'A Long Winter’s Tale' Holiday Improv Shows At Firehouse

From The Firehouse Arts: HOLIDAY SHORTS: “A Long Winter’s Tale.” Interactive holiday improv shows at the Firehouse Arts Center Theater in Pleasanton. A Creatures of Impulse Production. The Bay Area’s award-winning teen improv troupe presents annual holiday classic: audience suggestions inspire holiday themed games, scenes, and improv fun in the first act. The audience then votes for which short scene COI will make into an entire improvised “play” in the second act. Every show different! Thursday, November 30, and Friday, December 1, 7:30 p.m. General admission tickets: students $5, adults $10. Tickets available at www.firehousearts.org, 925-931-4848, or at the Box Office at the center. Doors open 7:10 p.m. Free parking. Venue and box office: 4444 Railroad Avenue, Pleasanton.

PREVIEW PERFORMANCE: Tuesday, November 28 at 7:30pm. $2 entry at the door Creatures of Impulse Present: HOLIDAY SHORTS… “A Long Winter’s Tale” Live Improvised Shows by Award-Winning Bay Area Teen Improv Troupe Creatures of Impulse, the Bay Area’s award-winning teen improv troupe based in Pleasanton, celebrates its 8thseason of HOLIDAY SHORTS at the Firehouse Arts Center Theater. The series of holiday-themed live improv shows opens Tuesday, November 28, with a special Preview Performance at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for the Preview are $2.00 for all ages, available at the door only.

Performances: Thursday, November 30, and Friday, December 1, at 7:30 p.m. General admission tickets: $5 students, $10 adults. Doors open 7:10 p.m. Purchase at the door, or online at www.firehousearts.org, or by calling 925-931-4848. Also available in person at the Box Office, 4444 Railroad Avenue, Pleasanton.

COI coach and founder Mark Duncanson notes that “since every show is so different, we get lots of fans who make it a point to come to at least two, if not all three performances.”

With the tag-line of “A Long Winter’s Tale,” COI firmly plants their collective tongue-in-cheek, and promises to present a rollicking good time in the interactive shows.

How it works: The first act of the show is all short improv games and scenes. Before intermission, the show hosts review the list of scenes and games that were performed. The audience then votes by ballot to decide which game or scene becomes a long-form improvised play in the second act.

When asked if there is anything different planned for this year, director Jeff Zavattero notes that since the shows have always been such huge fan favorites, the only thing different this year will be of course the scenes and games, since they’re… improvised.

Joining Zavattero on the production team is accompanist Jacob Russell-Snyder.

COI has performed in Chicago, New York, and San Francisco. Seasoned professional adult improvisers from The Un-Scripted Theater Company and Bay Area Theater Sports are saying these aren’t just good high school improvisers, these are great improvisers… period.

The Firehouse Arts Center is dedicated to inspiring passion through the arts. The center is comprised of the 227-seat Firehouse Theater, the 2000 square foot Harrington Gallery, classrooms and rehearsal space, the grand atrium lobby, and the famous interior glass bridge. With world-class performing and visual arts, exciting interactive programs for all ages, and a state-of-the-art venue which opened in 2010, we combine the sophistication of the culturally rich Bay Area arts landscape with the hospitality and intimacy of our own home town. The Firehouse Arts Center is located at 4444 Railroad Avenue in downtown Pleasanton. Media: Jane Onojafe, jonojafe@cityofpleasantonca.gov

Image Courtesy of Firehouse Arts Center