Laughter really is the best medicine
Studies show that laughter not only lifts our mood in the moment, but also has positive lasting effects on our bodies. When we laugh, our body releases endorphins, our feel-good chemical, which encourages a more positive state of mind. With 28 performances lined up, the 10^th Anniversary Sarasota Improv Festival has loads of reasons to laugh, de-stress, and stock up on nature’s best medicine—laughter!

Spice up your summer routine
Don’t let the summer heat get you down! The 10^th Anniversary Sarasota Improv Festival is a can’t-miss whirlwind of laughter that will help you shake up your summer! If you love Whose Line is it Anyway or stay up late to watch Saturday Night Live, you do not want to miss this three-day laugh fest. Each of the Festival’s 20 groups makes things up as they go—they are so good, you will have trouble believing it, but it’s true! Perhaps you’ll get a glimpse into a French state of mind with La Carpe Haute as they turn off all their brain filters. Or maybe you’ll be part of the first—and only—audience to hear STACKED’s improvised musical involving ninjas, bears and motorcycle chases. Anything goes—except for the ordinary—at the 10^th Anniversary Sarasota Improv Festival.

It’s a fun time out that doesn’t break the bank
With Festival passes less than just $5 per show, you’ll burst into laughter without busting the bank—which leaves more money in your wallet for feelin’ festive at the Festival bar!

Travel the world…without leaving Sarasota
Traveling across the Atlantic Ocean for this mega-festival are two of Europe’s leading improv groups: La Carpe Haute (from Strasbourg, France) and Impromadrid (from Madrid, Spain). “Touring with Impromadrid was like being an opener for The Rolling Stones,” says Will Luera, FST’s Director of Improv. “They were loved everywhere we went, and their shows were unmatched in professionalism and hilarity.”

La Carpe Haute will blow your mind with their intense physical and object work. Both groups blur the lines between improv and scripted theatre while adding emotional depth and storytelling technique that is customary of European artistic approaches. (And don’t worry, both groups perform in English!)

Learn from the pros
Dive into your own comedic creativity with one of 16 workshops offered on Saturday, July 14. Learn to pull a story or a scene completely out of thin air, or how to make up a show-stopping musical number completely on the spot. Test your freestyle rapping skills, or learn “How to Improvise Like a Married Couple” with real life married improvisers from improv troupe Orange Tuxedo. Led by actual Festival performers, participants will have the chance to learn from some of the best in the industry—there are even workshops available for improv virgins who are interested in dipping their toes into the exciting, inventive world of improv.

…then party with them
After laughing it up all day at the fest, keep the good times rolling at one (or all three…yes we said three!) Festival after-parties. Hang out with the Festival’s performers, swap rhymes with the members of North Coast, share your Gulf Coast pride with Dear Aunt Gertrude, and ask the members of Parallelogramophonograph how they came up with their troupe’s epically long nine syllable name. Cocktails and apps will be a-flowing on Thursday, July 12 at Art Ovation Hotel. For those who want to get their brew on, Mandeville Beer Garden will host the Festival’s Friday Night After Party on July 13. And Saturday night, July 14, don’t miss the Festival closing party in FST’s Green Room Café and Bar.

It all ends in chaos
Insanity and surprises are two things you can expect at this premier event. The Festival’s finale, the “All Play,” is no exception. At All Play, FST somehow fits all 78 Festival performers on the same stage. There, all of the performers share an epic marathon of games, scenes, and challenges to celebrate the end of three days of nonstop laughter. Watch some of the best improv you’ve ever seen in your life at this uproarious collision of comedic styles!

Festival passes and tickets are on sale now. Grab yours before they’re gone by clicking here, or calling the FST Box Office at (941) 366-9000.