More than 50 improv acts from across U.S. to perform Jan. 26-27 at ArtsQuest Center; tickets for festival go on sale today
BETHLEHEM, PA—Hip-Hop improv troupe North Coast and The Law Firm, with Sue Galloway of “30 Rock,” headline the 5th Annual SteelStacks Improv Comedy Festival Jan. 26-27 at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks, 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem. The festival will also feature an improvised action movie, an interactive one-man show, puppets, a live comic book creation and teams from the acclaimed UCB Theatre (UCB) in New York, as well as 50 other improv comedy groups from across the U.S. Hours are 6 p.m.-12 a.m. Friday and 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Saturday.
On Jan. 26, 9:35 p.m., SteelStacks welcomes The Law Firm featuring “30 Rock” alum and “SNL” freelance writer Sue Galloway, whose recent appearances include “Sisters” alongside Tina Fey and Amy Poehler and HBO’s “Girls.” Asking the audience if they’ve been wronged by a bad boss, flaky friend or an identity stealing ex-love, The Law Firm turns one audience member’s testimony into a fully improvised show. Members of The Law Firm, which performs weekly at the UCB Theatre in Hell’s Kitchen, have starred in and written for “Broad City,” “Best Week Ever,” “Late Night with Seth Meyers” and more.
Catch the mind-blowing stylings of hip-hop improv group North Coast Jan. 27, 9:30 p.m. With a cast of improv comedy veterans from UCB, the Peoples Improv Theater and The Magnet theaters in New York City, North Coast’s explosive performances have been packing comedy venues, universities and festivals nationwide since 2009. Built around a single suggestion from an audience member, the show’s improvised scenes escalate into full-blown hip-hop songs, facilitated by renowned beatboxers Ethan “Exacto” Scott and Kaila Mullady. Named one of the “Top Ten Best Comedy Shows” by Time Out New York, North Coast has been featured in Slate’s Podcast “The Gist,” The Village Voice and The New York Times Comedy Listings.
In addition to the headlining performances, the improv festival will showcase improv groups from New York City, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Baltimore and San Francisco, as well as teams from throughout the Lehigh Valley. Among the many highlights are an interactive one-man show by Bird & Friends; an improvised satire of Spanish language video tutorials by Los Profesores; an improvised action movie by Bronson; a handheld puppet performance by Team Lopez; and an improvised origin story of a superhero in “Crisis: An Improvised Comic Book.”
SteelStacks Improv Comedy Festival Friday tickets are $16 in advance and $19 day of show; Saturday tickets are $25 in advance and $29 day of show. Tickets are on sale now at www.steelstacks.org/comedy and 610-332-3378.
The complete schedule of performances is:
FRIDAY, JAN. 26
6 p.m. | The Ceremonial First “Yes and” Ceremony
6:15 p.m. | Yard Sale (Lehigh Valley, PA)
6:30 p.m. | Improv Technicians (Newark, NJ)
6:45 p.m. | GOOSEMAN (Lehigh Valley, PA)
7 p.m. | Team TBD
7:15 p.m. | Gym Crush (New York, NY)
7:35 p.m. | KnucklePuck (Hartford, CT)
7:55 p.m. | Staycation (Lehigh Valley, PA)
8:15 p.m. | Bird & Friends (New York, NY)
8:35 p.m. | Judy Big Mouth (Upright Citizens Brigade, NYC)
9:05 p.m. | Bronson (New York, NY)
9:35 p.m. | North Coast (New York, NY)
10:35 p.m. | The Associated Mess (Lehigh Valley, PA)
10:55 p.m. | The Jonoscene (New York, NY)
11:10 p.m. | Windows 98 (Philadelphia, PA)
11:30 p.m. | Cosmos (New York, NY)
11:45 p.m. | Giggle *Tux (Lehigh Valley, PA)
12 a.m. | Improv Jam!
SATURDAY, JAN. 27
11 a.m. | Be Determined (Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA)
11:15 a.m. | Hobo Army (Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA)
11:30 a.m. | York High School (York, PA)
11:45 a.m. | UiP (Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA)
12 p.m. | No Parking Players (Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA)
12:15 p.m. | Lancaster Improv Players (Lancaster, PA)
12:30 p.m. | AH, OK (Dallas, TX)
12:50 p.m. | The Time Bandits (Philadelphia, PA)
1:05 p.m. | Planet Genre (Detroit, MI)
1:25 p.m. | The Quitters (Washington D.C.)
1:40 p.m. | VanDamage (Lehigh Valley, PA)
2 p.m. | Up in the Attic (Providence, RI)
2:20 p.m. | Robot Love (Hartford, CT)
2:40 p.m. | Synced Up (Lehigh Valley, PA)
2:55 p.m. | Dark Sneak Love Action (New York, NY)
3:15 p.m. | Playground (New York, NY)
3:30 p.m. | Yo JP! (Lehigh Valley, PA)
3:45 p.m. | The Wrasslers (New York, NY)
4:05 p.m. | King Bee (Washington D.C.)
4:25 p.m. | The Fourtets (Lehigh Valley, PA)
4:40 p.m. | Aftermath (Baltimore, MD)
5:00 p.m. | Sad Trombone (Philadelphia, PA)
5:20 p.m. | Sea Tea Improv Touring Co. (Hartford, CT)
5:40 p.m. | CHUCHO (New York, NY)
6 p.m. | #Bestof (Lehigh Valley, PA)
6:20 p.m. | My Privacy (New York, NY)
6:40 p.m. | Family Laundry (Lehigh Valley, PA)
7 p.m. | Peach Pit (San Francisco, CA)
7:20 p.m. | Horse Girl (Upright Citizens Brigade, NYC)
7:40 p.m. | Dream Carnival (Lehigh Valley, PA)
8 p.m. | Stevedore (Denver, CO)
8:20 p.m. | Los Profesores (New York, NY)
8:40 p.m. | Team Lopez (New York, NY)
9 p.m. | Charlie (New York, NY)
9:30 p.m. | The Law Firm (New York, NY)
10:30 p.m. | The Flumplenarfs (Lehigh Valley, PA)
10:50 p.m. | Jane Don’t (New York, NY)
11:10 p.m. | Cranks & Pulleys (Lehigh Valley, PA)
11:25 p.m. | Crisis: Improvised Comic Book (New York, NY)
11:45 p.m. | Captain PhD (Washington D.C.)
12 a.m. | Cat Sweaters (Lehigh Valley, PA)
12:20 a.m. | Straight White Men (New York, NY)
12:40 a.m. | Bandjob (Harrisburg, PA)
1:00 a.m. | Fancy Boys (Pittsburgh, PA)
1:15 a.m. | #News (Lehigh Valley, PA)
1:30 a.m. | Closing Improv Jam!
Information and images provided to TVL by:
Mark Demko, ArtsQuest
http://www.artsquest.org/
