February is Improv Month in Bradford

The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford and Bradford Little Theatre have combined forces to present “Improv in February,” four events in one month that include different forms of improvisation.

Local improv groups will put on a workshop, show and play, and renowned improv group The Second City will visit Bradford.

“During our improv shows, everything is made up on the spot right in front of the audience,” explained Kristin Asinger, visiting instructor of sports medicine and advisor for the Pitt Improvers, Pitt-Bradford’s own student improv group.

The Improvers will offer the first two events of Improv Month, an improv workshop from noon to 3 p.m. Feb. 5 in Room 218 of the Frame-Westerberg Commons. The workshop is open to the public with registration available at the door.

Participants will work on acting skills through improv games and exercises. There is a fee for members of the public.

The Improvers 3rd Annual Beyond Funny improv show will be held at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 11 in Bromeley Family Theater in Blaisdell Hall.

The team will perform family-friendly short-form improv skits similar to those seen on the television show, “Whose Line is it Anyway?”

“We create the scenes and characters based on suggestions given to us by the audience,” Asinger explained. The audience has a lot of fun watching it all develop and seeing us get ourselves into and out of a variety of situations.”

Tickets are $5 and are available at the door. Each year proceeds from the show go to benefit local charities. This year’s show will benefit CARE For Children, Bradford Little Theatre and the Bradford Soccer Boosters.

“Our Pitt-Bradford students are experiencing what it feels like to give back to the community that they live in,” Asinger said. “By donating hundreds of dollars each year through this show, they gain a true appreciation for the spirit of giving.”

On Feb. 18, The Second City, Chicago’s famous improv troupe, comes to Pitt-Bradford as part of the Prism Series at 7:30 p.m. in Bromeley Family Theater. Tickets are $20 to $24 for the public and $8 to $10 for all students.

The group’s “Fair and Unbalanced” show takes comic pleasure in the foibles of politicians, celebrities and our significant others. Tickets are available by calling the Bromeley Family Theater box office at (814)362-5113.

The final event during “Improv in February” will be BLT’s “I’m Getting Murdered in the Morning,” a comic murder mystery and dinner theater with improv. The show is directed and produced by Asinger with assistance from her husband, Tim, and BLT’s Kathy Bryant. The audience will take part in the improv by interacting with the characters in the play.

Cast members play a wedding photographer, disc jockey and members of a wedding party that runs amok when a mysterious man falls dead.

The show will take place at 7 p.m. Feb. 25 and 26 and 2 p.m. Feb. 27 in the St. Bernard Educational and Social Hall in downtown Bradford and includes a full meal with wedding cake.

Tickets are $15 in advance at Tina’s Hallmark, Graham Florist, Ott & McHenry Pharmacy and Smith’s and $20 at the door, if seats remain.