Improv Theater in DC

Since early 2016, improv has become a hobby, a creative outlet, and a space for personal and professional growth. In addition to completing Washington Improv Theater's course curriculum, I have been an active member of the DC Improv theater community through taking workshops, volunteering, and performing. I have also delved into teaching improv workshops for English as a Second Language (ESL) participants, an initiative started in collaboration with Ceci De Robertis since late 2017. Below you will find links to some of the shows and teams I have been a part of, as well as more information about the Improv for All for ESL participants project.

Sábado Picante

Sábado Picante is the only all-Spanish improvised telenovela in the DMV area. All audience members, regardless of their language background, witness each episode, focused on the telenovela format and tropes that makes over-the-top fun accessible beyond language.

In Lieu of Flowers

In Lieu of Flowers stages a fully improvised funeral based on the final wishes of a member of the audience. The show uses comedy and drama to explore the human experience of death and our desire to see how others will remember us after we shuffle off this mortal coil.

Feminine Experience

In The Feminine Experience (former Vagina! An Improvised Monologues Show) an all-star, all-female cast joins forces to give voice to the experience of, and rebellions against, being female. Join us for this two-curtain call to action against sexually-based violence, exploitation, and the systems that perpetuate them. All proceeds from these shows have been donated to House of Ruth, a local organization that provides comprehensive services to the victims of intimate partner violence and their children.

You can read more about the show in local coverage from Washingtonian here: https://www.washingtonian.com/2019/02/25/the-feminine-experience-improv-vagina-monologues/

Poetic Resistance

Poetic Resistance invites local poets to share their work and uses they word as inspiration for an improvised show. At the end of the show, a second poet shares a final poem inspired by the improvised set.

FUNLAND

FUNLAND combined the fun of a boardwalk midway with the trials and tribulations of being an artist. FUNLAND operated for one night only on Saturday, May 18, 2019 and attracted over 250 guests.

The Hallway of Tragic Artists
Inspired by the Hall of Presidents at Disney World, actors portrayed Andy Warhol, Frida Kahlo, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Zelda Fitzgerald. The Tragic Artists interacted with people in character all night, and performed a signature monologue and other happenings throughout the evening.

Want and Need

Want and Need is an improvised play about families, friends, ambition, and insecurity.

Free Improv for All for English as a Second Language (ESL) Participants

The DC-Maryland-Virginia area is well-known for being home to a large number of expats coming from all over the world, with over 30 different languages represented in the area. However, the diverse population of DMV is still underrepresented on- and off-stage within the DC improv community.

To address this lack of representation, Ceci De Robertis and I (with additional support from Washington Improv Theater (WIT)) developed Free Improv for All workshops for English as a Second Language (ESL) Participants. Using our experience as bilingual improvisers of Latinx background, we adjusted the existing format of Free Improv for All workshops offered by WIT. We believe that improv is an art form that can overcome language barriers, and we encourage participants to use non-verbal cues, including physicality and emotional expressions, to interact with each other and the environment, while discovering the fun of doing improv.

We have been offered this workshop since November 2017 with great results. Participants from about 15 different countries have signed up and learned the basics of improvisation since then. For more information about the motivation behind this project and how it started, you can also read my interview with Washington Improv Theater in June 2018, "Analía Gómez Vidal breaks down boundaries with ESL improv workshops".

Moving forward, we seek to expand the offer of these workshops, and extend it to an adjusted curriculum that allows ESL improvisers to hone their skills and take them all the way to the stage. We look forward to continue expanding our community, welcoming more voices, and enriching the art form through diversity and inclusion of improvisers all around the world.

Improv for All ESL - Feb 2018

Improv for All ESL - April 2018