IMPROV REVOLUTION PRESENTS COUP DE COMEDY 2016

IMPROV REVOLUTION PRESENTS COUP DE COMEDY 2016
FEATURING ARETHA SILLS, GRANDDAUGHTER OF VIOLA SPOLIN, DAUGHTER OF PAUL SILLS

FOUR DAY FESTIVAL IS COMPLETELY FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

IRVINE, Calif. (April 27, 2016) – UCI's Improv Revolution (iRev) will produce The Coup de Comedy Festival 2016.  iRev is an improvisational ensemble composed of undergraduate students from UC Irvine’s Claire Trevor School of the Arts (CTSA). This epic 4-day festival brings the best shows, panels and workshops to the UC Irvine campus and community for FREE. This year’s festival will be May 11-14, 2016 in the Little Theatre, Nixon Theatre, Claire Trevor Theatre, and other workshop spaces at CTSA.

This year in addition to bringing back some of some of the best participants in years’ past, iRev will also feature a special presentation by Aretha Sills about the birth of improvisation. Aretha Sills is the granddaughter of Viola Spolin. She studied theater games for many years with her father, director Paul Sills, and has conducted workshops at Paul Sills' Wisconsin Theater Game Center, Bard College, Northwestern University, and around the country. She is the Associate Director of Sills/Spolin Theater Works. Aretha was recently nominated for an INNY Award for Best Improvisation Instructor and was the keynote speaker at the California Educational Theatre Association conference. 

“It is incredibly exciting to host a festival this year that both features the cutting edge of the comedy scene as well as honors the foundations of the art form.” shared Joel Veenstra, festival producer.

The Coup de Comedy Festival will also feature performances, including Impro Theatre’s Tennessee Williams UnScripted (whom American Theatre Magazine noted as a group that “raises the theatrical bar”) on Saturday, May 14,The Resistance: Improv. Action. Comedy on Friday, May 13, and Dave Razowsky (known for the podcast ADD Comedy with Dave Razowsky, The Second City, working with Steven Carell and kissing Stephen Colbert, and so much more) on Wednesday, May 11. 

Additional Highlights:

5/11 @ 7:00 pm Opening Night Event: UC Irvine’s TWO Improv Teams (Live Nude People* [*with clothes on] & Improv Revolution) battle it out – or work together – all for your amusement to launch this EPIC COUP DE COMEDY FESTIVAL! This will be the fifth time in all of history that these two  troupes will have shared the stage together and it may be the last time – do not miss this incredible event.

5/11 @ 9:15 pm Revolutionary Comedy Awards honoring Kay Cannon: The Revolutionary Comedy Award to artists who have not only found commercial success, but also help to make the world a better place. In the past we have honored individuals such as Tony Hale and Keegan-Michael Key. This year we honor Kay Cannon for her tremendous work in comedy and her positive work with individuals and the Steps of Faith Foundation. Kay Cannon is an American film and television writer and actress who is best known for her work as an Emmy-nominated writer and producer for the NBC series 30 Rock, and writing the screenplay for the Pitch Perfect films. She is also a co-executive producer and writer on New Girl and Netflix's upcoming #GirlBoss.

5/12 @ 10:00 pm Stand-Up LIVE @ UCI with Zoë Rose Moacanin!: Zoë Rose Moacanin is an actress, improviser, and stand-up comedienne based in Los Angeles, California. She graduated with a BA in English Literature and dual minors in Spanish Language and Educational Studies from UC Irvine. Though she is an educated woman, she does not consider herself intelligent, as it wasn't until recently that she stopped trying to sound out roman numerals. Apart from sketch comedy at The Second City, Hollywood, Zoe can be seen doing stand-up all around Los Angeles and San Diego Counties. She derives her comedic inspiration from Lucille Ball who once said: "I'm not funny, what I am brave."

5/13 @ 10:00 am Laughter Yoga Workshop with Jeffery Briar: Learn about laughter yoga from one of the best, Jeffery Briar from The Laughter Yoga Institute. As seen on the Oprah Show!

5/13 @ 12:30 pm Entertainment Career Panel: Join us for a discussion of the entertainment world with the professionals who work in it.  The panel will consist of L.A.-based composer and songwriter Allen Simpson; comedian Bobbie Oliver; improviser, sketch comedy director, and Second City Alum Kiff VandenHeuvel; actor and improviser Mike McShane; and acting and improv teacher at Pixar, DreamWorks, Chapman University and California College for the Arts - Tracy Burns.

5/13 @ 8:30 pm The Resistance Performance: The Resistance is a completely improvised action movie performed live on stage at The Comedy Sportz Theater in Los Angeles. | Starring: Kurt Scholler, Derek Mears, Chris Mathieu, Ryan Marsico, Kurt David Maloney, Justin Michael Terry | Soundtrack: Scott Passarella, Jason Murphy

5/14 @ 12:30 pm Origins of Improvisation with Aretha Sills: Aretha Sills is the granddaughter of Viola Spolin. She studied theater games for many years with her father, director Paul Sills, and has conducted workshops at Paul Sills' Wisconsin Theater Game Center, Bard College, Northwestern University, and around the country. She is the Associate Director of Sills/Spolin Theater Works. Aretha was recently nominated for an INNY Award for Best Improvisation Instructor and was the keynote speaker at the California Educational Theatre Association conference.

And much more…

The full schedule for The Coup de Comedy 2016 is located at https://coupdecomedy2016.sched.org/. The Claire Trevor School of the Arts is located at 4000 Mesa Road, Irvine, CA  92617. For maps, driving directions and parking information go to www.arts.uci.edu/directions.  

As UCI’s creative laboratory, the Claire Trevor School of the Arts explores and presents the arts as the essence of human experience and expression, through art forms ranging from the most traditional to the radically new. The international faculty works across a wide variety of disciplines, partnering with others across the campus.  National-ranked programs in art, dance, drama, and music begin with training but end in original invention. Students come to UCI to learn to be citizen-artists, to sharpen their skills and talents, and to become the molders and leaders of world culture.

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