When it comes to improv comedy, most people think of the well known talented actors on SNL or Whose Line Is It Anyway who got their start at the venerable institutions such as The Second City, iO (formerly Improv Olympic), or Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB). In fact, many of those celebrities trained and performed in our neighbor in the north Chicago, dubbed by some as the "mecca of improv", prior to finding success in television, stage, and film elsewhere. Northwest Indiana is known for its vibrant community theatre scene with well-known scripted plays and musicals, but now it's poised to be host to a vibrant improv comedy as well. Crown Point Community Theatre is getting in on the ground floor of this new scene with their newly formed improv house team Makeshift Up who's set to debut on Saturday July 11th at 7:30 PM at 1125 Merrillville Road as part of CPCT's 12th season preview.
Although the group is new, Makeshift Up comprises of veteran stage actors who've trained through CPCT's now almost 2 year old Improv Fundamentals program. "Indiana - get ready!" says Nelson Velazquez enthusiastically. He's the group's director along with being CPCT's Improv Fundamental instructor and coordinator. "What we're doing with this team is something to compliment the scripted work Northwest Indiana is well known for. Not only do we want to perform good, funny improv comedy, but we also have a goal to see a crop of good, original scripted plays, musicals, and sketch comedy shows developed from improvisation within 5 years. Our brand of improv is performing 'theatre without a script'; we strive to use the same skills and tools used in scripted productions in our improvised scenes and games all the while making our audiences laugh. Our show involves interesting characters, great scenes, and memorable performances all based on audience suggestion. With regular performances we now have an opportunity to hone our improvisation on a regular basis and begin building a foundation to begin translating that work into scripted material that people would actually want to watch and be proud of coming out of the area."
On the same night the house team plays, Crown Point Community Theatre will also be previewing portions of their newest plays and musicals which include Steve Martin's Picasso at the Alpine Agile, Stephen Sondheim's Assassins, the Broadway favorite One Who Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, and the critically acclaimed The Last 5 Years amongst many others. In addition to bringing regular improv to the forefront, CPCT will be dipping its toes into the waters of musical improv with Love Boat: The Improvised Musical next season.
For more information on Crown Point Community Theatre, Makeshift Up, or the Improv Fundamentals program, call (219) 805-4255, email info@cpct.biz or visit http://CPCT.biz.
