Improv Rumble 2024!

Silverbacks Improv Theatre Presents: Improv Rumble 2024!
Saturday, March 2, 2024 at Wonderland Performing Arts

Tickets are available at the door, beginning at 6:30pm.

Improv Rumble pits 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 vote on their favorite performances to determine a team winner. Voting takes place via interactive fun with the audience’s cell phones. Most shows ask you to turn off your phone – at this show, you’re be encouraged to wield your cell’s power!

This show features improv comedy performers from across South Louisiana. Improv Rumble is sure to be full of high energy, big laughs, and friendly sportsmanship.

Tickets are $18.

Improv: Level 2 Registration is Open!

Improv Level 2, taught by Elaine Kibodeaux Paramore (Assistant Instructor TBA).
8 Saturdays, January 13-March 9 (with a break for Mardi Gras) from 10am-Noon at Cite des Arts.
Class size: 6 students minimum; 12 students maximum.
$200 for 8 days of class.
Register online at https://silverbacks-improv-theatre.square.site/

Elaine Kibodeaux Paramore has been acting for 26 years and improvising for 22. She is a founding member of Silverbacks Improv Theatre, having just finished her term as the 2022-2023 Artistic Director. She is a proud Cult of the Stage Monkey (UL-Lafayette) Alumna (’01-’08) and has studied and performed improv in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Washington, D.C., and Chicago. Elaine began teaching Improv Fundamentals for Beginners in 2009 and has since added Improv Acting Techniques for Dancers and Movement for the Actor to her instruction repertoire. She is a belly dancer with Habibi Hips and Bal Amira, celebrating 16 at Oasis Bellydance Studio, where she leads a Bellydance Fit class and instructs new dancers in Bellydance Basics. She regularly uses her improv and acting experience to enhance her stage presence when dancing. She can also be found on your favorite podcast app, alongside her creative partner, Mads Manuel, on Storybroke: Miserably Ever After, returning in 2024.

Improv Breakfast Jam – Coming Right Up!

Are you improv-curious? Come see what all the fuss is about.
Taken classes? Come practice the skills you’ve learned.
Like donuts & coffee? Come and get it!

Silverbacks Improv Theatre is hosting an Improv Breakfast Jam to play improv games and hang out with other cool people. It will be a mixer with a fun, relaxed atmosphere. You can participate at your comfort level, including being in the audience.

Join us on Saturday, December 2nd at 10am (until noon) at Cite des Arts.
You bring yourself, we’ll bring the donuts (and coffee).

Improv Rumble 2023!

Friday, April 7, 2023 | 7:30pm | Acadiana Center for the Arts | Lafayette, LA

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. Voting will take place via interactive fun with the audience’s cell phones. Most shows ask you to turn off your phone – at this show, you’ll be encouraged to wield your cell’s power! This show will feature over 25 improv comedy performers, all from South Louisiana. The Improv Rumble is sure to be full of high energy, big laughs, and friendly sportsmanship.

Silverbacks 10th(ish) Annual Improvised Holiday Show

It’s nearly that time of year again! On Friday, December 16th, Silverbacks Improv Theatre will interpret their signature improvisations through the lens of a brand new, completely made up Holiday! This year, we’ll be welcoming more of our extended improv family to the party, with The Weaning Process helping us to create our newest holiday traditions on the SuperCollider stage!

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.

Our 9 previously invented holidays are “Paper-Clip Appreciation Day” (2012), “Garden Gnome Day” (2013), “Leonardo DaVinci’s Mother’s Birthday” (2014), “Picasso-Palooza” (2015), “St. Lampshades Day” (2016), “Structural Support Day” (2017), and “Snowpocalypse: The Anniversary of that One Day It Snowed in Louisiana” (2018), “Aggressive Yoga Day” (2019), and “Don’t Fit Day” (2020). Since we weren’t able to get together in 2021, we really can’t wait to celebrate a Brand New Holiday and its many wonderful traditions with you.

9:00 pm at Cite des Arts, 2nd Stage Tickets are $10 at the door!

Improv 2 with Mads and Claudia!

Our Improv workshops continue with Improv Level 2. Move beyond the basics with characterization and 2-person scene building! Past students have gone on to create their own troupes, have much more airtight excuses when they’re late to work, and have been told they’re hilarious on zoom calls. Our eight-session course has helped to foster talent in Acadiana for years, and now it’s your turn. Sign up today! Improv 2 – A Silverbacks Improv Class Teachers: Mads Manuel & Claudia Mijares

Tuesdays – January 17, 24, 31, Feb 7, BREAK for Valentines day and Mardi Gras, Feb 28, March 7, 14, 21
Time: 6pm – 8pm CST
Where: Cité des Arts
Ages: 16+
Cost: $160*

Register online here:
https://checkout.square.site/buy/3JSMNV4FTGNIOUCOHRV22JUY

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

*Silverbacks believe that the price should not be a barrier for the study of improv. We are committed to the following initiatives for our 2023 courses:

– Payment Plans – we can set up a payment plan for students – simply contact us at silverbacksimprov@gmail.com.

– We are participating in the Black Improv Alliance’s program, 100 Black Improvisers. The goal of the program is to sponsor Black improv students in the study of improv. We are participating by offering a number of scholarships for Black students. Please reach out to Silverbacks or see the Black Improv Alliance’s website for more information: https://blackimprovalliance.com/100-black-improvisers

– Other arrangements can be made as necessary – reach out to us at silverbacksimprov@gmail.com.

Instructor Bios:

Mads Manuel has been improvising since 2007, when they join UL’s Cult of the Stage Monkey. They grew with the organization and served as Director, training several successful classes of new improvisers while also working to continue the development of intermediate and advanced performers. In 2012, they began performing with the professional group that would eventually become Silverbacks Improv Theatre. They’ve gone on to perform as part of the Your Pretty Friend Improv duo. In addition to their Improv experience, Mads appeared regularly in local community theatre productions and is proud to have cobbled together their anxiety into a convincing human personality.

Claudia Mijares has been improvising since 2016, and is a current member of several Lafayette troupes including The Weaning Process, Ragtag, The Plural Noun, Your Spooky Friends, and Silverbacks Improv Theatre.

SuperCollider: ft. Sketch Comedy! Nov. 11, 2022

Come to the 2nd Stage at Cité des Arts on Friday, November 11th at 9pm for a very special SuperCollider: Acadiana’s Improv Showcase brought to you by Silverbacks Improv Theatre!

This month, we are pleased to welcome:
-Rag Tag Improv (Lafayette, LA)
-Two for the Road (Houston, TX/Lafayette, LA)
-The Overeducated (Baton Rouge, LA)

We are also pleased to announce that we are fulfilling the grand SuperCollider! vision by incorporating SKETCH COMEDY into the roster! This month’s show will feature sketches by Renee Barry, Sarah Mikayla Brown, and Trevor Chapman.

Hosted by Lafayette’s own Charles Thomas Vidrine

That’s Sketch, Improv, AND Stand-up Comedy, all for just $10! 

October’s SuperCollider is for friends: old, new, and spooky, too.

Come to the 2nd Stage at Cité des Arts on Friday, October 21st at 9pm for SuperCollider: Acadiana’s Improv Showcase brought to you by Silverbacks Improv Theatre!

This month, we are pleased to welcome:
-The Weaning Process
-Your Spooky Friends
-Silverbacks Improv Theatre

Tickets are $10

This month’s SuperCollider is especially exciting for us as we welcome our newest castmates to the stage! Help us cheer on Claudia, Jamie, Kristen, Leslie, Pete, and (our newest addition) Renee for their debut as Silverbacks!

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.