Events Calendar

April

19School performance, Magellan Charter School, Raleigh (1 p.m.)

20Public performance, Generations, featuring CHiPs, The ArtsCenter, 300-G E. Main St., Carrboro (8 p.m.). General admission: $14 in advance, $16 day-of; ArtsCenter Friends: $12; senior: $7 in advance; $9 day-of; students: $5. Visit The ArtsCenter or call (919) 929-2787 for reservations, more information, and directions.

Transactors Improv turns 30 this year! Founded in 1983, the company is the longest-running improvisational theater in the south. As part of the celebration, Transactors presents Generations, a two-act show featuring special guests Chapel Hill Players (CHiPs), UNC-Chapel Hill’s longest-running improv team.

“The show is called ‘Generations’ because that’s its recurring theme,” explains director Greg Hohn. “We have two different generations of performers doing short improv scenes with their respective groups in the first act. In Act Two the combined cast will improvise a 45-minute play based on the interactions of three generations of a fictional family. Naturally, all of this will start with audience suggestions”

“We are delighted to be sharing the stage with CHiPs,” adds Hohn. “They’ve been around since 1995—not the current members, obviously—but this will be the first time we’ve collaborated like this. We expect we’ll all learn from each other and have a great time too. In the spirit of the occasion we’re offering specially discounted $5 tickets just for students for this show.

“We are also delighted to have reached the 30-year milestone. When you consider that most improv groups dissolve within years or even months, it’s somewhat amazing that we’ve been able to survive so long. I credit our founders, who had a great vision, and the many inspiring and talented members we’ve had in the company for our longevity and success.”

CHiPs players performing in Generations will include Mike Edwards, Ali Fischer, Jonathan Hebert, Jordan Humphrey, Jay Putnam, and company director Brandon Rafalson.

The cast for Transactors will feature new members Bart Hubbard and Jane Allen Wilson, who recently rejoined the company, having been a member 1997-2003. Other Transactors players will be Anoo Brod, Greg Hohn, Steven Warnock, and Annie Zipper, with Mike Beard handling lighting and sound effects. Pianist Glenn Mehrbach is the guest accompanist.

“We are hopeful,” says Hohn, “that our regular fans will appreciate the young talent of CHiPs and that CHiPs’s regular fans will appreciate the more, ahem, vintage talent of Transactors. And, who knows, maybe we can do this all over again in 30 years or maybe even sooner.”

May

11Public performance, Transactors Improv: for Families!, The ArtsCenter, 300-G E. Main St., Carrboro (6 p.m.). General admission: $8 in advance, $10 day-of; ArtsCenter Friends: $7; Student/Senior: $5 in advance; $8 day-of. Visit The ArtsCenter or call (919) 929-2787 for reservations, more information, and directions.

Audiences rave about Transactors Improv: For Families!

"I can't think of a show I’ve seen recently that I've enjoyed more. My teenaged son and I were laughing the whole time," writes Alan.

“…(H)ow nice to see a show that was absolutely appropriate and entertaining for her age (10) AND it was fun for the parents as well!” says Page.

18Public performance, World of Improv, Common Ground Theatre, 4815B Hillsborough Road, Durham (8 p.m.). Tickets: general admission, $14; student/senior, $10. Visit Brown Paper Tickets for advance ticket sales. Tickets will also be available at the door (cash or check only).

What goes on behind the scenes of improv shows and festivals? What happens in the private lives of improv performers, directors, teachers, and students? This long-form piece pulls back the curtain on an imaginary improv company. Yes, it's an improv show about improv.

World of Improv is part of the Transactors Experimental Theater (TET) series. TET is the company’s improv incubator in which it experiments with new forms, themes, and artists.

“We came up with this idea in rehearsal,” says company director Greg Hohn, “and it was so much fun that Anoo (Brod, show director) decided we should do it for an audience. Yes, there will be some inside jokes but I don’t think you’ll have to be an improv expert to enjoy the show.”

“We’ll have some guest performers,” Hohn adds, “but—in typical improv fashion—we’re not completely sure who’ll they’ll be yet.”

The cast for World of Improv will include Transactors regulars Mike Beard, Anoo Brod, Greg Hohn, Bart Hubbard, Steven Warnock, Jane Allen Wilson, and Annie Zipper and guest players, including Rick Skarbez.

31Public performance, Transactors' 30th-Anniversary Reunion Show, The ArtsCenter, 300-G E. Main St., Carrboro (8 p.m.). General admission: $14 in advance, $16 day-of; ArtsCenter Friends: $12; studentsenior: $7 in advance; $9 day-of. Visit The ArtsCenter or call (919) 929-2787 for reservations, more information, and directions.

Transactors Improv continues to celebrate turning 30 with a reunion of current and former company members in a performance at The ArtsCenter. Comprised of two acts of spontaneous theater, Transactors’ 30th-Anniversary Reunion Show will feature short, discrete scenes (short form) and a one-act improvised play (long form).

“I don’t think people in the Triangle realize how remarkable Transactors’ history is,” says company director Greg Hohn. “We’re not just the longest-running improv company in the south but one of the longest-running in the country. Most improv groups measure their life spans in months, not years, much less decades.”

“More importantly,” Hohn continues, “Transactors has been a generator of innovation. Despite—or perhaps because of—not being in one of the nation’s improv centers, like Chicago, we’ve been able to develop our own style. We have certainly been influenced by improv teachers and other groups but, being in what has historically been an improv backwater, our work has been equally informed by our members’ experiences in scripted theater, dance, and music.

“In many ways we’ve been self-taught. For example, we developed our full-length improvised musical in the late 90s in a vacuum. I’m not saying we invented the form but we were among the first to perform it and we definitely didn’t see another improv musical and say, ‘Hey, we should try that too.’ We’ve invented many other forms and usually with a very collaborative approach.”

Last month Transactors focused on the future of improv by performing with the UNC student group, Chapel Hill Players (CHiPs). This month Transactors focuses on the past. At least one original member is slated to perform. The company has had 45 members since 1983 and 14 are confirmed participants in the Transactors’ 30th-Anniversary Reunion Show.

Among those in the cast are original member Martha Brown and past members Regina Bartolone, Zach Hanner, Nancy Pekar, Eric Singdahlsen, Dan Sipp, and Kathy Williams. Current Transactors playing will be Anoo Brod, Greg Hohn, Bart Hubbard, Steven Warnock, and Jane Allen Wilson, with Mike Beard handling lighting and sound effects. Pianist Glenn Mehrbach is the guest accompanist.

“We are so grateful for all the support we have received from audiences and presenters over the years,” says Hohn. “For us this really is a party and as a gesture of appreciation, we will be serving imaginary cake and champagne to all who come out to help us celebrate.”