National improve tour making stop in Crystal Lake

Submitted by Raue Center for the Arts

Enjoy improv comedy at Raue Center for the Arts with the Upright Citizens Brigade Touring Company, which is stopping in Crystal Lake. Polish your skills at the improv comedy workshop on Thursday, May 3, then sit back and enjoy as the UCBTourCo takes the stage on Friday, May 4.

Improv Comedy UCBTourCo Workshop for ages 16 to18 will be offered from 5 to 7 p.m. May 3. It will be offered again for ages 19 and older from 8 to 10 p.m. May 3. Classes are $20 per person, or $5 with a ticket to the live performance.

UCB improv workshops focus on introducing participants to a culture of agreement through improv. They teach that you can take any idea, no matter how simple, and turn it into brilliance. Through exercises they introduce a fresh approach to teamwork, brainstorming, problem solving, team building, trust and agreement. Participants leave the workshops with a new perspective and new tools to empower all communicating. You will participate in warm-up and performance-style improv games and exercises as well as a Q&A session. Download an application at rauecenter.org.

Improv Comedy Live Performance from UCBTourCo will be held at 8 p.m. May 4. The UCBTourCo show lasts about 90 minutes and consists of two halves of the freshest longform improv the nation has to offer. The TourCo cast is hand-picked from the best improv comedians in New York City and Los Angeles — these performers are the “next wave” of comedy superstars from the theater that brought you Amy Poehler, Horatio Sanz, Rob Corddry (“The Daily Show”), Ed Helms (“The Daily Show,” “The Office”), Rob Riggle (“Saturday Night Live,” “Daily Show”), Paul Scheer and Rob Huebel (“Best Week Ever”), and more. Cast credits include “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” “MadTV,” “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” “The Showbiz Show with David Spade,” MTV’s “Boiling Points,” VH1’s “Best Week Ever,” to name a few.

Tickets to this night of improve comedy start at $20. To get tickets, visit rauecenter.org, at the box office at 26 N. Williams St. or by calling (815) 356-9212.