Porterville High School Drama Department Hosts A Night of Improvs

The improv artists of the Porterville High School Drama Department will present A Night of Improvs on the PHS campus this Saturday, September 22, at 7 p.m. This single performance will take place on the stage of the Drama Room (A-7) on the campus of Porterville High School located at 465 West Olive Avenue in Porterville. Admission is $2 for adults, and $1 for students, which allows the ticket-holder to witness the mad cap antics of PHS'S finest improv artists as they compete for the comedy crown.

What is improve you ask? Improvisation or “improv” is a type of acting that requires the performer to extemporaneously create scenes, characters, and situations on the spot without scripts or prior rehearsal. This is one if the first skills actors learn, and can be used in a variety of circumstances onstage. Both amateur and skilled professionals rely on improvisation to enhance their performances. Porterville audiences who have watch the T.V. show “Whose Line is it, Anyway?” will already be familiar with the format and some of the exercises. Often comic in nature, “improv” is fun for both the actors, and the audience.

Throughout the evening, young actors from PHS Drama Department will appear in a series of performances with fanciful titles such as “Taxi”, “Freeze Tag”, and “Bus Stop”. Each exercise requires quick thinking as the performers create the story and characters on the spot. No scrips are used, nor are lines memorized. The students make up dialogue, create relationships, and resolve problems on the spur of the moment. Audience participation is welcome, expected, and the evening's entertainment is family-friendly.

Tickets are available at the door starting at 6:30 p.m. For more information please call 559-782-7279.