Shitzprobe to Perform at Yoder Dairy Barn for the First Time in 12 Years!
Shitzprobe Improv Company talks about upcoming performances, the impact and importance of improv, and how adults should play more.
All the way from New York City, Shitzprobe presents the Improvised Broadway Musical at the Yoder Barn! The cast of Shitzprobe creates a totally new Broadway-style musical on the spot, right before your eyes. The show is completely improvised and unrehearsed - from the lyrics and melodies to the lines of dialogue and dance moves- including all of the music created by a live band featuring music director Adrien Pellerin on the piano and Christian Allen on the drums. Shitzprobe invites the audience to join the creative team by suggesting the title of the brand-new musical they’ll see each evening. The show you see will never be seen again - it’s both the opening and closing night!
Shitzprobe was created in 2021 by Kiki Mikkelsen, Adrien Pellerin, and Ali Reed. They are all veterans of the New York City improv scene working to bring improvised musical theater to the Broadway stage. They have over 30 years of combined experience studying and performing improv all over New York City and internationally. In 2020, after scheming and dreaming for many years, they set out with a goal to bridge the gap between comedy theaters and Broadway houses by way of improvised musical theater. To do so, they began inviting major Broadway performers to join the Shitzprobe team on stage. Just a few of their past Broadway performers include Jackie Hoffman from Hairspray, Isabelle McCalla from The Prom, and a trio of cast members from Come From Away, among many, many others.
Their first show, scheduled for March 16th, 2020, was unfortunately postponed due to COVID-19. They performed some shows online throughout the pandemic, but performing improv in a void proved to be nearly impossible. “When the audience is a part of creating the story and in the room where it all happens, it's absolute magic,” Ali said. Over a year later, on May 9th, 2021, Shitzprobe was one of the very first shows to return to New York City post-pandemic. When speaking on this experience, Ali noted, “When we were finally back on stage it felt like heaven, like the purpose was back.”
Upcoming Performances
This weekend, the creative team of Shitzprobe will be joined by some of the best musical improvisers in NYC: Aneesa Folds, Katy Berry and Daniel Tepper. Credits include Comedy Central, Adult Swim, Funny Or Die, and on Broadway in shows such as The Prom, Groundhog Day, and Lin Manuel Miranda’s Freestyle Love Supreme. There is one more chance to see Shitzprobe at the Yoder Barn, on July 21 at 8 PM. Tickets are $15 and are available at the door and online on the Ferguson Center website. Shitzprobe is recommended for audiences ages 15+. You have never seen a musical quite like this before. Catch this one-of-a-kind show right here in Newport News while you have the chance!
Breaking Stereotypes of Musical Improvisation
Musical improvisation first grew out of regular improv in late-night basement comedy theaters. “For some reason, all comedy theaters are in basements, I’m not sure why,” Kiki said. Performers realized their acts were funnier and received better feedback when they added music, so they started singing and adding narrative storytelling to level up their improv. “The theater of it all - really good singing, dancing, and having heart to these musicals wasn’t a part of improv at the time- it was really all for the jokes. We at Shitzprobe want to reinvent this image. We are striving to break the stereotype that this is a basement comedy late-night show, but rather a legitimate form of theater that belongs in established theater houses,” Kiki said.
Another strong point of contention within the theater community is highly selective casting processes simply based on the way a performer looks. This occurrence can be exceedingly exclusive and make someone’s dream of being on stage feel like a pipe dream. “Not being cast because of the way you look does not mean you can’t tell that story- everyone has a story to tell,” Ali said. Musical improv, as a whole, is actively being more inclusive and making musical theater more accessible to the masses through self-casting. In musical improv, actors are given the opportunity to cast themselves into any role they feel they can effectively and passionately play. “There are as many unique improv performers as there are improv performers in total. We all have a story to tell based on our own experiences in thousands of different ways,“ Kiki said.
New Musicals Labs
Shitzprobe, a part of the 2023 New Musicals Lab at the Ferguson Center, is the first show to be produced at the Yoder Barn, a former dairy barn converted to a gorgeous theater and community space, in 12 years. When talking about NML, the group described it as a “genie vortex” of sorts. “No matter how grand the ask, we are given it with grace and treated like the real, serious performers we are.” Oftentimes, improv performers are seen and treated as the “little kids of theater,” but at NML the team is thankful that they and their art form are always seen as impactful, significant, and respectable. The team all agreed that NML offers them space, away from the stressors of their everyday lives, where they can be completely present with their work and make their art their number one priority.
Musical improv, and improv as a whole, is a safe space for performers to connect with their inner child and just play. “My favorite thing about improv is that it is play. We all play together and let our imaginations run wild. I think that is missing in a lot of adults’ lives. So many people don’t play anymore…” Kiki said. In the hustle and bustle of life as an adult, it's easy for someone to lose their desire to be silly and creative. Musical improv offers an outlet for performers, or anyone who wants to attempt, to play and keep the kid in them alive! “This is the greatest and most unbelievable theatrical playground that we have ever been able to play in. We have every resource we could ever need available at our fingertips, so we can build our project efficiently, effectively and learn as much as possible along the way,” Adrien said.
The team emphatically praised the efforts of the entire company and NML staff for how truly impressive they all are. “The company members are so present and talented. They helped to prove our working theory that musical theater actors innately understand how to tell a story and craft a musical improv show,” Ali said. When Ali, Kiki, and Adrien first arrived in Newport News, they taught a three-day “improv crash course” about the structure of songs and narrative to the company members. In just three short days of training, the company was able to perform excellent full 30-minute improvised musicals all on their own. In regard to the NML staff, Ali, Kiki, and Adrien all agreed that Bruce Bronstein, the executive director of the Ferguson Center for the Arts and the founder and creator of NML, and Colin Ruffer, NML’s Artistic Director, have become mentors to them. “They create an environment where we can play and perfect our craft and always trust that they will have our backs. This is something that is not always given or hard to find in NYC,” Ali said.
The team explained that a key tenet of improv is “following your fear.” As humans, we will sometimes shut ourselves off from new ideas, experiences, or connections, because it makes us uncomfortable or scared. However, in improv, “You want to follow that fear, because right after the fear is where the magic happens,” Ali said. They explained the large impact fear of vulnerability has in their line of work. In improv, you have to show yourself and put everything on the line to create the best work, but there is an insurmountable level of fear that accompanies that ask. “As we have been working with the NML company members, we can see specific moments when they’ve no longer planned what they’re saying and they are going straight off of what their brain is firing to their mouth, unfiltered. It's in those exact moments when they are completely vulnerable, that the coolest, funniest, and most theatrical stuff is produced,” Adrien said. They all agreed that a large part of successful improv is following the fear of not having anything planned and simply walking off the cliff. “As a guest artist and educator, I have learned that if you support your talent in a way that makes them feel safe, their creativity can fly a bit more. It has been amazing watching them follow their fear, come out of their shells, and trust themselves and their instincts on a new level,” Ali said.
Improv has impacted how Ali, Kiki, and Adrien interact with the world, others, and themselves. “I am who I am because of improv,” Kiki said. Collaboration has become a key factor in her life due to the influences of improv. She now loves working on a team and believes what she builds with other people will always be better than what she could build alone. Other key tenets of improv include “yes and…” and “got your back.” They all agreed these are powerful and impactful ways to live your everyday life in an effort to promote acceptance and strong relationships. “There's a layer of trust that is necessary to do this art that allows you to step off the cliff and say the thing that's scary because you know your fellow performers will catch you,” Adrien said.
Don’t miss their upcoming performances this weekend and next! It is a show you have never seen before and will never see again. There is one more chance to see Shitzprobe at the Yoder Barn, on July 21 at 8 PM. Tickets are $15 and are available at the door and online on the Ferguson Center website. Shitzprobe is recommended for audiences ages 15+. You have never seen a musical quite like this before. Catch this one-of-a-kind show right here in Newport News while you have the chance!
Written by Abbey Ballance