Local Woman Performs in Baltimore Improv Festival

With the Baltimore Improv Festival kicking off this week, Christina Enoch, a Baltimore resident who grew up in Cockeysville, will be front and center engaging audiences with an interactive performance. 

"The show is a great way to introduce newcomers to improv," said Enoch, 29, a theater teacher at in Brooklandville. "A lot of people struggle with it at first. They're concerned about being funny ... but you can't worry about that."

Enoch, who graduated from Loyola University, then Loyola College, was introduced to improv while studying abroad in Belgium.

"I went to a show that was kind of like Whose Line Is It Anyway? and I loved it," she said. "I then took classes [and] joined the college troupe."

Enoch joined the Baltimore Improv Group, a nonprofit, in 2005. The group, which formed in 2004, performs unscripted private and public shows and provides instruction through workshops and classes. 

Baltimore Improv consists of six troupes with three to six members each. Enoch is part of a troupe called "Gus," which performs longform improv. She said longform allows more freedom and has characters and scenes. Shortform improv, on the other hand, involves more games and gimmicks. 

"Each troupe has its own style," Enoch said. "It's just a blast."

But the challenge of improv is what she really enjoys. 

"It's about being in the moment—making something out of nothing," Enoch said. "You really have to think on your toes."

"Gus" will perform at the Baltimore Improv Festival on Friday at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 for general admission at The Patterson. The festival runs through Sunday.

Improv troupes from all over the country are scheduled to perform. Click here for a complete schedule of performances and prices.

Workshops are also being offered for those interested in honing their improv skills.