FST Improv is now in its 19th year and has more than 20 members! To help you get to know the improvisers better, we’re going to be sitting down with cast members and picking their brains about improv, taking risks, and their lives offstage. Next up is Sarasota star Kathryn Parks. FST Improv performs every Saturday and select Fridays in FST’s Bowne’s Lab Theatre. To see … Continue reading Sarasota Songbird

FST Improv is now in its 19th year and has more than 20 members! To help you get to know the improvisers better, we’re going to be sitting down with cast members and picking their brains about improv, taking risks, and their lives offstage. Next up on the chopping block is former FST Acting Apprentice Patrick Jackson. FST Improv performs every Saturday and select Fridays in … Continue reading Breaking into Improv

by Sarah Durham and Becca Jennings It’s funny. It’s made up. It’s like Whose Line is it Anyway?. If you ask most people what they know about improv, these are likely to be the kind of answers you’ll get. And they’re technically not wrong. But a real understanding of the art of improvisation goes much deeper. This season, FST brings you three distinct improv shows, … Continue reading Interpreting Improv

Emily Levin is a recovering attorney who originally studied and performed improv in the Chicago area, was a founding member of an all female improv troupe called Lady HaHa, and now graces FST’s Bowne’s Lab stage as a member of FST Improv. We sat down with Levin to discuss the evolving art of improv, embarrassing your family members, and the ins and outs of courtroom … Continue reading From Law to Laughter

Joey Panek entertains on stages and small screens throughout the Gulf Coast. He toured as a professional actor for 14 years, and has produced and starred in many web series. By day, he’s the Senior Producer of Suncoast View at WWSB ABC7 in Sarasota. By night, he’s the proud father of a long-haired chihuahua named Lulu. We sat down with Panek to discuss how improvisation … Continue reading Panek! At the (Bowne’s) Lab

FST Improv is now in its 19th year and has more than 20 members! To help you get to know the improvisers better, we’re going to be sitting down with cast members and picking their brains about improv, taking risks, and their lives offstage. Our first victim was Natasha Samreny. FST Improv performs every Saturday and select Fridays in FST’s Bowne’s Lab Theatre. To see … Continue reading Up Close and Personal : Natasha Samreny

By Madison McAllister and Becca Jennings The benefits of laughter are not breaking news. Laughter has been scientifically proven to reduce stress, reduce blood pressure, and stimulate the mind. So then is it any surprise that Improv, which provides abundant laughs, could actually be life changing? From the Hospital to the Courtroom to the Newsroom and beyond, these five improvisers all claim one major, seemingly … Continue reading How Improv Changed My Life

By Benedict Burgess FST Improv returns, reviving old favorites and expanding into new forms. The season kicks off with audience favorite Out of Bounds, a competitive improv show where teams face off in a gut-busting battle. “We’re doing things a little differently this year,” says Will Luera, FST’s Director of Improv. “We’re forming a total of eight distinct teams. Every Saturday night, the audience decides … Continue reading Eminent Entertainment

Stacey Smith can’t sit still. Mediocrity and stasis are anathema to her. The idea of performing the same improv style or format forever scares her, so nothing is off limits to her. She describes her new show, StaceJam, as “A 40-minute party that is chaotic fun.” She’s party of not one, not two, but FOUR improv groups – STACKED, Brouhaha, ImprovBoston, and StaceJam. We sat down with … Continue reading Stacey Smith – Up Close and Personal