Justin Peters spends his days as a Slate and Washington City Paper contributor, but he moonlights as co-producer for the Countdown Improv Festival, which focuses solely on the challenging art of trio, duo and solo improv performances. For its third year in Tampa Bay, the festival has attracted acts from around the globe, including Helmet Thieves (pictured), whose Kiki Hohnen comes all the way from Holland.
“They ask an audience member for a suggestion of something they’ve done wrong in their lives,” Peters said of the Countdown first-timers, “and then they improvise a story that shows why the audience member isn’t actually at fault.”
A Saturday-night second stage is reserved exclusively for experimental, boundary-pushing improv comedy, too.
Check the web for details on the schedule and workshops. Countdown Improv Festival. Thurs.-Sun., Aug. 15-18. Performing Arts Building at HCC Ybor, 1411 E. 11th Ave., Ybor City. countdownimprovfestival.com.
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This article appears in Aug 15-22, 2019.
