group) - Have you been good little boys and girls? Plan B premieres their "Improvised Kids Show" at this year's festival and will be appearing next month at Atlanta's Black Box Comedy Festival. They are well regarded for their impeccable personal hygiene. Director: Miles Needer. Cast: Nicolette Argyros, Ethan Cooper, Sarah Jennings, Dan Lisle, Jon Ulrich

ImprovBoston Mainstage (Boston) - is the ever-evolving show that is the cornerstone of ImprovBoston. Blending skillful storytelling, memorable music, audience participation, and joyful chaos, an elite cast of Boston's best improvisers creates a show that redefines itself with every performance. No rules. No boundaries. Just spectacular comedy and incredible improvisation.