HUGE Theater Improvathon!

Lyndale Ave near 31st Street, Minneapolis MN

18 November, 2021

Description

HUGE Theater returns Improvathon to the stage for Give to the Max Day 2021 Every year since 2012, HUGE Improv Theater has participated in GiveMN’s Give to the Max Day by holding an Improvathon – 28 continuous hours of improv performances in support of fundraising for the theater. Over 150 performers comprising more than 40 different groups take the stage, one after another, seeking donations in friendly competition with each other. This event has become a centerpiece of HUGE’s calendar; a time when the entire performer community comes together – literally and figuratively – to keep a beloved organization alive and at its best. It is the only major fundraising event HUGE Theater holds all year. HUGE closed its doors in March of 2020 in response to the emerging pandemic and was not able to reopen until July of 2021, putting it under considerable strain. In November 2020, the Twin Cities improv community came together for an all-online version of Improvathon, netting $50,007 in donations that provided financial stability for the theater at a precarious time. HUGE is relieved to be among local arts organizations that were able to weather the pandemic and emerge intact, but is still feeling the impact. “A lot of people are understandably reluctant to return to in-person entertainment, and that means we’re not back to covering costs when it comes to performances,” said executive director Butch Roy, “So this year’s Improvathon is just as important as ever. And we’re thrilled to be back this year – live and in person – on our own stage.” “That we even exist is kind of a miracle,” said education director Jill Bernard. “How did this quirky place devoted to an obscure art form make it this far? How can there be so many people so devoted to just being together and being creative and kind? It seems impossible. Wonderful, but impossible.” This year’s Give to the Max Day is November 18. Improvathon will begin 8pm, November 17 and continue through midnight on November 18. HUGE Improv Theater is an artist-led, non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the Twin Cities’ diverse and thriving improv community through performance and education. It is the only theater in the Twin Cities dedicated to the art of long-form improvisation, and one of the few such theaters in the world. Long-form improvisation is the art of creating unscripted theater and comedy spontaneously, usually inspired by a single prompt from the audience.