WIT is one third of a great lineup appearing at the Mayfair Cafe, 116 Main St Upper Hutt, on
Saturday 23rd March, 8pm – 9.15pm.
For the The Humorous Arts Trust
Featuring Jen O’Sullivan and Adam Williamson.
Tag Archives: comedy
All-Star Micetro, 2013
Fringe Festival fixture (and former Fringe best comedy winner) Micetro is back for another bite of the cheese.
Watch as a crew of eager improvisers go head to head in a battle of wit, spur-of-the-moment storytelling and glorious failure. The audience will decide who gets eliminated and who will survive to be crowned ‘Micetro’. Continue reading
A Christmas Cracker, 2012
MEDIA RELEASE: For immediate release
A Christmas Cracker
4 – 7 and 11 – 14 December at the Gryphon Theatre
Wellington Improv Troupe has a whole lot of silliness planned for this upcoming silly season. From an improvised pantomime to misbehaving puppets; from heartwarming fundraising to the end of civilisation itself! This December, Wellington Improvisation Troupe presents A Christmas Cracker – two weeks of improvised theatre that promises comedy, charitable Christmas cheer, pantomime horses and more surprises than a leaked Ministry document.
Running at Gryphon Theatre on 4-7 and 11-14 December, WIT presents its first bumper season of shows to celebrate the holidays. From the people that brought you The Last Saloon, The Wishing Tree and The Young and the WITless VI, and performances from both new members and old hats, this is a season not to be missed.
“This season has something for everyone” says creative lead Geoff Simmons, “We go right from the silly family fun of Pantomime to the black comedy spoof of the end of the world in Apocalimpro. If the Mayans are right at least we will all go out laughing”.
Week one features a mix of old and new; first up at 7pm, Micetro, WIT’s competitive format that pits improvisor against improvisor, enthusiasm against experience and wit against wit, with a cast of WIT regulars and our latest batch of graduates from our beginner training classes (CEC Wellington). At 8:30pm Duets makes its debut. A show of partnerships, where for 20 minutes each duo has only each other and the stage for inspiration. Each show will feature a different trio of duos. And finally, at 10pm Thursday and Friday, Puppets vs People takes to the stage, with an array of mischievous and downright naughty puppets playing off against WITsters in this late night show. Scenes are created live on stage using ideas straight from the audience. Join us for WIT’s first foray into puppetry – a show that humorously explores what it means to be human. Not suitable for children, unless your children are already cynical reprobates, inured to bad language and worse behaviour.
Week two is another mix of magic. Introducing Panto, with all your favourite characters – the hero, the Dame, the villain, the talking horse, all in an enchanting setting, but with a twist – it’s all made up on the spot. And to celebrate the long awaited End of the World on 21 December, the second slot brings you Apocalimpro, which will show how the End will begin in a sleepy Kiwi town. This dark show promises a completely different end of the world every night. Puppets vs People pops up again on the Friday, and the whole Thursday is devoted to Impro Unwrapped, an international goodwill project that invites audience members to bring along a gift to put under the on-stage Christmas Tree. Gifts are then selected at random, unwrapped and become the inspiration for a Christmas story. At the end of the night, all gifts are rewrapped and donated to the St Vincent de Paul Society, along with all the ticket proceeds of the show.
Tickets are available now through Eventfinder.co.nz – catch just one show, or settle in for a night of frivolity with our 2 and 3 show passes!
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Presented by Wellington Improvisation Troupe (WIT), Wellington’s not-for-profit, community-based improvisational theatre group. WIT performs and teaches the skills of improvisational theatre at community venues around the Wellington region.
WELLINGTON
Week 1
Micetro 4-7 Dec @ 7pm
Duets 4-7 Dec @ 8:30pm
Puppets vs People 6-7 Dec @ 10pm
Week 2
Panto 11-12, 14 Dec @ 7pm
Apocalimpro 11-12, 14 Dec @ 8:30pm
Impro Unwrapped 13 Dec @ 8pm
Puppets vs People 14 Dec @ 10pm
Venue: Gryphon Theatre, 22 Ghuznee Street
Young and the Witless VI, 2012
It is 1982, and Roseneath University is kicking off its 99th year as a elite beacon of academic excellence atop Mt Victoria. Still recovering from a tumultuous year of student protests and the scandalous departure of the previous vice chancellor, the staff and students of Rosey U are looking forward to a fresh start. And with new management, new challenges and new relationships await!
From the players who brought you Love Possibly, Micetro, and CSI Wainui, comes the return of Wellington’s best and only Improvised Soap Opera – The Young and the WITless. Follow the lives of the staff and students of Roseneath University as WIT weaves a tale of drama, melodrama and mischief with nine shows in nine weeks at The Fringe Bar; every episode totally improvised, every twist and turn a surprise.
And while the performers live in a world where cell phones are a dream of the future, the audience are encouraged to participate by live-tweeting the show. Share photos, quotes, and memorable moments with the hashtag #WITlessSoap.
Drawing on both NZ’s soap tradition (Shortland St, Gloss, Palmolive) and WIT’s own improvisation pedigree The Young and the WITless VI will make you laugh, cry, and feel every emotion a poignant stare into the middle distance can muster.
The Young and The WITless VI
Directed by Jennifer O’Sullivan
Featuring: Christine Brooks, Nicola Pauling, Steven Youngblood, Kate Wilson, Lyndon Hood, Barry Miskimmin, Danni Taylor, Matt Hutton, Wiremu Tuhiwai, and Simon Smith
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Photographer: Ali Little
Last Saloon, 2012
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.
Divas and the Beast, 2012
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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The Young and the Witless V, 2011
There 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 Dreamz, 2011
Hop 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
Young and the Witless 4, June – August 2010
Lust . . . Betrayal . . . Family
Wellington’s only improvised soap opera returns!
At the Fringe Bar
Wednesdays 2 Jun 2010 to 25 Aug 2010
Cast included:
Geoff Simmons, Christine Brooks, Simon Smith, Karen Anslow, Jennifer O’Sullivan, Paul Sullivan, Wiremu Tuhiwai
Fresh from knock out seasons of Micetro, Improv Divas, and Gods & Heroes, the Wellington Improv Troupe is back with another titillating season of intrigue, secrets and unrequited lust!
Join the Wakefields, NZ’s #2 retail family as they battle tough economic times, off shore manufacturing, and each other for control of the legacy of great granddad Wakefield.
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Theatreview.org commented that the show attracted “large and exuberant houses who are not disappointed as the improvisers deliver a compelling combination of narrative twists, character based gags and sardonic breakings of the fourth wall”
The Improv Divas 2010
Wellington welcomes back The Improv Divas
The Improv Divas are back! NZ’s leading ladies of improv are ready to rock the capital with an all new, all improvised show in 2010’s International Comedy Festival.
Produced and performed by an all-female ensemble cast from Wellington Improvisation Troupe (WIT), The Improv Divas will lead you through an hour of humour, honesty and hilarity, telling stories made up on the spot based on audience suggestion and whatever the ever-present wind blows in. Continue reading