The Players - An Improvised Play That Goes Awry

The Players is playing at ColdTowne Theater every Saturday night, starting at 8:30 PM. The show is billed as the final dress rehearsal of a world-premiere play inspired by the audience, and it's a comedic farce in the vein of Noises Off and The Play That Goes Wrong. The whole thing plays out as an opening-night nightmare where the actors don't know their lines, so the comedy comes from the play falling apart in front of you.

Because it's improvised, the audience helps shape what happens on stage. The cast is Anne Dowd, Cassidy Risien, Chandler Palmer, Kristen Edwards, Martha Neil, Ryan Paul, Sindusha Ravi, and Sunny Huang, with Kayleigh LaSalle. It's directed by Rebecca East and Will Cleveland. That's a large ensemble for one show, which fits the farce format—lots of people on stage at once, moving in and out of scenes while things go sideways.

There's a fair amount of training behind the group, too. The cast has worked at The Second City, Impro L.A., The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, iO Theater, Comedy Sports, Hideout Theatre, and ColdTowne Theater, bringing combined decades of theater experience to the stage. If you're familiar with those names, you'll recognize the different styles of improv they're pulling from. It's not just a few people winging it; it's a full company working together to keep the chaos moving.

Since it runs every Saturday, you've got plenty of chances to catch it. It's at ColdTowne Theater in Austin, starting at 8:30 PM.