Improvise: to make, provide, or arrange from whatever materials are readily available.
And that’s what 4th Wall Productions’ in-house improvisational group, Off The Wall plans to do when they create a bevy of scenes, skits, stories, and satires made up entirely from that which is readily available –the audience. Audience participation is encouraged and preferred as the troupe performs short and long improvisational games based upon the ideas of settings, characters, and lines given to them.
Managed by Jeff Sculley, known regionally for his improv work, this unique event showcases the talent of other veteran improv performers from across the Hudson Valley who literally make something out of nothing. Improvisational theatre allows an interactive relationship with the audience. Groups frequently solicit suggestions from the audience as a source of inspiration, a way of getting the audience involved, and as a means of proving that the performance is not scripted. No two performances are the same, because the troupe never knows what the audience is going to serve up, thus making Improvisation an art unto itself.
Off The Wall, 4th Wall’s Weekend of Improv runs Friday and Saturday, Feb. 24 and 25 at 8 p.m. at the Beacon Theatre, 445 Main Street, Beacon. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online or by telephone, at: 845-226-8099. 4th Wall also offers adult improv classes; for more information visit thebeacontheatre.org under Studio B.
