Scram
About IFO
The first Improv Festival Oklahoma debuted in the summer of 2009 as a way to bring together the growing Oklahoma improv community and introduce audiences in Oklahoma to a variety of forms of improvised theatre. In addition to showcasing improv, local improvisers were able to take improv workshops from well-known improv instructors. Special guests Joe Bill (Chicago) and Jill Bernard (Minneapolis) headlined the festival with their duo, “Scram.”
Messing With a Friend
In the summer of 2010, the Second Annual Improv Festival Oklahoma continued to further that goal, and featured an even more diverse group of improvisers from around the United States. On Friday of the festival, Joe Bill directed an All Star Cast of “The Bat,” an improvised herald performed entirely in the dark. Joe Bill and Susan Messing of Chicago’s Annoyance Theatre headlined the festival on Saturday with the long running Chicago show, “Messing with a Friend.”
This year, the Third Annual Improv Festival Oklahoma aims to be bigger and better, spanning four days – July 28-31, 2011. IFO welcomes special guests and headliners including Zach Ward, Artistic Director and Executive Producer of the DSI Comedy Theater in Carrboro, North Carolina and, returning to IFO this year, Jill Bernard, nationally recognized improviser and Education Director of the HUGE Improv Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Jill Bernard will perform her award winning “Drum Machine” solo show.
All-Star Bat
A new addition to IFO this year is “College Night,” an evening dedicated to showcasing college-based improv troupes. College Night will kick off IFO on July 28, 2011, and the festival will continue with performances on the evenings of July 29 and 30, 2011. Improv classes will be offered throughout the daytimes of the festival. IFO performances and workshops will be hosted at the City Arts Center in Oklahoma City (3000 General Pershing Boulevard Oklahoma City, OK 73107).
Improv Festival Oklahoma is produced and hosted by members of Red Dirt Improv. Red Dirt Improv is an Oklahoma improv comedy troupe that was formed in 2007. Its members are dedicated to improving the improv scene in Oklahoma, and have several years of improv experience locally and across United States.
Questions or comments about the festival? Email us at improvfestivaloklahoma@gmail.com.