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IMPROVATHON update #2: Special Guests!
Can you feel it? That’s steady rumble of mad Bright Inventors prepping for THE IMPROVATHON!
Aimee Goldstein is ascending to yogic nirvana to cleanse her mind . . .
Shannon Hill is trying to keep her eyes open for long stretches of time . . .
Benjamin Lloyd is improvising on treadmills . . .
Eric Walker, Jr. is improvising with the ghost of Del Close . . .
Kiersten Adams is doing improvised monologues whilst hanging upside down in playgrounds . . .
Owen Corey is improvising with strangers on the Broad Street line . . .
Suzanne Anderson is practicing intersteller subcrustaceanous improv (we don’t know what that is) . . .
Shea Sonsky is improvising in the hidden language of dogs and cats . . .
Patrick Poole is still learning what a sweep edit is . . .
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR AMAZING ENSEMBLE BY CLICKING HERE!
Anything to get ready for . . . EIGHT CONTINUOUS HOURS OF IMPROV!
Each hour will go like this:
Brief welcome by BI member (1 minute)
Brief pitch by WPSI staff (2 minutes)
Genre spoof with Bright Invention + special guest (20 minutes)
Long form improv by Bright Invention (30 minutes)
Click here for your free tickets!
But wait! There’s more!
We have some amazing special guests lined up to play in with us!
10 AM: Jack Presby
Jack is currently appearing in episode 1 of Global Curation, the pilot episode produced by ACRidea, that should drop next week. He is also an improvisor with Time Bandits, because improv ain’t just for kids . . .
11 AM: Cait Garozzo
Cait is the Senior Manager for Learning & Development at West Philadelphia Skills Initiative. She spends her early mornings weightlifting and drinking serious coffee. The rest of her free time is spent collecting and reading literary fiction, taking her perfect dog swimming and hiking, listening to podcasts, cooking with her husband, and eating lots of ice cream.
12 Noon: Mary Carpenter
Mary has been improvising in Philadelphia for the past 27 years with ComedySportz, Dangerous Fools, 'Til Death Do Us Part, and many other ensembles. She is an actress, director, teacher and writer as well, who has recently published the book: Do Or Do Not: How To Improvise Like A Jedi. Her next upcoming project is I'll Have What She's Having in May at CSZ Philadelphia.
2 PM: Joy Weir
Joy Weir has been an actor and improviser since 2011. She is also in the upcoming Tongue & Groove performance of "In Bed" on February 7th, 14th (both performances), and 15th. You can also catch her as Rose in Enchanted April at Playcrafters of Skippack opening April 2020.
3 PM: Ralph Andracchio
Ralph Andracchio is an 11 year improv veteran and has traveled all over the US performing and teaching classes and workshops for hundreds of students. Former Artistic Director of Philly Improv Theater, Ralph currently holds the role of Education Consultant for Liberty Improv Theater. When not teaching or performing, Ralph owns his own business and is a transformational life coach helping clients of all kinds make big, bold changes in their lives through the lens of applied improvisation. You can visit him at www.informationcoaching.com.
4 PM: Josh Park
Josh is the Senior Manager for Employer Services at West Philadelphia Skills Initiative. Currently, he lives in Fishtown with the smartest and cutest 7-year-old the world has ever known. He enjoys listening to local music, watching the Phillies, and finding new adventures with his son.
5 PM: Brian Anthony Wilson
Recent Theatre: Looking Over The President's Shoulder (Act II Playhouse), The Resistible Rise of Artuo Ui (Lantern), Gem Of The Ocean (Arden * Barrymore Award) & Thurgood (Olney Theatre Center). Film/TV selected credits : Glass, Oceans 8, Creed, Limitless, The Arrangement, The Postman / Mare Of Easttown, Dispatches From Elsewhere, Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Siren, Bloodline, Gotham, Blue Bloods,The Sopranos & The Wire.
These amazing guests will play in one of our genre spoofs - but we will need YOU to tell us which one to do from this list:
Disney princess movie
Soap opera
Reality show from audience prompt
PBS kids show
Hallmark Christmas movie
Spaghetti Western
Film Noir
Horror
High School play
Remember: we won’t stop improvising until we raise $1,000 for The West Philadelphia Skills Initiative! Save us from ourselves by attending and donating to this amazing organization!
Bright Invention’s
Improvathon 2020
Saturday, February 15th, 10 AM - ???
Inner Rhythms Music and Therapy Center
37 South 42nd St.,
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Please note: there is a staircase up to the venue, which is not wheelchair accessible.
IMPROVATHON update #1
IMPROVATHON 2020!
IT'S BACK! BRIGHT INVENTION'S FEAT OF EXTREME IMPROV! THIS YEAR WE WILL BE RAISING $1,000 FOR
THE WEST PHILADELPHIA SKILLS INITIATIVE!
Save the date!
Saturday February 15th, 10 AM - ???
Inner Rhythms Music and Therapy Center
37 South 42nd St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104Non-stop improv with a new show each hour!
Special guests playing in!
Please . . . for the love of God . . . think of the improvisors . . . donate early and often . . . Donate Now!
Reserve your free seats!
Thanks to our partners!
Theatre Philadelphia hosts Philly Theatre Week: a 10-day celebration of artists, organizations, and audiences that have made Greater Philadelphia one of the most vibrant theatre regions in the nation. Audiences will have an opportunity to try over 100 unique events from our theatre community through a series of productions, readings, interactive events, and much more!
Inner Rhythms Music and Therapy Center serves the West Philadelphia community with music lessons, music therapy, and affordable rental space for therapists, musicians, events, and workshops.
The West Philadelphia Skills Initiative (WPSI) was created in 2011 as an innovative response to the dichotomies of Philadelphia’s economy. In spite of large swaths of substantial growth driven by anchor institutions and private employers, Philadelphia remains the poorest big city in America. Our work bridges this gap by building a talent management solution that connects Philadelphians seeking opportunity with employers seeking talent.
WPSI works closely with its employer partners to understand their talent challenges and aspirations. We recruit, assess, select, train and place residents in career-ladder jobs that offer stability and opportunities for advancement.
Since WPSI’s inception, program participants who had previously been unemployed for an average of 53 weeks have gone on to earn more than $30 million in collective wages while increasing employers' productivity and excellence.
It's back! Announcing . . . IMPROVATHON 2020!
That’s right! Bright Invention’s feat of “extreme improv” returns for Philly Theatre Week 2020!
L - R: BENJAMIN LLOYD, BRIGHT INVENTION EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR; CHRIS BARTLETT, WILLIAM WAY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR; BOB STINEMAN, BRIGHT INVENTION ENSEMBLE AND DIRECTOR OF FINANCE PRESENTING CHRIS HIS CHECK AND OUR FUNDRAISING THERMOMETER!
Last year, our band of over-caffeinated inventors and special guests improvised their butts off to meet their goal of raising $500 for The William Way LGBT Center. And you responded! We doubled our goal and were able to present William Way with a check for nearly $1000.
This year, we will improvise non-stop raising money for The West Philadelphia Skills Initiative (WPSI).
The West Philadelphia Skills Initiative (WPSI) was created in 2011 as an innovative response to the dichotomies of Philadelphia’s economy. In spite of large swaths of substantial growth driven by anchor institutions and private employers, Philadelphia remains the poorest big city in America. Our work bridges this gap by building a talent management solution that connects Philadelphians seeking opportunity with employers seeking talent.
WPSI works closely with its employer partners to understand their talent challenges and aspirations. We recruit, assess, select, train and place residents in career-ladder jobs that offer stability and opportunities for advancement.
Since WPSI’s inception, program participants who had previously been unemployed for an average of 53 weeks have gone on to earn more than $30 million in collective wages while increasing employers' productivity and excellence.
Partnering with WPSI was an obvious choice for us, since we have been providing workshops for their program since 2015. Over the last four years, Bright Invention has delivered nearly 25 workshops to various cohorts moving through the WPSI program. Using our Creative Corporate Training program, we design and deliver scenarios dramatizing real-life challenges the cohorts may face when on the job.
ENSEMBLE MEMBERS KIERSTEN ADAMS, ERIC WALKER, JR AND LEAH HOLLERAN DELIVERING A WPSI CCT WORKSHOP!
We are still putting together the details of this year’s IMPROVATHON, but here’s what we know:
our goal is to raise $1,000 for WPSI
The event will be on Saturday February 15th
Location to be announced shortly
It will begin at 10 AM and end . . . when we raise a grand for WPSI!
the format will be similar to last year’s IMPROVATHON. Each hour will feature a special guest who will play in with us in a “genre spoof”, then the ensemble will perform one of our own forms.
we are hoping that luminaries from WPSI and their parent organization University City District will be our guests, as will as graduates from the program!
So mark your calendars! The event is free, but you will be able to reserve tickets for various hours of the show during the course of the day. Ticketing will be available through the Philly Theatre Week website in January.
We hope to see you there, as we push our creativity to the edge supporting a great cause!
HAPPY (AND EXHAUSTED) INVENTORS AT THE CLOSE OF LAST YEAR’S IMPROVATHON!