Arts Collective’s “What Improv Group?!?!” partners with HCC’s Creative Writers, Performing and Visual Artists, and HoCoPoLitSo
Howard Community College’s (HCC) Arts Collective (AC) kicks off its 22nd season with an “Underground Rooftop Coffee House” – a celebration of the visual, written and performing arts on Thursday, September 22 at 7:00 p.m. in HCC’s Rouse Company Foundation, Student Services Building Room 400.
This artistic collage is presented by ongoing and new partnerships among AC’s popular improv troupe, “What Improv Group?!” (W.I.G.), HCC’s Humanities Department, and Howard County Poetry and Literature Society (HoCoPoLitSo), as well as HCC’s visual and performing artists!
In this rooftop coffee house, W.I.G.’s ground-breaking, edgy take on improv responds to the powerful and evocative work of poets and prose writers, visual and performing artists – an original artistic collage like nothing you’ve ever seen, complete with audience participation and a post-show discussion with the creatives. The price of the ticket includes coffee and treats in a gorgeous rooftop coffee house atmosphere! Join us for an early evening of organized chaos at its best!
TICKETS:
The price of the ticket includes coffee & treats!
$10 – all students with I.D., Seniors, Military, Groups
$15 – general admission
—–Seating is limited; purchasing tickets in advance is recommended.
—–The performance is approx. 2 hours with one intermission.
—–No one under 14 years of age admitted
PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS HERE.
Or Call The Box Office at (443) 518-1500.
The Box Office Hours: 90 minutes prior to show time and Tuesday–Friday, 12–6 p.m.
DIRECTIONS & PARKING:
Howard Community College – 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, in Columbia, Maryland, 21044.
—–Directions: Find HCC here!
—–Parking: West Garage is recommended
—–Room Location: RCF400
W.I.G. 2016-2017 Cast:
Douglas Beatty, Jordan Colea, JP Desmond, Noelle Ford, Doug Goodin, Chania Hudson, Daniel Johnston, Thomas Matera, Emma K. McDonnell, Apryl Motley, Dana Panczenko, Lauren Tobiason, Lauren Blake Williams, and Sierra Young.
Coffee House Special Guests:
Poetry & Prose Writers: Nsikan Akpan, Michelle Kreiner, Sylvia Lee, and Tim Singleton.
Live Music: Steven Caballero and Chris Sisson.
Dancers: Heather Cramer, Kylie Giglio, Chelsea Nicole Green, Jeffrey Mensah, Paula Quinteros, Ada Satterfield, Lea Williams,and Anja Young.
Visual Artists: TBD!
COFFEE HOUSE CREATIVES & STAFF:
Directors: S.G. Kramer, Daniel Johnston
Creative Writing Coordinator: Tara Hart
Director of Dance: Chelsea Nicole Green
Visual Arts Coordinators: Donna Jones, Emma K. McDonnell
Marketing Illustrations by: Emma K. McDonnell
Stage Management by: Linwood Milan
Production Assistance by: C.J. Cameron
Creative Assistant: Lisa Yerrid
About the Directors: S.G. Kramer and Daniel Johnston
Inspired by so many wildly gifted artists, S.G. Kramer birthed W.I.G.’s truly unique style of improvisational storytelling over six years ago. Kramer and Johnston have worked side by side on W.I.G.’s vision since its inception (Kramer as W.I.G.’s coach and Johnston as performer as well as co-director). Together, along with countless stellar improv artists, they have created and cracked open the magic that is W.I.G.!
About W.I.G.’s Creative Writing Coordinator: Tara J. Hart
Tara Hart, Co-Chair of HoCoPoLitSo’s Board of Directors, is a professor and department chair of Humanities at Howard Community College. A winner of the Pushcart Prize for poetry, she helps students and alumni from HCC’s creative writing courses as well as local writers affiliated with HoCoPoLitSo share their knowledge of memoir, short fiction, and poetry through their passionate practice of these arts.
About HCC’s Arts Collective
Howard Community College’s critically acclaimed Arts Collective engages performers, creatives, and audiences with innovative events that ignite our collective imaginations. For over two decades, Arts Collective has served as a creative cauldron, providing expert guidance and training to new and experienced artists in bringing vibrant life to diverse works on the stage; from the newly devised to the classics and all in between. Arts Collective’s positive, collaborative, educational environment is open to everyone. Join us in creating new heights of learning and possibility. Ignite your imagination!
About What Improv Group?!?! (W.I.G.)
AC’s What Improv Group?!?! (W.I.G.) began its on-stage journey February 2009. Over the past seven years, W.I.G. has been about creating and exploring its unique underground take on improv and storytelling. W.I.G. not only performs at Howard Community College (shows, workshops, and seminars), but also off-campus. Previous off-campus gigs have included the Baltimore Improv Festival, Red Branch Theatre Company, Columbia Festival of the Arts, and the Howard County Theatre Festival. Most notably, W.I.G. partnered with Steppenwolf West (Los Angeles) from day one, hosting three summer intensives featuring instructors Alexandra Billings, Eric Hunicutt and Susan G. Kramer. This season, W.I.G. is pleased to continue its artistic partnerships with the Howard County Poetry and Literature Society (HoCoPoLitSo) and Howard Community College’s Arts & Humanities Division.
About the Howard County Poetry and Literature Society
The Howard County Poetry and Literature Society, known as HoCoPoLitSo, is a community not-for-profit literary arts organization committed to cultivating appreciation for high-quality contemporary poetry and literature and celebrating culturally diverse literary heritages. As an HCC community-partner-in-residence, HoCoPoLitSo looks forward to supporting the emergence of new voices when the page meets the improv stage.
Ignite your imagination! Celebrate AC’s 22nd Season inside artistic bravery and unique learning environment!
*The article is written by Susan G. Kramer.
