Countdown Improv Festival presents: Veteran Sunday Funday!

Intro to Improv for Veterans Comedy Workshop with BJ Lange

Tampa’s Countdown Improv Festival is calling all military and vets who’d like to learn improv comedy, connect with fellow servicemembers and vets via the comedic arts, and laugh while growing your personal and professional skills. Grab a battle buddy and join us for a fun and engaging workshop! 

Plus, you’re invited to watch or PLAY (only if you want!) in the following open improv comedy jam, AND stick around to watch the Sunday evening festival shows! Oh, and the best part, it’s all FREE for military and vets!  

Need a laugh? Want to work on your ‘funny’? Improv is not just for actors and comedians. We’ll prove it to you. Just look at the list of successful Saturday Night Live alums and it’s clear improv comedy has been the starting point for many of today’s best-known performers, but let us say again, improv is for everyone! 

Whether you’re an actor setting your sights on joining an improv or sketch ensemble, a performer wanting to polish your skills for commercial auditions, OR you just want to open a door to greater creativity as a human being, this workshop is for YOU!

Air Force veteran and The Second City instructor BJ Lange brings 20 years of improv and teaching experience to lead the group in a safe and supportive setting, allowing servicemembers and veterans to grow by building relationships and strengthening self-confidence – all through the fun of improvisational theater! 

This is a one-off afternoon workshop, and since this class meets Sunday afternoon, we’ll have food for ya! Apply to be a part of the fun!

Enrollment is limited, so apply soon! 

What’s in this workshop:

  • A strong introduction to the ‘kitchen sink’ application of improv comedy
  • Get practice in “thinking on your feet” as a public speaker
  • Learn the “rules” of improv comedy – What makes it work… or not work
  • Find new inspiration for writing and playing better characters/stories 
  • Strengthen your confidence by getting comfortable with the uncomfortable
  • Lots of laughs and fun!

DATE: SUN 11 AUG 2024

TIME:
1300-1600 Veteran Workshop 

1600 Comedy Community Gathering & Food!

1700 Free Open Improv Comedy Jam

1800 Free Admission To Festival Comedy Shows 

COST: FREE for Military and Vets 

DEADLINE TO RSVP: Submit your RSVP NLT FRI 02AUG 2024

About the instructor:

BJ Lange is an alumnus of iO West, the Upright Citizens Brigade, and a graduate of The Second City’s Conservatory, Long Form, and Musical Improv programs. He has also studied with The Groundlings.

BJ has been seen on General Hospital, The Prank Panel, MTV, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and Comedy Central. He is an instructor at The Improv Trick, 3-2-1 Acting Studios, The Second City, and is a teaching artist at The Geffen Playhouse now in his third year co-directing Beyond The Barracks. BJ previously served on the artist’s council for the Armed Services Arts Partnership, is the comedy coach for the Air Force Wounded Warrior Program (AFW2), and is a member of Warriors For Peace Theatre – a veteran Shakespeare company. 

Learn more and follow BJ chasing his dreams at www.bjlange.com 

Questions/POC: countdownimprovfestival@gmail.com

About the Countdown Improv Festival:

The Countdown Improv Festival is Tampa’s annual celebration of trio, duo, and solo improv comedy. Now in its eighth year, the festival has grown since its founding into one of the best and biggest festivals of its kind anywhere in the world. Featuring over 100 different trio, duo, and solo acts from 19 different states (plus the District of Columbia), the 2024 Countdown Improv Festival will occur from Wednesday, August 7 through Sunday, August 11 in the heart of Ybor City, and will feature performances, workshops, and special programming for youth & veterans. Come join the fun and experience the joy and magic of improv comedy with us this August!

Festival founders Justin Peters and Kelly Buttermore are longtime NYC-based touring improvisers who’ve performed hundreds of shows all around the world and have headlined dozens of festivals. In creating the Countdown Improv Festival, they vowed to make it the sort of festival that they themselves would want to attend. They are equally committed to ensuring that their festival represents and reflects the community it serves. 

The Countdown Improv Festival is a production of Countdown Arts, Inc., a Tampa Bay-based 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization devoted to promoting the comedic arts through performances, education, and community-building activities.