Melanie PennStaff
Thursday, March 26, 2026
Happy new class session, Improv Shop! And happy birthdays to Emilyann Key, Chris Breaux, Elise Andert, Anna Smith, Monica Sentmanat, and everyone else celebrating birthdays this week! 🎂🎂 WELCOME, NEW STUDENTS - Big shout-out to everyone who just started classes this week and everyone who's about to start this Sunday! Thanks a million for choosing to take classes with us. 🌟 See below for a breakdown of shows and events happening at the theater this week, and refer to The Improv Shop Wiki for information on team rosters if you're curious. Please note that all shows are free for current students, so come to as many of these as you can to acclimate to the space, watch the artform in action, and meet new people! THURSDAY PROGRAMMING - Shows tonight, Thursday March 26th: House Team Night at 7:00 in mainstage with 2zin Tarandon, Idiot Bitch, and On Hold 🤳 The Menagerie at 7:00 in sidestage with Heavy Meadow, Bankrupt, Oh Geez, and Ammo Dynamite 🧨 ⚡ BLANK & ANDY ⚡ at 8:45-ish in mainstage ~ this is an old I.S. tradition where Andy Sloey does a two-person longform set with one audience volunteer called up lottery-style, and he'll be doing two of them total; literally anyone in the room can play, but it's also just a free show to watch and cheer other people on if you don't feel like being onstage. 😅 The Merry-Go-Round* at 9:00 in sidestage with Loitering, Intrusive Thoughts, Echoes, and Scenes From an RV 🚐 *Also, if you have a team you'd like to submit for a Thursday 9:00 slot, Merry-Go-Round submissions are open through 11:59pm tonight and can be entered here! FRIDAY PROGRAMMING - Shows this Friday March 27th: THE ASTERISK at 7:00 in mainstage ~ this week's theme is March Madness ⛹️ Base Reality Check: Masks at 7:00 in sidestage ~ a superhero TTRPG liveplay 🦸 Cagematch at 9:00 in mainstage with returning champions Manifesto vs. new challenger Ghost Ballet 🧑🩰 Missed Connections at 9:00 in sidestage with guest team Boyfriends 💻 OPEN WINDOW - This Saturday March 28th, Open Window returns to sidestage starting at 4:00! Open Window is a free dropin community storytelling event where participants are invited to share true life stories inspired by optional prompts. This month's prompts are 1️⃣ Are you allergic to anything? 2️⃣ Do you feel like you are allergic to something? (Not a real allergy, just something that seems to miss you or react with you poorly?) 3️⃣ What did you sell as a kid? Magazines, cookies, ads in a book? 4️⃣ What wares were you hawking from your school or something like it? 5️⃣ What social activity or craze did you do that makes you cringe now? or 6️⃣ What is the silliest thing you have gotten in trouble for? Also, attendees are not required to tell stories; you're welcome to come watch and support as an audience member. 🙂 SATURDAY PROGRAMMING - Shows this Saturday March 28th: Transgender Day of Visibility at 7:00 in mainstage ~ it's a cast of trans, non-binary, and genderqueer improvisers taking questions to inspire the opening for our set, which will be a Living Room-esque Q&A. If you have any questions about what it’s like to be genderqueer, fill 'em out in the form here! The team will be answering some of your questions as an opening for the show. 🏳️⚧️ HOT SEATS: A Scoville Squad Showcase at 7:00 in sidestage ~ it's Scoville Squad running three guest teams - Bellbottoms, Comic Strip, and a debuting Level 4 team called Low Expectations - "through the gauntlet of spicy hot sauces" 🌶️ Kitsune Dojo: The Shifting Spirit at 9:00 in mainstage ~ where the cast embodies a community-inspired roster of anime-inspired characters MONDAY JAMS - This Monday March 30th, come out for free miniworkshops at 6:00-6:50: Student Jam in sidestage with Austyn Konarcik! Grad Jam in mainstage with Chase Pierce! Attn new students: Student Jam is a weekly free drop-in event open to all currently enrolled I.S. students (that's you!) to play games and exercises with a rotation of guest coaches and teachers. It's like a short class - no audience, no performance, no pressure. Come out to get reps and meet more people! MONDAY PROGRAMMING - This Monday March 30th is another extra special one for shows: Last session's two Teams Level 1 cohorts have their first showcase at 7:00 in mainstage now as Teams Level 2 with new forms they'll be workshopping in class! Last session's two Level 4 cohorts have their first showcase at 7:00 in sidestage now as Teams Level 1, and some of them will be performing for the first time ever! Last session's Musical Improv Workshop Level 1 cohort, team name Oogly Boogly, has our second showcase in mainstage 🎶 Last session's Monoscene Workshop has their first for three showcases in sidestage ~ this week's two monoscene teams will be Cassie + Helen and Julian + Emilyann 🙌 Ok that's another wrap for this week, gang. Remember New Student Orientation is a go for next Thursday April 2nd at 6:00-6:45 in sidestage, and class registration will be open by end-of-day next Friday April 3rd. HMU if you have any questions in the meanwhile, and thanks so much for making improv in St. Louis the lively scene that it is. Much love and gratitude, Melanie Penn