An Inside Look: BIG IF 5 Barcelona Improv Festival
Yesterday, Theatre Trip got the chance to check out the BIG IF 5 Barcelona Improv Festival. This is an especially exciting event as it’s the largest international improv festival in Europe! It includes four jam-packed days of 16 improv shows and 40 workshops. Professional improvisers have actually made the journey to this festival from all around the world, making this a MUST for all fans of improv.
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Our Experience at the BIG IF 5 Barcelona Improv Festival:
Last night was the kick-off, and there were four incredibly strong improv shows/troupes: Werewolves: The Improv Show, Bonnie & Clyde, La Carpe Haute, and Le Noir. It was a full house on this opening night, and the audience was buzzing with energy.
Werewolves: The Improv Show
Werewolves: The Improv Show➝ is a fun take on the popular party game Werewolves of Miller’s Hollow. As the stories unfold, the host pulls the audience into the action and asks them to vote on who they think the werewolves are. And if you’re wrong, you’ll “kill off” an innocent resident of Miller’s Hollow, leaving the real werewolves in play. This is an incredible show that you’ll remember for a long time to come.
Bonnie & Clyde
Bonnie & Clyde is a mixer team led by Gosia-Rozalska. Mixer teams are basically made up of improvisers from all around the world. In these types of mixers, it’s often the case that some of the improvisers never even meet before performing a show together, which brings a super fun energy to the stage!
La Carpe Haute
La Carpe Haute is a professional improv troupe from France who has toured the world in pursuit of inducing laughter. Last night, they performed a show called Just Play, which is when they borrow objects from the audience. They then use these objects to spark inspiration in their scenes. Last night’s objects were a motorcycle helmet, cowboy hat, iron, and hamburger key chain!
Le Noir
Le Noir is an experimental improv concept that you have to hear to believe! And the reason for that is that this group encourages you to close your eyes for the duration of their show. Due to the lack of sight, the group relies on soundscapes in order to transport the audience into new worlds. This is another strong mixer team led by the talented Keng-Sam Chane Chick Té.
And that’s just what happened on day one of the festival! There are still three action-packed days remaining and 12 more uniquely amazing troupes just waiting to shine.
But don’t worry! If you are unable to make it to the Barcelona Improv festival, Barcelona Improv Group hosts regular courses and monthly shows in the heart of Barcelona. And these shows are an exciting mix of shortform and longform improvisation, all based on suggestions from the audience!
Have you ever been to the Barcelona Improv Festival?
Or have you checked out any other awesome and international improv festivals? We’d love to hear all about it in the comments below. And in the meantime, you can always check out our blog post archive of past theatre visits for some insight on what’s going on in theaters around the world!
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* A special thanks to BIG IF 5 for inviting Theatre Trip to the festival this year!
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Author: Stacy Karyn
Stacy Karyn is the founder of Theatre Trip, author of The Thespian’s Bucket List, and creator of The Cast Album List. She holds a BA in theatre, a TESOL drama certificate, and has worked and interned with Broadway and Off-Broadway theaters.