Washington Improv Theater’s Fighting Improv Smackdown Tournament Finals and Semifinals at Source, Friday and Saturday This weekend, the Washington Improv Theater wraps up its sixth annual Fighting Improv Smackdown Tournament, or FIST. The semifinals and finals are Friday and Saturday at Source.
The key to winning a comedic improv team competition?
“You’ve got to find your chemistry,” said WIT Artistic and Executive Director Mark Chalfant, adding that the intensity of the competition can be daunting. “It’s about being bold.”
This year’s FIST features 58 teams. To advance, each team had to improvise an audience suggestion for 12 minutes. The audience cast ballots determining the winner. In the later rounds, including this weekend, the players must improvise for 15 minutes.
Anyone from longtime WIT members to newcomers participate.
“It’s unpredictable,” said Chalfant, whose team Sea Biscuit lost in the first round. “There’s no such thing as a sure thing.”
When: Semifinals 9:30 and 11 p.m. Friday, finals 8 p.m. Saturday
Info: $14 for the semifinals, $18 for the finals; washingtonimprovtheater.com
Chickfactor 2012: For the Love of Pop! at Artisphere, Friday and Saturday
It takes two nights to celebrate the 20th anniversary of chickfactor, an East Coast music fanzine founded in 1992 (in 2002, it moved online). Each evening features four performances. On Friday, the highlight is Belle & Sebastian’s Stevie Jackson, and on Saturday it’s the first performance in more than two decades of D.C.’s Black Tambourine.
When: Doors 7:30 p.m., show 8 p.m.
Info: $25 in advance, $27 day of, two-day pass $45; artisphere.com
Redskins Cheerleaders Final Auditions at the State Theatre, Saturday
Witness a moment in history. Or at least a young woman trying to realize her dream. These are the final auditions, and the start of the 2012-2013 season. While the Redskins football team might disappoint year in and year out, not so with the cheerleaders.
When: Doors 1 p.m., show 2 p.m.
Info: General admission $15, VIP $25; tickets available at the door, cash only; thestatetheatre.com
The Honky Tonk Easter Crawfish Boil at the Red Palace, Sunday
Here’s a way to celebrate Easter. Spend the afternoon enjoying crawfish, drinks, live music and burlesque. Chef Lee cooks the food, and Sean K. Preston out of Baltimore and Jonny Grave and the Tombstones provide the music. It’s a little bit of Louisiana on H Street.
When: Crawfish boil at 3 p.m., show at 5
Info: $25; redpalacedc.com
Easter Egg Decorating Contest at the Red Derby, Sunday
Act like a kid again, or at least a kid who spends time in bars. Dive into the Red Derby’s Easter Egg Decorating Contest. There will be prizes, and there will be candy. Does it really get much better than prizes and candy?
When: Decorating starts at 7 p.m., judging at 9
Info: redderby.com
