The Improvisational Repertory Theatre Ensemble welcomes you to our 2022 fundraising campaign.
 

IRTE is a New York City-based, award-winning company of improvisational actors, producers, and creators of original, character-driven improvisational comedy theatre. Our 2022-2023 season has us celebrating our 11th Anniversary of creating, producing and performing new and expanded theatrical productions that weave together the best elements of improvisational comedy and traditional theatre, live musical performance, and opportunities for audience interaction with every show.

 

This season IRTE is happy to present a new and original show: a new installment of our "lovable" android Wow Wee: Adventures of a Little Girl Killbot Christmas Special! and a brand new improviplay, The Lonely Death of L. Harris.

 

With our 11th season, IRTE now has over three dozen distinct productions under our collective belt that have been performed in New York City and all over the country at various theatre festivals, but that’s not all we do. We also host workshops for actors and improvisers every season, giving performers of every stripe an opportunity to expand their skill sets and their community. This season we are excited to lead workshops in improvisation and to host master teachers of not only improvisation, but other disciplines, as well, such as clowning and stage combat.

IRTE is no different than any other arts organization in that we, too, count on the support of generous donors, such as yourself, to help us bring our vision into the world. Where we differ is in the size and reach of our pool of resources. While IRTE supports itself in part through ticket sales, as well as a year-end call for contributions, this fundraising campaign (the one you’re looking at right now) is our primary source of support to make our season of shows and workshops happen.

New York City is an incredibly competitive market for live entertainment, and our small ensemble does all of the heavy lifting to share what we do with our growing audience and performing community. This includes renting rehearsal and performance space, paying technical crew and the master teachers who lead our workshops, promoting our shows, attending festivals both in New York City and out of state, and much more.

Since 2014, IRTE has been a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-­profit arts service organization. Contributions for the charitable purposes of IRTE must be made payable to “Fractured Atlas” only. Any contribution above the value of the goods and services received by the donor is tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

 
Cold, Hard Numbers
 

IRTE is used to overcoming challenges to bring our work to the public. It seems the world is given new challenges nearly every year. The pandemic of 2020 hit the theater world hard in New York City. All theaters were forced to shut down productions, and rehearsal spaces were forced to close. Many have closed permanently. This year, we all have witnessed rising inflation. In this environment, we project that IRTE’s 11th season will cost approximately $11,000, not including the costs of performing in (and getting to) festivals around the United States. That’s 2 original productions, 8 performances each, plus the costs related to mounting and promoting those shows.

As a share-based theatre company, IRTE ensemble members, contribute equally to cover the costs of each production. In return, all ticket sales are divided equally among company members after the run. Your contributions go a long way in helping to offset the burden of production and operating expenses (such as theater and rehearsal space rental, marketing, etc.), and helping to support artists working hard to share their gifts and talents with the world. Every dollar we receive through our fundraising campaign also helps us keep our ticket prices down so that we can continue providing high quality and hilarious improvisational comedy theatre to a growing audience.

This season both our shows are brand new. One brings back characters from a previous IRTE production, and one introduces a group of brand new characters, and brand new situations. Both shows will run 1 ½ hours for 8 performances each.

Here are the productions we’re excited to bring to audiences for our 11th season!

Fall 2022

Spring 2023

2022 Rewards
 

Every contribution to support something you believe in is a reward in and of itself, AND we also love to give you free stuff! Check out our fabulous rewards for some of the different levels of giving. You’re free to contribute and leave it at that, or claim a perk as our way of saying THANK YOU for your generosity and support. Rewards range from a simple shout out or “thank you” on social media, to great books, cd's, art, and services from some of our talented friends, to IRTE 11th season tickets, to your own IRTE show crafted especially for you.

Here’s a little bit more about our friends contributing some of our rewards items…

Craig Greenberg is an extraordinary musical talent and is another of IRTE's favorite musical guests. Receive your choice of a physical CD, or a direct digital download. Check out his website.

John Munnelly is a terrific musical guest and will be appearing in 2022's Wow Wee: Adventures of a Little Girl Killbot Christmas Special! as the last musician on Earth! Plus, he makes the world more saucy with his own hot sauce company, Hattwood Hot Sauce.

Stefan Pokorny is the founder and head of Dwarven Forge, makers of the finest hand-sculpted, hand-painted, modular gaming terrain. Dungeons, caverns, villages, wilderness, castles, minis, and more. See his amazing works here.

Sam Katz is one of IRTE's favorites, having performed in many IRTE productions over the years. She also recently published "a masterwork that defies categorization" in her limited edition, signed, numbered, coffee table book, Ask Me How This Happens: a script, a scrapbook, a memoir.

Awards and Accolades for IRTE

The honor and privilege of creating the kind of improvised comedy theatre that we love is very rewarding, and we also greatly appreciate the awards and kind words we’ve received over the years. Here are a few highlights we’d like to share with you…

“...surprise-a-minute…” - Jay Lloyd, CBS Philly, KYW News Radio

“...wildly unique and wildly funny shows.” - Natasha Dawsen, Drama Queens

“...theatre-goers will have a phenomenal time.” - Amy Carothers, NYC Travels

“BEST. PARTY. EVER.” - Rebecca Benedict, Outer-Stage

“...raucous and a hell of a lot of fun.” - Jan Ewing, Hi Drama

“...IRTE manages to strike a balance between both well-written comedic structure and pure improv, while also using both audience engagement and a creative assortment of props and makeup to stay on a low indie budget and still be uniquely laugh out loud funny...” - Anthony Piccione, OnStage Blog

“If a John Waters movie and Ex Machina had a baby, it might look like WOWEE! ADVENTURES OF A GIRL KILLBOT… This reviewer snorted with laughter.” - First Looks - PortFringe 2018!

“Magnificent...fantastic...one of the finest improv troupes today!” - Outerstage - IRTE MITF A-OK