Ocean State Black & Funny Improv Festival
The Ocean State Black & Funny Improv Festival is back
October 3 - 6!
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The Ocean State Black & Funny Improv Festival is back for its third year, featuring amazing Black improvisers and troupes from across the country! The festival features nightly headliner performances, guest troupes, mixer shows, and workshops, and this year's festival is bigger and better than ever!
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Our goal is to create an improv world where all are welcome to celebrate ourselves, learn from our differences, and build each other up while sharing in a space that is respectful and generous to all.
Festival Passes and Tickets
Want to see shows at the festival? We've got your options covered!
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All-Access Festival Pass: $150 You get tickets to every performance and an Ocean State Black and Funny Improv Festival t-shirt! If you sign up for 3 or more workshops, you get an All-Access Festival Pass for free!​
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Day Pass: Thurs - $30, Fri - $40, Sat - $50 You can get a Day Pass to see both of the shows on a specific day of the festival.
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Individual Show Tickets: You can, of course, get tickets to each show individually if you want! Choose your own price based on our new pricing system for all of our performances. We want everyone to be able to enjoy these incredible performances!
- ​​Standard ticket price for OSBAFIF shows is $25. We need 70% of people to choose this price!
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$35 tickets are available to help support the Jack Albanese Scholarship Fund.
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$45 tickets are available for anyone who can afford a little extra to support this and future festivals.
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$10 tickets are available for anyone 25 & under and anyone who needs them.
Show Schedule
Thursday, October 3
7 pm: Fake Babies, Black People Win (MN)​
8:30 pm: Branded Silk (NY), The Unpronounceables (MN)
Friday, October 4
7 pm: Black Magnets (NY), Branded Silk (NY)
8:30 pm: Brothered Toast, Flava Flavor Flavour (IL)
10 pm: Musical Improv Jam
Saturday, October 5
5 pm: NYTEShift: Travel Size (PA), The Unpronounceables (MN)
7 pm: Pencils of Color (NY), Lena Dunham (DC)
9 pm: Black & Funny Ensemble, Flava Flavor Flavour (IL)
10 pm: Secret Black People Meetings (Mixer show)
Sunday, October 6
2 pm: Laugh Battle
Workshops
The Ocean State Black & Funny Improv Festival is focused on providing opportunities to learn from some fo the best improv teachers in the country.​ If you take 3 or more workshops, you get a free All-Access Festival Pass!
Workshops are open to everyone and anyone! Below, you'll find a listing of all the workshops. (Scroll down to find out more about the workshops or click the links to see descriptions!)
If you take 3 workshops, you get a free All-Access Festival Pass!
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Workshops are $40.
We want everyone to be able to take the workshops, so reach out to Maggie Cady at cady@thecontemporarytheater.com for financial assistance if needed! Really, we mean it.​
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Friday
2 pm - 5 pm:
The Slacker with Branded Silk's Sauce
Characters on Characters on Characters with John Gebretatose
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Saturday
10 am - 1 pm:
Play Anything with Jacklyn Uweh
TOOTS! An Experimental Exploration Of Movement And Sound For ErryBodies with Alsa Bruno
2 pm - 5 pm:
Improv with Flava with Flava Flavor Flavour
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Sunday
10 am - 1 pm:
Fri, Oct 4
Afternoon: 2 pm - 5 pm
The Slacker with Branded Silk's Sauce
Fri, Oct 4 from 2 pm - 5 pm
The Slacker is a long form improvisation that utilizes tags to transition to new scenes. Learn how to play fast, think out of the box and be 100% you as Branded Silk teaches you their Slacker with Sauce! Focusing on building world and relationship amongst players to fill out scenes.
Characters on Characters on Characters with John Gebretatose
Fri, Oct 4 from 2 pm - 5 pm
We explore the challenge of one improviser playing multiple characters within one scene or show. We will look at the exercises and techniques to help remember all those lovely characters in your brain!
Sat, Oct 5
Morning: 10 am - 1 pm
Play Anything with Jacklyn Uweh
Sat, Oct 5 from 10 am - 1 pm
We all have our go-to moves and areas of comfort. Let’s mix it UP! In “Play Anything” we’ll focus on different ways to: ground your scene work, take up space, use status to your advantage, and physicality to help bring variety to your style of play!
TOOTS! An Experimental Exploration Of Movement And Sound For ErryBodies with Alsa Bruno
Sat, Oct 5 from 10 am - 1 pm
Practice non-verbal storytelling with me, Alsa! A movement workshop where we will practice both typical and atypical movement in service of storytelling. Our bodies know more than we realize. This workshop is about letting movement lead our storytelling and building upon the faith that holds our "yes and" together.
Afternoon: 2 pm - 4:45 pm
Improv with Flava with Flava Flavor Flavour
Sat, Oct 5 from 2 pm - 4:45 pm
“They won’t get it” is a common thought for many improvisers. Thoughts like this can make you feel uncomfortable expressing your true self on stage. This workshop will empower you to embrace your culture and individuality through short-form and long-form improv.
Sun, Oct 6
Morning: 10 am - 1 pm
Improv Dynamics with Ray Cordova
Sun, June 9 from 10 am - 1 pm
Are you in your head? Get out! Feel like your scenes are good but somethings still lacking? Lets figure it out. Through framework, labeling, and discovering strong specific character choices, we will set your scenes up for even greater success!
