Mission IMPROVable, one of the best improvisational comedy troupes in the country, will bring its interactive performance to the West Plains Civic Center stage at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 27.
Tickets are $10 per person. They are available through the civic center box office, 110 St. Louis St., from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays or by phone at 417-256-8087. Current Missouri State-West Plains students can attend free with their BearPass ID.
The performance is being sponsored by Missouri State University-West Plains’ University/Community Programs (U/CP) Department.
The first comedy act to be named Entertainer of the Year by Campus Activities Magazine’s Readers Choice Awards, this Chicago-based troupe has been entertaining audiences with their special brand of improvisation for nearly 20 years.
Described as a combination of MTV’s “Wild ‘N Out” and ABC’s “Whose Line Is It Anyway?,” the group’s fast-paced brand of comedy takes the concept of the old television show “Mission Impossible” to a new and exciting level by using suggestions from the audience to create hilarious “missions” that will leave audiences breathless with laughter. The on-the-spot randomness provided by the audience makes each mission truly unique and very often hysterical, troupe members explained.
An IMPROVable beginning
Formed at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst in 1996, the group moved to Chicago several years later and began touring the campus market in 2000. It didn’t take long, however, for the group to make a name for itself among the bigger improv companies in “the Windy City.”
The troupe has performed along side members of Saturday Night Live, Mad TV, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Late Night with Conan O’Brien. They also are a main stage act at the famed “Chicago Improv Festival” and have performed at such comedy festivals as the Orlando Fringe Festival, Big Stinkin’ Improv Festival in Austin and Great Lakes Comedy Fest.
“We are excited to bring a group like Mission IMPROVable back to West Plains,” said U/CP Director Brenda Polyard. “They made quite an impression during their first appearance in 2013, and we look forward to the new antics they’ll bring to the stage Aug. 27.”
For more information, contact the U/CP office at 417-255-7966 or visit the U/CP Theater and Events website.