George Awad is experiencing a touch of déjà vu.
Last September, the local comedian and his Double Dip Productions team were getting the word out about the Asheville Improv Festival, which was slated for Oct. 9-12 at Asheville Music Hall, Eulogy and The Grey Eagle. Then Tropical Storm Helene arrived.
In the immediate aftermath, Awad thought it might still be possible to put on the event. But once his phone service was back online and he could see the extent of the storm’s damage, his outlook changed.
Canceling the festival was, in Awad’s words, “quite a lift.” But in the subsequent months of recovery, he’s been reminded by his collaborators, participating acts and the community that the event is something people want.
“ It wasn’t even a matter of ‘Can we do this?’ We’re gonna do this. We have to do this,” Awad says. “And I’m glad that we decided to do it in spring — you know, why wait? And, to be honest, Asheville could use a festival.”
Awad and others involved in the gathering have their fingers, toes and eyes crossed in the days leading up to Wednesday, May 7, that nothing will interfere with the four-day festival. And barring more wildly inappropriate improvisations from Mother Nature, they should be fine this time.
Best-laid plans
A version of the Asheville Improv Festival happened in 2019, when Awad was a partner of the Asheville Improv Collective. That organization folded during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. But the global health crisis also prompted some top improv talents to leave Los Angeles for the more affordable Asheville area, including Laurie Jones and Paul Vonasek, whose Adesto Theatre specializes in narrative improv, and Gillian Bellinger, whose specialties include musical improv. Awad says these new additions and Tim Hearn‘s Speakeasy Improv — which was founded in 2020 — mixed well with such established local improv groups as Reasonably Priced Babies, resulting in a healthy, collaboration-rich scene.
“It just seemed like the time to do it,” Awad says. “It’s like throwing a four-night party.”
The festival, he continues, provides a sense of community for the “kind of weird people that appreciate it.” It also creates a spectacle for local audiences, he adds.
Awad is excited to have on board such big names as Mick Napier, whom he calls “a legend.” A veteran of Chicago’s revered Second City, Napier has also directed Martin Short, Amy and David Sedaris and Jeff Garlin in a number of productions.
Along with standout headliners, diversity was a top priority for Double Dip’s programming.
“We wanted to try to put more people of color onstage and hopefully more people of color in the audience,” Awad says. “Sometimes, improv can be a very homogeneous thing when it doesn’t have to be. Funny is funny and theater is theater, and everyone should have access to it.”
Though the festival had to be delayed for seven months, every headlining act except Ithamar Enriquez was able to make the new dates work. Rescheduling for the festival’s original improv teams proved more challenging. As a result, the spring relaunch has more regional and local teams than were planned in October.
On the venue side, Asheville Music Hall is the lone planned host site from fall still on board. The Asheville Masonic Temple, N.C. Stage Company and the recently renovated YMI Cultural Center are all serving as hosts now as well.
“ It’s gonna be superexciting to put [improv] in places that normally don’t see anything like this,” Awad says.
All the hats
One of the headliners that festivalgoers can see on multiple occasions — and even take classes with — is 3Peat. The all-Black improv group formed in 2012 in Chicago. Since that time, its members have moved to Los Angeles and New York City as their individual film and TV careers have taken off.
Nnamdi Ngwe is one 3Peat member who’s currently based on the West Coast. In addition to improv, he’s an actor, model, teacher, writer, director, stand-up comedian, storyteller and producer. He credits his time in Chicago with giving him the tools and encouraging him to pursue all these interests — with an eye toward knowing that he would need a diverse skill set to make a living in entertainment.
“ There’s all kinds of art happening in Chicago. And everything being blended together, you can try stuff pretty easily and meet a lot of folks,” Ngwe says. “There’s a big, robust community of performers and artists and people of all disciplines out there, which makes it the best place for comedy but also other forms of art, too.”
Ngwe notes that he and his 3Peat colleagues all “wear multiple hats.” Along with their varied performance outlets, they’re also respected teachers and will offer two workshops during the Asheville Improv Festival. On Saturday, May 10, 10 a.m.-noon, at N.C. Stage, a group of 3Peat members led by Patrick Rowland will provide insights on their speedy technique in “Playing Fast and Fun.” Meanwhile, on the same time and date, John Thibedeaux and the other half of 3Peat will tap into their sketch-writing experiences with the “Writing for Late Night” course at Attic Salt Theatre Company.
“ We will be taking things that you may find funny, taking things that you might discover through improv or ideas you may have and have you write them down, structure them and formulate them into jokes that will work in a more structured setting — whether it be a filmed TV show or a live show,” Ngwe says.
Sympathetic of the struggles the Asheville area has endured post-Helene, Ngwe sees the festival as a symbol of the community’s resilience and views attending as an easy way for people to give back to the community.
“ You will be part of the fun, but it won’t be at your expense — you can help steer it and inspire it,” Ngwe says. “You’ll leave with something new, 100%. And you’ll leave wanting to come back for more.”
WHAT: Asheville Improv Festival
WHERE: Various locations, avl.mx/er1
WHEN: Wednesday-Saturday, May 7-10. $21.80-$150
