The Annual Sarasota Improv Festival Returns July 12
Image: Courtesy Photo
Florida Studio Theatre (FST) has announced the return of the annual Sarasota Improv Festival. This year's festival, now in its 14th year, will feature more than 16 of improv troupes from across the country and as far away as Chile. This year's fest kicks off at FST's downtown Sarasota campus on Friday, July 12.
“We are thrilled to be welcoming artists and audiences back to FST for this beloved festival,” Will Luera, FST’s director of improvisation, said in a press release. “This event is so special and distinctive. We promise that audience members and improv fans are going to enjoy a weekend of laughter, creativity, and unforgettable performances.”
This year's headliner is Impro Theatre, a group that creates completely improvised, full-length plays in the styles of the world’s greatest playwrights, authors, and composers. This is the troupe's second time at the Sarasota festival.
Making its festival debut this year is Lospleimovil, an improv group from Chile. Lospleimovil was created in 2000 under the direction of actor and director Claudio Espinoza, along with actress and theater pedagogue Lissette Villegas, with the intention of promoting and researching stage improvisation, a genre that had not been showcased as a final artistic event by any professional theater company in the country until then.
Image: Courtesy Photo
Returning this year are several fan-favorite troupes, including Available Cupholders (Austin, TX, and Los Angeles); Big Bang Improv (Boston, Sarasota, and New York City); Dad’s Garage (Atlanta, GA); Parallelogramophonograph (Austin, TX); North Coast (New York City); and Florida Studio Theatre’s resident improv team, FST Improv.
Closing the festival is the signature finale event, All Play, in which all 80-plus festival artists squeeze onto FST’s Gompertz stage for a raucous, unscripted performance.
In addition to 26 performances, workshops led by various festival artists will be held on Saturday, July 13.
Sarasota Improv Festival and workshop passes are on sale now and can be purchased here or by calling or at (941) 366-9000. A two-day pass is $75, a Saturday-only pass is $59, and a Friday-only pass is $49. Single tickets will go on sale the week of June 14.
