Video of the Day: Family Drama

By Bryan Banducci Fri., Nov. 23 2012 at 8:30 AM

Categories: Art This Weekend, Comedy, Events

A choking is just a hug gone awry

Have you ever been at a long and boring show and wished you could change it to fit your own preferences? That's exactly what happens at Family Drama, a completely improvised stage play inspired by the audience's suggestions.

Comedy from Katz: Not the Cute Furry Kind

Presented by Bay Area Theatresports (BATS) Improv (the largest and longest-running improv theater and school in Northern California), Family Drama mixes the narrative of a full three-act stage play with the WTF-ness of on-the-spot improvisation. Like many traditional American plays, the story unfolds in real time, on one set, and with each actor portraying a single character. The audience selects the title for the show, which then inspires the themes, relationships, and stories that result from the actor's portrayals. The only thing the actors know is that their characters are somehow related and that they are getting together for the holidays. Drama of the familial breed is a well-worn holiday staple, but it's up to you to put the fun back in dysfunction this time around.

Family Drama starts Nov. 24 at 8 p.m. at Bayfront Theater, 16 Marina (at Laguna), S.F. Admission is $17-$20.

Here's BATS doing "Improvised Hitchcock:"

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