The Gainesville Improv Festival has returned this weekend for it’s 11th run of making students and residents laugh.
The festival has four nights of shows, starting Wednesday and running until Saturday. This year, GIF will be presenting a live performance and recording of the hit podcast “Our Father.”
“I’m really excited for the ‘Our Father’ podcast,” said Skyler Stone, a co-founder and co-producer of GIF. “It’s cool because it’s improv being captured in the moment. It creates this time capsule of a night.” This will be the first live recording of the podcast.
Many of the performers and both of GIF’s co-founders got their start with improv at UF with the Theatre Strike Force.
“TSF has one of the most strong and compelling improv histories (of college groups),” Stone said. “I got hooked (on improv) right away. You get that rush of performing and feeling accepted.”
Students who are currently part of TSF will be performing on various nights and times throughout the festival.
“We really try to get Strike Force to perform as much as they can over different nights of the festival,” Stone said. “Every night of the festival there’s a TSF group.”
Aside from the nightly performances, audience members can also get involved with the improv workshops being offered Saturday. For $50 per session, guests can be taught by members of the headlining and featured groups.
Connelly said the workshops are a great way to get started in improv because people learn from professionals in the craft.
“I love the workshops,” Connelly said.” The producers have always had education and sharing ideas at the center of the festival.”
After Wednesday’s show at the High Dive, the remaining shows will be at the Squitieri Studio Theatre in the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. Tonight’s shows will be at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., with tickets priced at $6 for students and $8 for general admission. Tickets for Friday and Saturday’s shows will be $8 for students and $13 for general admission, with shows also at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.
