Off the Cuff

Timothy Scarth and Mary Beth Grendel work to put together the 2007 Improvapalooza Festival. Timothy, one of Chicago's well known improvisers, creates Improvapalooza and Mary Beth hopes to help him grow the festival to international heights. Teams are given a suggestion of 'Chicago' at the beginning of the day and a film crew follows two main teams as they fumble to create a 20 minute show for audiences that night. Blam!, an amateur team, that was able to enter the festival by way of luck, is eventually given a coach to work with throughout the day. Mel Cox, an old improv teacher from the 90's pops into the festival to get his name back out there and Timothy allows him to get involved. Meanwhile, the more seasoned team- Shuttle Rocket Allstars- have their own battles to conquer. One of their best team members is constantly missing throughout the day and a rocky love relationship on the team causes embarrassment on the stage. Timothy is caught red handed by members of Blam! that causes chain of events that leaves Timothy feeling helpless and desperate. Through secret connections, strange confessions, and a misprint on a T-Shirt we begin to understand the comedian's desire to make it big. How far should you go to be funny? —Anonymous