Congratulations to improv Duo ShawnMikael(s) for winning the 2010 Comedy Improv Throw Down in Harrisburg, PA Aug 13-15, 2010!
Check back to this page later for information on the 2011 Comedy Improv Throw Down!
This video player has clips from the 2010 Throw Down!
If you are part of an improv troupe and you would like to be involved in creating a circuit for improv troupes to perform, please join our list server to be included in the discussions HERE!
Featuring:
Don't Break the Streak, Harrisburg, PA (Hosting)
1. The Second Place Champions, Glassboro, NJ
4. Hustlebot, Pittsburgh, PA
5. Dutch Blitzkrieg, Lancaster, PA
6. The Pitt Improvers, Bradford, PA
7. Face Off, New York, NY
9. Mishmash, New York, NY
10. MacCloskey and Myers, Dallastown, PA
11. D.U.P.E.D. Washington, D.C.
12. ShawnMikael(s), Washington, DC
13. Supercrab, NY, NY
14. Blank Slate, Bethesda, MD
15. Fling Improv, Bethesda, MD
16. Dr Baber, New York, NY
Don't Break the Streak Improv
is proud to announce the first annual, Harrisburg Comedy Zone 2010 Comedy Improv Throw Down! This comedy festival is being held August 13-15th at the Harrisburg Comedy Zone in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania right off PA Turnpike exit 242 and Rt 83 exit 40a.
This improv festival will include classes each day as well as an improv "Throw Down" eliminating teams until we have one winner left standing! (all in good fun of course so leave the chains and bats at home!) The winning 2 teams will get to battle it out Sunday night at the Don't Break the Streak weekly Improv show!
How Much Does it Cost?
All participants must be 21 or older to attend. (We have a full bar and restaurant on site) 18 and older with a parent or guardian.
Price for Workshops, shows and watching the competitions
Any improv troupe scheduled to teach one of the workshops will be given two free All Access Passes (One for the instructor and one for an assistant).
Shows only pass for all shows $20 per person
Workshops only pass for all workshops
$40 per person
BEST DEAL! Buy a combo ticket for just
$50 and enjoy every improv show, competition and workshop ALL WEEKEND for one low fee PLUS get a free copy of the DVD as soon as they are released!
Want to attend only one workshop or show? No problem. $12 per class or show!
Comedy Improv Throw Down T-shirts $10
Pre-purchase the professionally shot DVD from this entire weekend! $15
Current Schedule
Friday 8/13/2010
5PM - 8PM Registration / Cocktail Party at Doc Holliday's
9PM - 10:30PM - Don't Break the Streak Improv Show in the Harrisburg Comedy Zone (official start of the festival!)
10:30PM - 12:30 Improv Class Block 1 in the banquet room
Harold workshop - by Hustlebot
Saturday 8/14/2010
10AM - Noon - Improv Class Block 2 in the banquet room
How to get good paying gigs - by The Second Place Champions
10AM - Noon - Improv Class Block 3 in the Comedy Zone
Finding Your Best Characters - by Dutch Blitzkrieg
Noon - 3PM - The first eight competing teams will each be given 20 minutes to perform. 5 teams will be eliminated based on the lowest score. The top 3 winners advance to the 8PM Saturday night show where each team will have 30 minutes in front of a live public audience. One more team will be eliminated.
3PM - 6PM - The final eight competing teams will each be given 20 minutes to perform. The top 3 winners advance to the 10PM Saturday night show where each team will have 30 minutes in front of a live public audience. One more team will be eliminated.
6PM - 8PM Improv Class Block 4 in the banquet room
Musical Improv - by Mishmash
8PM - 9:30PM - First evening show with the top three finalists from the 12PM group each performing for 30 minutes in front of a general public audience. TWO teams will advance to Sunday.
10PM - 11:30PM Second evening show with the top three finalists from the 3PM group each performing for 30 minutes in front of a general public audience. TWO teams will advance to Sunday.
Sunday 8/15/2010
10AM - Noon - Improv Class Block 5 in the banquet room
Favorite Short Form Games - by The Pitt Improvers
10AM - Noon - Improv Class Block 6 in the Comedy Zone
Breaking it down and working the gimmick - use the built in gimmicks of the game to get the most out of a scene - by Face Off
Noon - 3PM - Final showdown between the top four teams from Saturday night. Two team selected from the 8PM show and two teams from the 10PM show will throw down in the Harrisburg Comedy Zone. Each team will perform for 30 minutes with a 15 minute intermission between shows. The top two WINNING IMPROV TROUPES will be selected at this time.
3PM - 5PM Improv Class Block 7 in the banquet Room
I Am Brave and Fearless, So What Am I So Afraid Of? - by Rick Horner from Activity Book
5:30 PM Doors open for the evening show in the Comedy Zone
6PM - 7:30 - Winning two teams battle it out in front of a live audience for the grand prize! Each team gets 45 minutes to perform and the winner will be selected at the end of the night. This final battle will wrap up the Comedy Improv Throw Down for 2010! 45 minutes for each troupe and a 10 minute intermission between troupes.
Each participant will be required to sign a video release for the professional taping during the competition. The taping will be used to promote the festival online, promote each improv troupe competing, and to create a dvd available for purchase for anyone who attended the festival. There is no additional cost for the professional taping or editing. Instead of paying to have your competition professionally recorded you will have the option of purchasing a DVD for $20 before the end of the festival. Festival T-shirts will also be available for $15.
Judging Criteria / Method
This Comedy Improv Throw Down will have three judges, each scoring the performance on a scale of 1-10.
1. Judge number 1 is David Warick an expert in the field of improvisation. He will be judging based on any long form / short form technical matter.
David Warick has worked as a professional actor, improviser, teacher and writer for over fifteen years. He is a member of SAG, Actors Equity, the Writer’s Guild and the Motion Picture Screen Cartoonists Guild.
After graduating from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts he trained and performed with The Groundlings, The Second City LA, and Los Angeles Theatresports for over ten years. At Los Angeles Theatresports he regularly performed in the groundbreaking long-form show, TRIPLE PLAY. He later wrote for Paramount, Fox and Walt Disney Television and was a story analyst for Artisan Entertainment, IFC, Avenue Pictures and director Michael Mann.
David has taught improv to adults, teens and kids on both Coasts. In Los Angeles, he developed the popular teen improv stage show LAUGH OUT.
In July 2005, David founded the Delaware Comedy Theatre. In addition to teaching workshops and classes for DCT, he has also served as director for the sold-out shows “A Chili Sumo Christmas” and “Cupid Shoots Self In Foot.”
In addition to his theatrical work, David is a founder of Ziksana Consulting - a firm that specializes in using improvisation for corporate training.
WHAT STUDENTS SAY ABOUT DAVID:
"He is a God." - "He really expanded my knowledge and beliefs about what good improv could be." - "WONDERFUL energy and a terrific personality" - "Dave was awesome."
2. The second judge will be a local celebrity and will vote solely on his or her entertainment value of the sketch.
3. The third judge is a representative of the people...the people in the audience that is! The third judges job requires him or her to observe the audience more closely and monitor the "entertainment value" from the audience perspective and vote accordingly thus involving the entire audience into the voting process as well. (If you have fans, convince them to come root for your troupe!)
We're going to have a great Improv weekend and the opportunity to learn from others, what their strong points are, all in a peer to peer equal environment. Improv actors helping other improv actors period. Ok, we will be drinking a little too... some of us maybe a lot but we WILL be having fun either way. Come on out to a new type of improv Festival and tell everyone you were here when they did the first one back in 2010!