OKC Improv finishing up inaugural run of shows Saturday

Twinprov

From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.

Improv showcase to close successful first run

Oklahoma City’s first ongoing professional improv showcase ends its inaugural run this weekend with an improvised musical, standup comedy and a double-the-fun hip-hop concert.

OKC Improv will close its initial seven-week series with shows at 8 and 10 p.m. Saturday at Ghostlight Theatre Club, 3110 N Walker.

“The response has been fantastic. We have been getting in a lot of people … who have never seen improv before, just really diverse crowds. And the feedback we’re getting at almost every show is ‘That was amazing,’ ‘I’m going to bring everyone I know,’ ‘I can’t believe this is happening in Oklahoma City,’ ‘I didn’t know we had improv,’” said Eric Webb, OKC Improv co-founder and co-producer.

During the first run, about half the shows sold out, and almost every improv troupe in the state took the Ghostlight stage. Among the groups that performed were Oklahoma City’s Red Dirt Improv and The Ones Your Mother Warned You About, Norman’s Obviously Unrehearsed Improv!, Tulsa’s Crayons, Stillwater’s Ham Wallet and Cueless, along with the state’s longest-running troupe, Everybody and Their Dog.

“Generally, the responses from the troupes have been fantastic and … overwhelmingly positive. They love that they have the space they can perform in; they love being able to see what other improv performers and troupes are doing. And they also get the opportunity to play with people they’ve never played with before,” he said.

The showcase’s inaugural series also included the development of the OKC Improv All-Stars, a comedy “super-troupe” with a rotating cast doing a fast-paced mix of short-form and musical improv.

“Having all those improvisers there together, warming up together, in the green room together, we realized that we were wanting to create a scene, we were wanting to create a community, and it was happening,” Webb said. “And that really happens at every show.”