Comedic improvisers from around the region will be collaborating with Ball State University's most renowned comedy troupe Saturday at the 8th annual Best of the Midwest Improv Comedy Fest. The event will be held in Cardinal Hall, located in the L.A. Pittenger Student Center, and is set to begin at 8 p.m.
The event will feature Ball State's Abso, Indiana University's Awkward Silence and Southern Illinois' Community Floss. The festival was up until this year known as the Bestival Midwestival Improvisational Comedy Festival.
Abso member Jeff Rukes said that the name change, as well as the change of the group's name from Absolunacy to Abso, marks the group's transition from short-form improv comedy to long-form.
"We wanted to get away from the wackiness," Rukes said in reference to the name change. "We like to present an air of professionalism, even though we're a college group. You let the comedy speak for itself."
Trying to make the name an extension of that is too much," he added.
Though Rukes conceded that the troupe's new style might not have as broad of an appeal as its screwball comedy of years past, he said that Abso's new format provides audiences with a more intimate, engaging experience. He compared the current version of Abso to New York-based Upright Citizen's Brigade, who were featured on Comedy Central from 1998 to 2000.
"Every time we perform, we try to create this bizarre little reality for awhile," Rukes said.
Professional comedian Tara DeFrancisco will conduct a workshop with the comedy troupes before the performances. DeFrancisco is a member of The Second City, and improv comedy group out of Chicago that is also the former home of such "Saturday Night Live" notables as Dan Akroyd, Tim Meadows and Tina Fey.
Her workshop will involve "taking the best of both worlds and messing them together" by working on teamwork strategies within short-form comedy and gaming in long-form comedy.
"I want to focus on how short form and long form have more similarities than differences," DeFrancisco said.
Brian Franger of IU's Awkward Silence compared his group's style to the comedy seen on ABC's "Whose Line is it Anyway?" and said his group might provide a nice contrast to Abso's style
"We do short form, so hopefully that will be something different we bring to the table," Franger said.
Tamira Brennan of Community Floss said that improv comedy provides an experience very different from stand-up and sketch comedy.
"It's really unique in that none of it's scripted, and it's never gonna be the same," Brennan said. "On stage you really have to have a relationship with the people you're playing with, and the more you trust them and the greater their comfort level, the better your scenes are going to be."
Rukes described Community Floss' style as long, experimental and very interesting.
"We're gonna be doing a 25 minute long-form that we wrote ourselves, mostly telling a story about a small town tragedy," Brennan said. "It always starts in one place, and then it goes into a bunch of different improvised scenes - whatever happens is based on audience suggestions," she said.
Audience members can expect a participatory event with all the groups at the show's conclusion.
"At the end we're planning on doing a combined set that may include audience improvisation," Rukes said. "We'll screw around on stage, and if you wanna join in, there'll be free lovin'."
Tickets for the Best of the Midwest Improv Comedy Fest will be available between 2 and 2:30 p.m. today in the Atrium . Tickets are $3 in advance and $5 at the door.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
