I really need a press agent to direct and focus me with these reviers/journalists. But I love how we are portrayed here! The gig itself went great. A beautiful afternoon kept a few away I am sure. We barely got ourselves up from the benches on the pier to leave a gorgeous early May afternoon with 70+ F warmth and a cool breeze off the water. Sag Harbor has always been my favorite spot on Long Island (Or any Island for that matter) Fortunately no one confused me for the whale museum. ALSO, it is always great these days when a publication, print or online, takes the time to actually write an article, as opposed to just copy and pasting our PRs. Although I love that some websites have been oh so great putting up every mundane PR I send, I really want to say how much I appreciate the consideration of the article listed below. Click link to see original with phoos and more local info! See everyone back in Times Square Saturday at 3pm & 8pm https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/cal/29075
Improv Troupe Lets Audience Call the Shots
http://sagharboronline.com/sagharborexpress/page-1/improv-troupe-lets-audience-call-the-shots-12404
By Emily J Weitz
As a parent, sometimes it feels like your whole life is one big improvisation. Sticking to the script is rarely an option, and if you cling too tightly to “the way things are supposed to go,” you’re bound to drive yourself crazy. Maybe that’s why improvisational comedy has been so successful among the youngest of audiences.
“It’s interactive,” explains Walter Frasier, founder of Improv 4 Kids, which is based out of the Laugh Factory in the Theatre District of Manhattan. “That’s the biggest thing. We address current events and TV shows, and the kids respond.”
When Frasier and his troupe are performing, the kids call the shots.
“Every few minutes we connect back to something inspired by the audience,” he says. This brings performers through various art forms, from jazz to hip hop to Irish jigs. “It’s high-energy and hilarious,” Frasier continues. “Three or four times in a show, we’ll get audience members on stage for sing-alongs, etc.”
This fly-by-the-seat-of-the-pants performance sometimes means the performers will get stumped by a new television character or a fad they’ve never heard of before.
“We have some 7 and 8-year-old regulars at the club [in the city],” Frasier says. “And they’re looking to challenge us. We have one kid who, every time there’s a new movie he comes in with all the new references… That’s the thing with improv, though. You fake it.”
He says that one of the key cast members of any improv show is “the audience’s imagination.”
Frasier and his fellow cast members, who will come to the Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor this Saturday, weren’t always a kid-friendly show, though. They are all performers and artists and they have worked across the spectrum.
“We put on a Broadway-caliber production,” he says, “because we have singers who have done Broadway and opera. We have actors who have done Shakespeare and comedians who have performed on Letterman.”
So when these kids walk through the door of the Vegas-style comedy club of the Laugh Factory, they are walking into a cultural experience that is only thinly veiled as a “Kids’ Only” production.
Frasier has been leading improv shows since 2002, but originally he primarily worked with adult audiences. Of course, in a comedy club in New York, the humor always tends towards the risqué. So when, in the spring of 2004, a school district in Connecticut contacted him about doing a show specifically geared towards kids, “it was a whole new challenge. As an artist, the family crowd is intriguing. Their imaginations are amazing.”
When Improv 4 Kids first took hold, Frasier thought it would be a good move for business. He saw a niche that needed to be filled. But since then it’s developed into “more of an outreach mission,” he says.
“This is a way to expose kids to leadership and communication skills. It helps prepare them for public presentations,” said Frasier. “And on the cultural arts side, we present parodies of a cappella, opera, jazz, and Shakespeare. They leave the show excited about classical cultural forms.”
At Improv 4 Kids’ home in the Laugh Factory, they do between two and ten shows every week. In a classic cabaret setting, they have spacious seating and great food.
“It really feels like a Vegas cabaret,” says Frasier. “There are neon lights and a big sign outside.”
In addition to this home base, though, Improv 4 Kids is always taking their show on the road. They have traveled to the same school in Virginia three times in the past 14 months to teach improvisation workshops and to do performances.
“Every year we do about 300 shows at theatres, in schools, or at the Laugh Factory,” he said.
This Mother’s Day Weekend, Improv 4 Kids will be coming to Bay Street Theatre for a show that the whole family can enjoy together.
“Adults love our show like they might a good Disney movie,” Frasier says.
One of the most enjoyable things about bringing the family together is seeing how your kids light up when challenged to collaborate on this improvisational performance.
“Improv is all about the human condition without any walls up,” says Frasier. “And kids do that better than anybody.”
The show will be on Saturday, May 7 at 3 pm. Tickets are $15 for kids under 14 and $20 for adults. Check out www.baystreet.org or www.improv4kids.com for more information.
