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Do This: LA Improv Festival @ iO West
Improv, along with sketch and stand up, comprises the three main pillars of comedy. Yet most people who go to comedy shows see stand up first, sketch second, and improv a distant third. Indeed, not a single Harold Night goes by at UCB without someone raising their hand at the question ‘who’s never seen improv before’. So, for those of you still living under joke rocks (or those hide-a-key rocks...how funny are THOSE?!), next week is your chance.
Beginning June 1st, the famed iO West theater in Hollywood will host the 7th Annual LA Improv Festival. The weeklong event is actually not just improv, but that’s what you should go for, especially with all of the theater’s alumni coming out to support. The Broken Lizard guys behind Beer Fest and Super Troopers, Angela from The Office, Reno 911!, and more than a select few from Scrubs, the Sarah Silverman show, etc. will be in attendance at various points, making this event a must-attend.
Some highlight performances of the festival include: the Chris Farley Award Armando show with Pat Finn, Harold championships on Saturday night, and the Beer Shark Mice boys themselves in what is most likely their last show of 2009. And in the ‘not just improv’ category, a sketch cage match will be taking place every night on the main stage and in the adjoining Andy Dick Black Box theater, so save room for The Seven Year Plan, Tang, Moon County, Associates of Awesome, and Kodiak Park, among others.
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Tickets range from $5 - $25, with most being on the lower end, just keep in mind the main stage shows are 21 and over, kiddies. So check the festival out this year, especially if you’ve never seen improv before, and absolutely if you’re a fan of laughter. If not, feel free to sit at home and keep watching reruns of America’s Next Top Model. You know who you are.
LA Improv Festival
June 1st-6th
iO West
6366 Hollywood Blvd.
323-962-7560
Check the full schedule here
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