“…is a wonderful thing to see.” ~ Carl Reiner

There’s impro shows all over the calendar in Sydney at the moment (and in many other cities too), so if you enjoyed Comedy Slapdown this week on the Comedy Channel, why not come and see some live impro, and feel the fear right there in front of you?

For the next few Sundays at Belvoir Street Theatre until the Grand Final on December 6th at the Enmore Theatre, teams of improvisors try to knock each other out of the running for the Theatresports(R) Cranston Cup.

Witness the thrills and spills as teams of comic actors create instant scenes based on surprise offers and audience suggestions. Putting their wit and courage to the test, the country’s top improvisers battle it out to get their hands on the biggest, ugliest trophy in Australia.

The Grand Final at Enmore Theatre always sells out, so get booking now, and you could always avoid disappointment and catch one of the Belvoir semi-finals first! I went tonight and had a great time, as did the rest of the audience.

If Sunday night isn’t your thing (or if you just want a bargain), the Roxbury Hotel in Glebe is serving up impro each week as well. On the first and third Tuesdays of each month, Full Body Contact No Love Tennis pits doubles teams against each other in a more long-form style of impro challenge to win something much less ugly (and less big (and less valuable)) than the Cranston Cup. (tickets $10 at door or through moshtix)

Full Body Contact No Love Tennis: pairs of improvisors compete for the tennis u/19 trophy while we dole out audience prizes. you may just win a gem…there’s still a dining table yet to be given away!

On alternate weeks, A Regular One Night Stand sets the scene for the ultimate battle of the sexes on Thursday nights (13 Nov, 27 Nov, 11 Dec - tickets $12/10 through moshtix)

A Regular One Night Stand is a hilarious improvised comedy show which pits boys against girls, and sees the audience vote throughout the evening for who they think is the ‘funniest’ sex. The cast improvise scenes, make up songs and jokes and play solo and team challenges.

There’s also the classic weekly Theatresports(R) show, Scared Scriptless, Thursday nights at the Harold Park hotel in Glebe. This is Sydney’s longest-running impro show, and tickets are only $10.

Elsewhere

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Tags: A Regular One Night Stand, Cranston Cup, Full Body Contact No Love Tennis, Gorilla Theatre, Impro Australia, Impro Melbourne, Impro Vice, Kookaburra Challenge, Open Mic Improv, Scared Scriptless, The Big HOO HAA!, Theatresports(R)

WHERE: The Factory Theatre, 105 Victoria Street, Marrickville
DATES: 15 October-1 November (Tuesdays to Saturdays)
TIME: 8pm
TICKETS: $28 full, $24 conc, $22 groups 10+ & IA members
BOOKINGS 9550 3666 or Ticketek

PULP!

They inspired Quentin Tarantino! They spawned countless films and TV shows! They thrilled the popular imagination for decades!

They were cheap fiction magazines from the 1920’s to the 50’s and mass-market paperbacks from the 50’s and 60’s , and they are best remembered for their sensational cover art.

PULP is a new theatre piece that blends improvisation and script, bringing to life these shocking and hilarious tales from the past for the audience’s interactive and voyeuristic pleasure. PULP is a dramatically different live show. A foray into mixed media, mixed genre theatre, blending scripted scenes with awe-inspiring improvisation, surround sound and visual effects to create a theatrical experience that will thrill and excite the imagination.
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Tags: Cale Bain, Daniel Cordeaux, David Callan, Ewan Campbell, Impro Australia, improvisation, interactive, John Knowles, Jon Williams, Josie O'Reilly, Lisa Ricketts, Marko Mustac, Matthew Foster, mixed genre, mixed media, Monique Dykstra, Murray Fahey, Nigel Sutton, Rebecca deUnamuno, Toby Truslove

Scared Scriptless returns, now on Thursday nights at the revived Harold Park Hotel, iconic mainstay of Sydney comedy and impro during the 80s and 90s. The show uses the classic Theatresports(R) format.

There appears to be a little confusion between the venue and the performers, as the Impro Australia site says that the show starts at 8pm while the Harold Park website says that it begins at 7pm. At least they both agree that it will cost $10, so why not just roll up for 7 just in case and spend any time in hand socialising before the show?

* * *
Scared Scriptless - Thursday nights
Harold Park Hotel
70A Ross St, Glebe
Ph: (02)9660 4745
Fx: (02)9660 4232

Tags: Harold Park Hotel, Impro Australia, new venue, Scared Scriptless

Lovers of improvised comedy will be sad to learn that regular impro performances in both cities are having venue problems.

• Sydney’s longest running improvised comedy show, Scared Scriptless from Impro Australia, is looking for a new venue:
  
  

  After three and a half years and 182 shows at The Clarence Hotel, as of May 2008 we’ve had to move on, because it has been sold to developers.

  We’re currently looking for a new venue in Sydney, so please watch this space. [link]

• In Melbourne, Australia’s longest running improvised comedy show, Impro Sundae by The Crew, will have its final show at Bar Open in Fitzroy this Sunday night (June 22nd), and are also seeking (update) have found a new venue [link]. In the meantime they’re performing an impro show for a school charity fundraiser (benefiting schools in South Africa) on Tuesday June 24th [link].

So, if you know a venue that could do with some comedy, encourage the manager to contact some improvisers, then everybody can be happy. Update: As linked above, The Crew now have a new venue. Scared Scriptless will be on this coming Friday at the New Grad show at the Fuse Box @ The Factory Theatre [link]. Fingers crossed for an announcement of a new permanent venue!

Tags: Bar Open, charity, fundraiser, Impro Australia, Impro Sundae, new grads, new venue, Scared Scriptless, The Crew, venue problems

The Cracker Comedy Festival officially ended last weekend, but there are still some shows completing their Sydney runs: Prequels & Sequels Impro (Sunday), Ross Noble (Thurs-Mon) & George Kapiniaris (Saturday). [website]

Eddie Ifft headlines at The Comedy Store in Sydney’s Moore Park Entertainment Quarter all week, while Greg Fleet heads the show at their new Parramatta venue from Wednesday night. [website]

Wednesday at Comedy on the Rox is headed up by Subby Valentine with MC Tom Oakley wrangling the line-up for Heat #8 of the Quest for the Best Open Mic Competition[website]

Thursday:
A Mic in Hand @ The Friend in Hand Hotel: MC Subby Valentine, headliner Tom Bristol, guests Wil Anderson and Tom Gleeson, plus open-mic [website]

The Sackville Hotel, Rozelle: Mick Meredith, Chris Radburn, Bruce Griffiths [website]

Friday:
* Scared Scriptless @ the Clarence Hotel Petersham [website]
* The Big Laugh Festival presents comedy cabaret at the Riverside Theatre with the Six Quick Chicks: rolling lineup from among Vashti Hughes, Liesel Badorrek, Annabel Lines, Celia Curtis, Lucy Suze Taylor, Christa Hughes, Jackie Loeb, Jessie Hobeck, Holly Austin, Jen Moore and Keely Jobe[book online]

Saturday: The Laugh Garage’s Parramatta Rafferty’s venue is showing Brett Nichols, Ray Badran, Keith Scott [website]

Next Monday
* Manly Boatshed: A-List Comedy Club with Eddie Ifft, Sally Kimpton, Seamus McAlary, Khaled Ph: (02) 99774443
* Paddington’s The Fringe Bar: Garry Who with Daniel Moore and Clint Paddison [website]

If I’ve overlooked your gig please do add it in comments.

Tags: Annabel Lines, Brett Nichols, Bruce Griffiths, Celia Curtis, Chris Radburn, Christa Hughes, Clint Paddison, Cracker Comedy Festival, Daniel Moore, Eddie Ifft, Garry Who, George Kapiniaris, Greg Fleet, Holly Austin, Impro Australia, Jackie Loeb, Jen Moore, Jessie Hobeck, Keely Jobe, Keith Scott, Khaled, Liesel Badorrek, Lucy Suze Taylor, Mick Meredith, open-mic, Ray Badran, Ross Noble, Sally Kimpton, Seamus McAlary, Subby Valentine, Tom Oakley, Vashti Hughes

It’s that time of year and I’m starting the site nearly at the end of it, with Sydney’s Cracker Comedy Festival ending on May 11. Oh well.

Check out the acts at the Cracker site by clicking on the image below:

Plenty of old favourites and some new faces too fronting up to the mic. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Andrew Stanley, Axis of Awesome, Brett Nichols, Chris Radburn, Cracker Comedy Festival, Dave Jory, Enmore Theatre, fresh ideas, fresh talent, George Kapiniaris, Impro Australia, Jimbo, Jimeoin, Julia Morris, Mark Watson, Ross Noble, Steve Patterson, Steve Philp, The Chaser, Yalumba Wine Bar