WIT show posters

Last Saloon, 2012

An improvised western

Welcome to the unwritten frontier, where everyone is wild at heart, and every stranger brings a story. WIT’s latest show seeks to evoke the Wild West, exploring character without limits and comedy where no laws apply. Playing with the darker, rougher side to the International Comedy Festival it opens at the venerable BATS Theatre on 15 May 2012 at 6:30pm.

The actors find the comedy in the rich characters and foreboding atmosphere of tension that the Western genre provides. This show will truly be a journey into uncharted, unscripted territory, and the audience is invited along for the ride.

Continue reading →

WIT show posters

Divas and the Beast, 2012

flyer_divas2012

Divas and the Beast ran as part of the 2012 Fringe

Festival, February 23 – 26 at BATS Theatre, and featured WIT’s Improv Divas.

Theatreview.org described the show as “a good concept well executed”.

Troublesome neighbours? Difficult spouses? Offensive bosses? Never fear! The Improv Divas (NZ’s only all woman improv act) are here with a brand new show that takes on the hassles of modern life and offers purely improvised solutions.

Taking inspiration from the magazine columns & TV style ‘Agony Aunt’ programmes of old, Divas and the Beast serve up performances to both educate and delight the audience.

Let the Improv Divas take on your beast. No problem too big, too small or too taboo.

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WIT show posters

Improv Lounge, 2012

sidepileThe Improv Lounge: Storyland for Grownups

From the players who brought you Love Possibly, Micetro, CSI Wainui, and the Improv Lab comes 2012’s best and only weekly improv show. Come on down every Wednesday at 8pm to see Wellington’s best loved community improv troupe in a casual cabaret-style set up at the Fringe Bar.

Sharing a love of storytelling and teamwork to inspire the audience, WIT shows have left an indelible mark on Wellington audiences with this ephemeral art form:

“Something of value will always materialise before our very eyes” – John Smythe, Theatreview
“Magic from generosity” – Lynn Pringle, Theatreview

With weekly bar-tab prizes and an ever changing line up of improvisors and shows, the Improv Lounge presents spontaneous storytelling that is sometimes serious, often hilarious and always totally unpredictable.

Improv Lounge, June 2012
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Micetro March 2012
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WIT show posters

The Long Weekend – NZIF 2011

show posterThe Long Weekend is an improvised story which will reveal the truth of the relationships between five old friends as they reunite for a long weekend away from home.

Each night the characters, relationships, and the New Zealand location will be different.
Each night we will find out more about the people onstage than they knew themselves.

Reuniting: Christine Brooks, Brandon Brooks, Nicola Hill, Merrilee McCoy, Paul Sullivan

Date/Time
Date(s) – 13/10/2011
9:30 pm – 10:30 pm

NZIF 2011 at BATS Theatre

There was also a Flint Podcast episode about the show.

WIT show posters

NZ Improv Festival, 2011

logo_NZIFposterOctober 11-15 2011 at Bats Theatre.

Familiar faces included The Court Jesters, The Improvisors and WIT, as well as new groups Up Against Improv, Chicken Legs Theatre, and representatives from Brisbane, Dunedin and Canberra. As well, two of Australia’s best improvisers Rebecca De Unamuno and Jason Geary visited with new and unique shows.

Thanks and cheers to all the people who made it happen … the producer, the musicians, the lighting guy, the players, the ticket takers, the setters-up-of-things, the leaflet hander-outerers, the lovely reviewers, the lovely sponsors, the lovely audiences. And Producer/Artistic director Merrilee!

The New Zealand Improv Festival now has its very own website

WIT show posters

The Young and the Witless V, 2011

Young and the Witless iconThere is an episode by episode summary on the show’s Facebook page.   Back for its fifth season in June and July 2011 Wellington’s best, and only, improvised soap opera turned its overly melodramatic eye to the highly competitive and scandalous world of indoor social netball. Team mates and lovers, friends and coaches, nemesis and referees – all ripe for soft lens over-acting and long dramatic pauses with a swelling musical score.

WIT show posters

Improvaganza, 2011

improvaganza_squarelogo Two WIT members were part of a team that completed Oxfam’s 100km Trailwalk – and a group of WIT volunteers put on charity show at The Waikanae Club.
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An evening of fun and entertainment in support of Oxfam.

The Wellington Improvisation Troupe, fresh from the Wellington Comedy festival, will be presenting a charity show in Waikanae… Scenes will be created right before your eyes! Songs! Laughter! Excitement! A show that has never been seen before and will never be seen again.

There will also be raffles and lucky door prizes. Get a group together for a great night out.

This show is on behalf of the Kapiti-based Oxfam Trailwalkers, Team Wine Not. All proceeds from the show will be donated to Oxfam to support development work in the South Pacific and beyond.

WIT show posters

WIT Dreamz, 2011

logo Dreams showHop into bed with us!

It’s time to delve beneath the duvet into the subconscious mind of dreams and nightmares.  In WIT Dreamz, Wellington’s finest improvisers will weave the audience’s night-time visions into a web of surreal, hilarious and occasionally spooky stories. Continue reading →

WIT show posters

Wednesdays with WIT, 2008 – 2011

default_clip_image002Between festivals and seasons of shows such as The Young and the Witless WIT began to regularly organise more informal nights at the Blue Note Bar (now the Fringe Bar).  These were collectively promoted under the umbrella of Wednesdays with WIT, with the name shifting to The Improv Lounge in 2012.

Shows in Wednesdays with WIT included many Micetros, Gorillas, House Team shows, The Improv Lab (itself an umbrella for a variety of shows) and more.  Many shows such as The Last Saloon and  Divas and the Beast had their first public outing at a WwW evening before going on to a Fringe or Comedy Festival season.

WwW November 2011
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