This September, Flashback Theater Co. will host Let’s Play! Improv Olympics. This event invites teams from all over Kentucky to come together to play theater games in friendly competition. The event will be held in the basement of Station211 at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 9th. Much like the spirit of the international sporting event, Let’s Play! Improv Olympics will open doors for new collaborations and friendships.
This September, Flashback Theater Co. will host Let’s Play! Improv Olympics. This event invites teams from all over Kentucky to come together to play theater games in friendly competition. The event will be held in the basement of Station211 at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 9th. Much like the spirit of the international sporting event, Let’s Play! Improv Olympics will open doors for new collaborations and friendships.
Playing improvisation games has been a favorite event of Flashback’s audience since our second-ever Let’s Play! in January 2015. In these workshops, community members are given the opportunity to watch or get onstage with Flashback’s Let’s Play! Company of actors for unscripted scenes and stories. The events were always hilarious, ending in uproarious laughter from the actors and audience alike. At Let’s Play! Improv Olympics, the same basic structure will still apply, but with the added element of performers forming teams.
Teams will consist of 3-6 actors and a team captain. In some games, all team members will participate, while in others captains will choose which team members participate. Audience members will also have the opportunity to be “adopted” by a team if they want to participate.
Although there is a competition aspect to the workshop, it is far from the focus of the night. The idea of an “Improv Olympics” came about as a way of bringing together different groups from all across Kentucky’s theater community and beyond. Theater is all about collaboration, and getting together to play improv games helps to cultivate that spirit.
“This event is set up to show fun and healthy competition. Similar to Whose Line is it Anyway?, points are given but in the end they don’t matter,” says Baughman. Traditionally in the Olympics, athletes are awarded medals. At Let’s Play! Improv Olympics, theater athletes will have the chance to win team badges and the accompanying bragging rights for each game.
Improvisation games give a loose structure to some unscripted scenario and allow an actor to fill in the rest. They are an important part of acting theory because they build an actor’s ability to think on their feet, be spontaneous, and collaborate with their fellow artists. Qualities like these, paired with wild scenarios are what make improv games an enjoyable, fun form of entertainment.
At past workshops, the Let’s Play! company has played games that combine everyday people and places with outrageous scenarios, often resulting in scenes like outer space surgeons taking their dogs on walks through moon parks. “You never know what crazy things you may have to do,” says workshop leader Maxine Baughman.
Theater newbies and theater veterans are encouraged to join this event. Let’s Play! is dedicated to providing an open, low-pressure environment. All of the games will be taught to the audience and performers before the competition kicks in. Let’s Play! regulars will recall some of the games, such as: Freeze, Death in a Minute, and Props. Other games will be new to everyone. If you have a group you wish to sign up to play as a team, you can visit this link or call (888) 394-FbTC.
Flashback Theater is grateful to season sponsor, Applied Behavorial Advancements, LLC for their ongoing support, as well as to Station 211 for their gracious hosting of Let’s Play! Additionally, the Kentucky Arts Council, the state arts agency, provides operating support to Flashback Theater Co. with state tax dollars and federal funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Location:
Station 211
211 S Main St
Somerset, KY 42501
Date and Time:
Saturday, September 9th at 7:00 p.m.
Cost:
Free admission | Donations accepted at the door