Improv SpringBoard presents Playback Theatre
By Improv SpringBoard
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Company Name: Improv SpringBoard
City/State: Kansas City, MO
Genre: Comedy, Improvisation/Sketch, Theatre
Ratings: Parental Guidance
Venue: Whim Space
Show Times:
6:00 PM Tuesday, July 23
7:30 PM Wednesday, July 24
6:00 PM Thursday, July 25
9:00 PM Friday, July 26
3:00 PM Saturday, July 27
Description:
You know those ordinary nights that turn magical when you start sharing stories and reliving memories with your friends? And then your friends get up and reenact the stories you just told? No? Well, that’s exactly what happens in Playback Theatre!
Improv SpringBoard and drama therapist Emily Bartlett (b. Hive theatre) are excited to bring this innovative improv format to KC Fringe! In each performance, a talented group of improvisers will try to recreate stories told by audience members. And here’s a big twist: The audience members will tell the improvisers how well they did. Then the improvisers will try again! Unlike traditional improv formats, Playback Theatre tries for authenticity, leading to sets that can be as powerful and poignant as they are funny! Another twist - all of the improvisers are women or nonbinary folks!
Cast/Crew:
Directed by Emily Bartlett Produced by Marian McClellan
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OUR SPONSORS
Missouri Arts Council
Theater League
Arts KC
NTDF
henderson
VMA
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Absolutely hilarious and heartwarming! Such talent!
Thanks Carol!
This show was so great! Watching the audiences’ stories played back to us was so fun. Not only is it fun to hear the audience members tell their stories, but the vastly talented cast of woman and nonbinary performers does a fantastic job of listening intently and interpreting our stories with hilarious results! Very good job!
This show was such a treat. Highly interactive and the cast is spectacularly funny. It’s like improve but with compelling stories shared by you… the audience. Worth seeing!
What a fun concept! Highly interactive with all the audience participation sharing their stories. The cast is phenomenal and does a fantastic job playing back the stories with ever-heightened wonderfulness. It’s a delightful and unique experience that’s as heartwarming as it is entertaining. Loved it!
Loved this show. The actors did so great with the funny stories from the audience. I was laughing all night! McKenzie is great too, proud sister plug
SO PRRRROOOOOOOOOOUD!
We all agree. McKenzie is awesome to play with.
GREAT SHOW
A completely different type of improv. It elicited so many emotions… from tears to laughter. So much respect to the stories from the players. A great experience!
This group takes personal stories from the audience and acts them out in an Improv exercise. I had so much fun watching this show!! Just a really great group of talented people.
You’ll laugh if you come to this one! I’m telling everyone I know to come watch!!
This was such a delightful show! I loved the concept of pulling the audience into the show. It brought an intimacy that was even more interactive than a typical improv show. All of the players were so funny and they were clearly in sync with one another. Just wonderful. Well done, Improv Springboard!
Great job to all the funny women who put on this show!
Not what I expected. So much better. You guys were great.
I loved this format for improv, and this cast did a spectacular job with it! Hearing everybody’s stories from the crowd was engaging, and then the cast’s adaptions of the stories were always funny and quick-witted. There’s a clear synergy among the cast and that elevated this show to be an exciting performance.
While most improv shows try to minimize the amount of time an audience member is talking, Playback Theater flips the script–er the non-existent script–and showcases the storytelling abilities of the audience members themselves. A feat that requires trust and humility from the cast of highly talented woman and non-binary improvisors. In the end, the risk pays off immensely. There is no time limit for the newly elected narrator, no glances at watches as a man recounts his near death canoe adventure, no one is silently judging the women who were locked out of their condo on their first night in Chicago. Emily and the cast simply listen to each story with genuine pleasure. But don’t be fooled by the stillness, the improv gears are already turning behind the cast’s eager eyes. After a brief direction from Emily, the cast springs to life with the improvised interpretation of the life event. After the scene, the person who told the story is tasked with validating the playback experience. Any corrections are gleefully received and we see the edited scene again. Corrections to the stories were built-in inside jokes with the audience, guaranteed to set the house on fire with laughter. That’s the kind of connection improv shows dream of. Each member of the cast was present in the moment, ready to blend sensibility and silliness with masterful finesse. The buttons and one-liners reigned supreme. Playback features three different styles of scene work that differ in pacing, tone, and energy. With such a strong cast of improvisors, I would have loved to see more of the collage format that showcases more classic scene work. The playback experience challenges our perception of golden-haze memories and embodies the very heart of “we’ll laugh about this later.