Tag: comedy

Improv 1 with Aren and Renee

Improv Comedy Classes starting October 4 with Silverbacks Improv Theatre!

Quick Details:
Improv 1 – A Silverbacks Improv Class (Teachers: Aren Chaisson & Renee Barry)
Dates: Tuesdays – October 4, 11, 18, 25, Nov 1, Nov 8
Time: 6-8pm CST
Where: Cité des Arts
Ages: 16+
Cost: $120 – scholarships available
Register online here:
https://checkout.square.site/buy/VR4MXJQOSZQZQH5TJMSZIZGA

Students may also message the Silverbacks Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/SilverbacksImprov, or email with questions at silverbacksimprov@gmail.com.

Since 2015, Silverbacks Improv Theatre has offered Improv classes in Lafayette. As a result, the improv scene has blossomed and continues to grow. A new round of classes is starting on October 4 with Improv 1. This six week course is designed for the complete novice to improv and/or performing arts. Teachers focus on creating a friendly environment for even the most demure wall flower to be able to participate. Improv is excellent for growing skills in communication, team work, and public speaking. Students will be eligible to progress to Improv 2 and 3 following this course, should they choose to continue studying.

Silverbacks believe that the price should not be a barrier for the study of improv, and will not turn away any students for lack of a traditional fee. Payment plans, scholarships, and barters are all available.

Teacher Bios:
Renee Barry is thrilled to be teaching with her pal Aren! Renee moved back home to Lafayette in 2020 after spending eight years in Chicago, IL performing improv and writing sketch comedy shows. In Chicago, Renee wrote and performed at The Second City in such productions as Thank You Five, Out Damn Spotlight, Ready Player: Won, and 1984-Play. Renee will be performing in CCT’s The Real Inspector Hound in November at Cité des Artes. Renee teaches improv and sketch writing to teens at CYT, and she teaches Talented Theatre in St. Martin Parish schools. Renee is so grateful to be a part of the Lafayette comedy community!

Aren Chaisson is an actor and improvisor with over 25 years experience on stage. He is from Lafayette, Louisiana and teaches Talented Theatre in Iberia Parish. Aren has performed in many productions, including John Proctor in The Crucible, Huey P. Long in The Kingfish, Dale Pittman in The North Plan, Harry “Jazzbo” Haywood in It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, Lenny in Of Mice and Men, Foreman in Twelve Angry Men, Cliff in Cabaret, Officer Lockstock in Urinetown and William Shakespeare in William and Judith. In 2018 he was in his first CCT production as Jud in Oklahoma! Most recently he was seen as Max Bialystock in The Producers. Since graduating from University of Louisiana at Lafayette with a BFA in Performing Arts, he has performed in NYC, Chicago, Syracuse, Alabama, Indiana, on regional and national tours, and in short films and commercials. He studied improv with Armando Diaz at the Magnet Theatre in NYC and performs with Silverbacks Improv troupe.

SuperCollider: September 6th, 2019!

Every month for SuperCollider!, Silverbacks host a different trio of improv troupes! Groups may be local favorites, traveling troupes, or exciting new formats such as horror and musical improv. 

The September 6th SuperCollider!,
hosted by local comedian, Maggie Shipley, 
will feature the following troupes: 

  • Cult of the Stage Monkey is Lafayette’s longest-running Improvisational Theatre troupe! The student organization has been delighting audiences with their quick wit and topical humor since October of 1998.  
  • Founded in 2017, The Plural Noun is an improv collaborative with a wide range of performance influences from sketch to film to black box experimentation. The troupe loves to break down the boundaries between short improv games and long form explorations of themes, aka lots of laughter, tears, and WTF! 
  • The Weaning Process is an improv troupe sprung from an improv class. They combine short games and long form in their shows and have most recently started a regular show that blends standup and improv!  

See all three troupes for the price of one! Only $10* for a night full of fun. 
The September 6th show starts at 9:00pm at the 2nd Stage at Cite des Arts!

*($8 for Students, Teachers, and Seniors (60+). ID is required for discount)

Silverbacks and Lafayette Comedy present KIDS IN THE HALL’S KEVIN MCDONALD for Workshops this August

DOWNTOWN LAFAYETTE –

Silverbacks Improv Theatre and Lafayette Comedy announce the following workshops:

Sketch Comedy Writing Workshop by Kevin McDonald – This workshop with Kevin McDonald is a writers workshop. Participants will arrive with a comedy sketch they have written, which will be workshopped by Mr. McDonald and the group, with active time for re-writes. Mr. McDonald will also follow up with the participants following the workshop with additional feedback on their sketch after a 2nd re-write!

Saturday, August 3
10am – 5:30pm
Venue TBA
Cost: $180, or $275 if signing up for both Workshops
Registration available at lafayettecomedy.com

Acting in Sketch Comedy by Kevin McDonald – This workshop will feature analysis of great sketch comedy acting, theatre games, and an afternoon of being directed in sketches by Mr. McDonald.

Saturday, August 4
10am – 5:30 pm
Venue TBA
Cost: $180, or $275 if signing up for both Workshops
Registration available at lafayettecomedy.com

Improv Rumble! 2019

Who’s ready for a Rumble!?

Join us as Lafayette’s improvisers unite for the ultimate spectacle in competitive improvised theater!

The Improv Rumble will pit teams of improvisers against one another in an all-out brawl. Everything’s made up, but YOUR VOTES REALLY COUNT. Who will go home the victor? The answer depends on YOU. Audience members will vote on their favorite performances to determine a team winner.

This show will feature over 30 improv comedy performers, all from South Louisiana. These include Lafayette groups Silverbacks Improv Theatre, Cult of the Stage Monkey, Weaning Process, The Plural Noun and members from The Family Dinner and LATco in Baton Rouge. Improvisers will form mixed teams and compete against each other for the audience’s vote.

This show will focus on short and high energy improv “games” not unlike the popular show “Whose Line is it Anyway.” The Improv Rumble is sure to be full of high energy, big laughs and friendly sportsmanship. See performers who don’t normally perform with each other outside of their element and having a blast.

Come on down and see us Rumble on Friday, February 8, 2019, at 7:30 pm, at Acadiana Center for the Arts. Tickets are $12.

Silverbacks’ 7th Annual Improvised Holiday Celebration!

On Friday, December 14th, at Club 337 (in DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Lafayette), Silverbacks Improv Theatre will present their traditional “Holiday Show.” Each December, Silverbacks interpret their signature improvisations through the lens of a Holiday – a brand new, completely made up Holiday, that is! With the audience’s help, Silverbacks will create their very own annual celebration – think “Festivus for the Rest of Us” from Seinfeld.

For this show, each of the performers will be wearing a Holiday Sweater and invite the audience to do the same. ANY Holiday themed items are welcome – the audience is invited to wear their finest Christmas, Easter, Mardi Gras, or even Groundhog Day sweaters to add to the fun. Previously invented holidays were “Paper-Clip Appreciation Day” (2012), “Garden Gnome Day” (2013), “Leonardo DaVinci’s Mother’s Birthday” (2014), “Picasso-Palooza” (2015), “St. Lampshades Day” (2016), and “Structural Support Day” (2017). Now we need our audience to help us create a brand New Holiday and its many wonderful traditions.

Tickets are $10* at the door!
*($8 for Students, Teachers, and Seniors (60+). ID is required for discount)

A SuperCollision is scheduled for November 9th!


Silverbacks Improv Theatre

Join us on Friday, November 9th at 7:30pm at The Omni Center for SuperCollider: Acadiana’s Improv Showcase brought to you by Silverbacks Improv Theatre!
 
This month will feature The Weaning Process – Improv Troupe and Silverbacks Improv Theatre, with a special Mash-Up set between troupe performances!
 

The Weaning Process

Tickets are $10*
*($8 for Students, Teachers, and Seniors (60+). ID is required for discount)

Saturday Night Live had some interesting ideas about Acadiana…

Good ol’ Saturday Night Live surprised Lafayette, LA residents the other night with this little number:

We see you, Saturday Night Live. Here’s our response:

Silverbacks Improv Presents: Lafayette Famous w/ Rob Kirkpatrick on Friday, October 26th!

Silverbacks Improv Theatre‘s “Lafayette Famous” features a mix of improvisation and storytelling. In this format, a local celebrity prepares 3 true stories from their life. The improvisers create scenes based on themes from the stories, bringing performers and audience alike on a humorous journ

ey. This month, we are excited to welcome Rob Kirkpatrick to the Lafayette Famous stage!

Rob Kirkpatrick isn’t originally from Lafayette, but he likes to say he got here as quickly as he could. He hosts Acadiana’s Morning News weekday mornings on NewsTalk 96.5 KPEL. It may surprise you that someone who reports news doesn’t take himself too seriously. Rob says it takes a sense of humor to handle everything that comes across his desk in the KPEL newsroom every day. Rob first started in radio while studying at UL-Lafayette. His first TV job was working alongside the KATC’s “BIG THREE” Marcelle Fontenot, Jim Hummel and Rob Perillo. In 2010, he took his show on the road and set out for roles in national newsrooms at FOX in Dallas and CNN in Atlanta. He grew up in Mandeville, and made the best decision of his life turning down LSU for the Mass Communication program at UL-Lafayette. Rob’s smile is infectious at the Townsquare Media Studios in Lafayette, where he has proven himself to be a force both on-air and behind the scenes when working for clients. Rob Kirkpatrick is married to Sarah and has two daughters.

Join us for Lafayette Famous at The Omni Center on Friday, October 26th at 7:30pm! Tickets are $10 at the door ($8 with ID for Students, Teachers, and Seniors!)

SuperCollider Improv Showcase – October 12, 2018

Join us on Friday, October 12th at 7:30pm at The Omni Center for SuperCollider: Acadiana’s Improv Showcase brought to you by Silverbacks Improv Theatre!

This October, our featured performance troupes are

  • The Leather Apron Theatre Co. (LATCo.) is a non-profit comedy theatre collective from Baton Rouge. LATCo. specializes in long form improv comedy and prides itself on constantly pushing the envelope and experimenting with forms, promising for a unique and personal experience for every audience. This Friday, LATCo will present CAROUSEL: a completely improvised ensemble show consisting of character interviews, monologues, and scenes based off of an audience’s suggestion.
  • Tempo Tantrums Musical Improv are Lafayette’s first and only improv team dedicated solely to the art of short form & long form musical improv, made up of a cast of musical improv enthusiasts from the Lafayette and Baton Rouge improv communities.
  • Your Spooky Friends are Lafayette’s all-new Improvised Horror Troupe, creating improvised horror shows in the style of classic serialized horror shows like The Outer Limits, Are You Afraid of the Dark, and the Twilight Zone.

 

Tickets are $10*
*($8 for Students, Teachers, and Seniors (60+). ID is required for discount)

Silverbacks Present: The 90s Sitcom!

We’re throwing it waaaaay back to The 90s!

Friday, September 28th, 7:30pm @ The Omni Center
$10* general admission
*($8 with ID for Students, Teachers, and Seniors!)

On Friday, September 28th at 7:30pm, Silverbacks Improv Theatre will revisit its popular “90s Sitcom” format. The group will improvise a one-act play inspired by classic 90s television shows, such as Full House, Family Matters, Home Improvement and more. 

You could call it: Step by Step Family Improvement Full of Ties in the Wonder Years when a Boy Meets World – “A 90s Sitcom” – Featuring MONIQUE (not that Monique). 

Costumed in their best 90’s apparel, the performers will embrace the golden age of family sitcoms (or the lowest sitcoms of all time, depending on your perspective). Family hi-jinks, wacky neighbors, precocious kids, blended families, and coming of age – all are ripe for the picking at this one-time-only improvised event.