The Centro de Cultura Contemporánea L’Escorxador is set to welcome the second Campeonato de España de Improvisación Teatral this weekend, an event integrated into the Orilla Impro Fest. The semi-finals are scheduled for Friday, while the grand final will occur on Saturday, preceded by a match for third place.
This championship showcases two artistic trends: theatrical improvisation and 'Batallas de Gallos', a competitive form of freestyle rap where two performers improvise rhymes. Each round will feature five actors from various schools, overseen by an arbiter.
Participating improvisational theatre schools include ImproMadrid, ImproValladolid, TEMA from Gijón, and Cero Qoma (formerly ImproVivencia) from Alicante. The inaugural edition of this event took place last year in Madrid, with the audience playing a significant role.
In addition to the performances, the festival will offer a series of workshops led by renowned improvisational actors such as Ignacio López from ImproMadrid, Berta Monclús from ImproValladolid, and Lea Ríos from ImproVivencia.
Participants will need to utilise their creativity and quick thinking to craft stories on the spot, based on prompts provided by the arbiter. Upon entering the venue, audience members will receive cards to write a word or phrase, which will be randomly selected to challenge the actors with scenarios lasting between one and five minutes.
Each round consists of five to eight games derived from these audience-written cards, featuring mixed improvisation scenes between two teams and comparative improvisation where teams create their narratives separately. The audience will vote for the most clever, entertaining, and original performances.
Tickets for the performances are available on Entradium, priced between €12.70 for a single match and €21.50 for two matches. A full championship pass is also offered for €31.75. Additionally, tickets for the workshops can be purchased at www.improvivencia.com.
