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Unexpected Productions
Unexpected Productions (UP) is an improvisational comedy company in Seattle, Washington, USA. From their home at the Market Theater in Seattle's historic Pike Place Market, in Post Alley, Unexpected Productions produces year-round shows, teaches improv classes, and hosts the Seattle International Festival of Improvisation. History Unexpected Productions was formed by three different improv groups as the “Seattle Theatresports League”, and was the first improv group in the US to perform Theatresports, which now holds the title of the longest running show in Seattle. By 1988, the group was exploring many additional forms of spontaneous theatre, and the name was changed to “Unexpected Productions”. In June 2008, Unexpected Productions celebrated the 25th anniversary of its first Theatresports match. Actor Brendan Fraser is among the graduates of Unexpected Productions improv classes, and Joel McHale was a Theatresports cast member from 1993 to 1997. The Seattle Internation ...
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Improvisational Comedy
Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, action, story, and characters are created collaboratively by the players as the improvisation unfolds in present time, without use of an already prepared, written script. Improvisational theatre exists in performance as a range of styles of improvisational comedy as well as some non-comedic theatrical performances. It is sometimes used in film and television, both to develop characters and scripts and occasionally as part of the final product. Improvisational techniques are often used extensively in drama programs to train actors for stage, film, and television and can be an important part of the rehearsal process. However, the skills and processes of improvisation are also used outside the context of performing arts. This practice, known ...
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Pike Place Market
Pike Place Market is a public market in Seattle, Washington, United States. It opened on August 17, 1907, and is one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers' markets in the United States. Overlooking the Elliott Bay waterfront on Puget Sound, it serves as a place of business for many small farmers, craftspeople and merchants. It is named for its central street, Pike Place, which runs northwest from Pike Street to Virginia Street on the western edge of Downtown Seattle. Pike Place Market is Seattle's most popular tourist destination and the 33rd most visited tourist attraction in the world, with more than 10 million annual visitors. The Market is built on the edge of a steep hill and consists of several lower levels located below the main level. Each features a variety of unique shops such as antique dealers, comic book and collectible shops, small family-owned restaurants, and one of the oldest head shops in Seattle. The upper street level contains fishmongers, fr ...
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Post Alley
Post Alley is a short street in Seattle. The northern end of the street runs under and through Pike Place Market. The alley is mostly paved with bricks. It was called "Seattle's best-known alley for its pedestrian environment and abutting shops and restaurants" out of all 425 alleys in the city, and has been described as having a "European feel". The street was originally named Post Street or Post Avenue for the first U.S. post office in Seattle, opened in 1880 on the corner of Yesler Way, which may also have been the city's first United States Government building. The alley reaches a pedestrian-only area at the Harbor Steps development a block uphill from the Seattle ferry terminal, Colman Dock. There are notable locations on the alley including Cafe Campagne, The Pink Door, Ghost Alley Espresso, the Gum Wall, Pike Place Chowder, and Post Alley Pizza. The Federal Office Building was built on an entire city block that was bisected by Post Alley until the early 1930s. Other n ...
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Theatresports
Theatresports is a form of improvisational theatre, which uses the format of a competition for dramatic effect. Opposing teams can perform scenes based on audience suggestions, with ratings by the audience or by a panel of judges. Developed by director Keith Johnstone in Calgary, Alberta, in 1977, the concept of Theatresports originated in Johnstone's observations of techniques used in professional wrestling to generate heat, or audience reaction. Derivatives ComedySportz, started in 1984 in Milwaukee, WI, tends to emphasise the sports competition format more than Theatresports, for example by having a referee who awards points and administers fouls. The Australian shows ''Thank God You're Here'' and ''TheatreGames LIVE'' follow a similar format to these shows. New York City's Face Off Unlimited has also adapted the concept to numerous productions. Two similar formats, Ligue nationale d'improvisation and Canadian Improv Games both also officially debuted in 1977 in Quebec and Ont ...
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Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The Seattle metropolitan area's population is 4.02 million, making it the 15th-largest in the United States. Its growth rate of 21.1% between 2010 and 2020 makes it one of the nation's fastest-growing large cities. Seattle is situated on an isthmus between Puget Sound (an inlet of the Pacific Ocean) and Lake Washington. It is the northernmost major city in the United States, located about south of the Canadian border. A major gateway for trade with East Asia, Seattle is the fourth-largest port in North America in terms of container handling . The Seattle area was inhabited by Native Americans for at least 4,000 years before the first permanent European settlers. Arthur A. Denny and his group of travelers, subsequ ...
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Brendan Fraser
Brendan James Fraser ( ; born December 3, 1968) is an American-Canadian actor known for his leading roles in blockbusters, comedies, and dramatic films. Having graduated from the Cornish College of the Arts in 1990, he made his film debut in ''Dogfight'' (1991). Fraser had his breakthrough in 1992 with the comedy ''Encino Man'' and the drama ''School Ties''. He gained further prominence for his starring role in ''George of the Jungle'' (1997) and emerged a star playing Rick O'Connell in ''The Mummy'' trilogy (1999–2008). He took on dramatic roles in '' Gods and Monsters'' (1998), ''The Quiet American'' (2002), and ''Crash'' (2004), and further fantasy roles in '' Bedazzled'' (2000) and ''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' (2008). Fraser's film work slowed from the late 2000s to mid 2010s amid various health problems, personal losses, and fallout from a sexual assault allegedly committed against him by Philip Berk, the then-president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Associ ...
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Joel McHale
Joel Edward McHale (born November 20, 1971) is an American actor, comedian, and television host. He is best known for hosting ''The Soup'' (2004–2015) and his role as Jeff Winger on the NBC sitcom ''Community'' (2009–2015). He has performed in the films ''Spider-Man 2'' (2004), '' Spy Kids: All the Time in the World'' (2011), ''Ted'' (2012) and ''The Happytime Murders'' (2018). He also starred in the short-lived CBS sitcom '' The Great Indoors'' (2016–2017), hosted a reboot of ''Card Sharks'' (2019–2021), and portrayed the superhero Sylvester Pemberton / Starman on the show '' Stargirl'' (2020–2022). In 2020, he hosted a special aftershow interviewing key subjects from the Netflix documentary series ''Tiger King'' and voiced Johnny Cage in the direct-to-video martial arts film '' Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge'' (2020), a role he reprised in the sequel '' Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms'' (2021). He also voices X-PO in '' Lego Dimensions'' (2015– ...
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Improvisational Theatre
Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, action, story, and characters are created collaboratively by the players as the improvisation unfolds in present time, without use of an already prepared, written script. Improvisational theatre exists in performance as a range of styles of improvisational comedy as well as some non-comedic theatrical performances. It is sometimes used in film and television, both to develop characters and scripts and occasionally as part of the final product. Improvisational techniques are often used extensively in drama programs to train actors for stage, film, and television and can be an important part of the rehearsal process. However, the skills and processes of improvisation are also used outside the context of performing arts. This practice, known ...
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List Of Improvisational Theatre Companies
Improvisational theatre companies, also known as improv troupes or improv groups, are the primary practitioners of improvisational theater. Modern companies exist around the world and at a range of skill levels. Most groups make little or no money, while a few, well-established groups are profitable. Although improvisational theater has existed in some form or another since the 16th century, modern improv began with the teachings of Viola Spolin in Chicago, Illinois, USA and Keith Johnstone during the 1940-50s in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Spolin's teachings led to the creation of The Compass Players, the first modern improvisational theater company, in 1955. The presence of The Compass Players, The Second City, and ImprovOlympic in Chicago created a strength in the form within the city that continues to this day.Bernstein, David (September 3, 2005)"In Chicago, Honoring Athletes of Improv" ''The New York Times''. Retrieved January 5, 2009. New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles ...
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Gum Wall
The Gum Wall is a brick wall covered in used chewing gum under Pike Place Market in Downtown Seattle. It is located on Post Alley near Pike Street, south of the market's main entrance off 1st Avenue. Parts of the gum coating alongside the walls are several inches thick, and the coating is high along a section. The Market Theater Gum Wall has become a tourist attraction and local landmark since it was unintentionally created in the 1990s. History The wall is located in Post Alley adjacent to the box office for the Market Theater, a venue for comedy shows and other small performances. After it became the host of Unexpected Productions' Theatresports in 1991, the theater's walls were covered by patrons' pieces of used gum that had pennies pushed into them. The coins were later removed, but the gum remained amid several cleanings of the walls under orders from the Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority. The market's officials reversed course and allowed the ...
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Improvisational Troupes
Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of improvisation can apply to many different faculties, across all artistic, scientific, physical, cognitive, academic, and non-academic disciplines; see Applied improvisation. Improvisation also exists outside the arts. Improvisation in engineering is to solve a problem with the tools and materials immediately at hand. Improvised weapons are often used by guerrillas, insurgents and criminals. Engineering Improvisation in engineering is to solve a problem with the tools and materials immediately at hand. Examples of such improvisation was the re-engineering of carbon dioxide scrubbers with the materials on hand during the Apollo 13 space mission, or the use of a knife in place of a screwdriver to turn a screw. Engineering improvisations ...
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Companies Based In Seattle
A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared goals. Companies take various forms, such as: * voluntary associations, which may include nonprofit organizations * business entities, whose aim is generating profit * financial entities and banks * programs or educational institutions A company can be created as a legal person so that the company itself has limited liability as members perform or fail to discharge their duty according to the publicly declared incorporation, or published policy. When a company closes, it may need to be liquidated to avoid further legal obligations. Companies may associate and collectively register themselves as new companies; the resulting entities are often known as corporate groups. Meanings and definitions A company can be defined as an "artificial per ...
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