After being founded in 2012, the Detroit Creativity Project has quickly become one of Y-Arts signature projects. Several expatriate Detroiters now living in Los Angeles, who got their first big career break here (most at Detroit’s former Second City locale) decided to give back to the city that launched them. They reached out to Y-Arts Director Margaret Edwartowski, who has been active in the city’s theater community for years, and together they launched the Detroit Creativity Project, which goes into Detroit schools and spends 10 weeks teaching the students about improvisation. Western International High School, Bates Academy Middle School and Brenda Scott Middle School, as well as two schools for incarcerated youth, participate in the program.
These are students who may have never seen improv performed when they started and with the help of a team of professional improv teachers, end the session able to create realistic, funny scenes with just a few prompts. And next month, they get a major showcase for their hard work as the opening act of the Detroit Improv Festival.
The festival draws improv teams — and improv fans — from all over the United States and Canada to show off their best stuff. It’s a packed schedule of shows and workshops, and will all kick off at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 7 at the Marlene Boll Theater inside the Boll Family YMCA. Students from the Detroit Creativity Project will show off their work, followed by a “Celebrity Soapbox” from local TV personality Charlie LeDuff. LeDuff will recount tales from his colorful career as a Detroit journalist and provocateur, and then a troupe of improvisers will act out scenes based on his tales.
According to Margaret Edwartowski, she played a few shows at the festival last year and knows the organizers, so when they decided they wanted to have at least a show or two in Detroit proper, they contacted her to look into the Marlene Boll Theater. Festival organizers have been very supportive of the DCP in the past, and wanted to include a show in the festival schedule, so the kickoff night came about.
Tickets are $5 and available at Brown Paper Tickets.