Don’t you dare throw this lovely piece of literature that we call The Alligator away. And I’m not suggesting that you go green and skip your pretty little feet on over to the recycling bin either. Save your newspapers; they could be used as the inspiration for one of this year’s performances at the Gainesville Improv Festival.
The festival is set to be at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts until Saturday, and Chicago-based headliner, Whirled News Tonight, uses newspaper clippings brought in by the audience as inspiration for its performances.
“Before the show, the audience is asked to bring in outrageous articles that they would like to see interpreted. The articles are tacked on a peg board on stage, and the Whirled News Tonight performers pick an article from the board and just go with it,” Gainesville Improv Festival’s co-founder Skyler Stone said.
(Masturbating library man, anyone?)
Differing from the traditional stage performances, improv shows hold a lot of audience interaction, so the line between the performers and the spectators is thinner than the curtain rope.
“There are no boundaries in these shows. They depend on the energy of the night’s audience,” Stone said.
Although Whirled News Tonight is the headliner, there are more than 20 other improv troupes from around the nation set to perform at this year’s event. Each group is unique in their own, quirky and unscripted performances.
Due to the plethora of performers at the festival, each performance is one of a kind. Some troupes act out their suggestions (some are even given via text message) through the use of musical instruments, while others may channel it through a one-act play.
“There is so much variety in these performances. Each troupe is made up of such a diverse array of people. Interpretations are never one in the same, so a performance is never repeated,” Stone said.
Many of the performers in the event are UF alumni. Co-founders of the Gainesville Improv Festival, Stone and Tom O’Donnell, are not only former Gators but also former members of the UF improv troupe set to perform, Theatre Strike Force.
The workshops held by the Gainesville Improv Festival are open to the public and those interested are encouraged to visit gainesvilleimprov.com to learn more about the workshop’s instructors and how to reserve a spot.
All right kids, here’s a way to release your bottled up idea: Whether you want to witness them through the start of newspapers, text messages or musical instruments, Gainesville Improv Festival offers all delicious flavors. Catch them all through Sunday Jan. 23 at the Philips Center. Tickets may be purchased at
performingarts.ufl.edu/tickets.
Mike Jenkins
