Project Improv Returns to the Comedy Caravan
Louisville’s premier improvisational group, Project Improv, is starting a regular gig at Comedy Caravan on Bardstown Road in the Highlands, the first Wednesday of each month. So instead of another night at home watching bad performances on American Idol, stop in for a beer with Project Improv and see some real talent.
The group’s spontaneous skits can coax a chuckle out of even the most uptight. If you’ve ever watched Whose Line Is It Anyway? on TV, then you know a little of what to expect. But while the show focused mostly on shortform improv involving shorter skits, Project Improv mostly does longform improv. These longer performances usually involve several short scenes that tell a bigger story. Because everything that is suggested by the audience – no matter how unrelated and wacky – needs to fit together to tell a story, it is perhaps the most difficult type of improvisation. And definitely the most entertaining.
The troupe starts with a basic situational plotline, and then turns to the audience for suggestions, which is when things usually start getting a bit hairy. The unpredictable nature of improv coupled with the players’ comedic instincts and hysterical interpretations of the audience suggestions are what makes improv unlike any other type of comedy.
Currently a troupe of six comedians, Project Improv has been performing comedic improvisation in Louisville since 2002. While the faces change from time to time, the level of talent just keeps going up.
Project Improv plays other venues around Louisville, so check out their website for a current list of performances. They also offer the occasional improv workshop, a free class for aspiring comedians that are interested in one day joining the troupe.
Posted on Feb 15, 2011 by Jenn McGuire
