Each night, the brave crew of Washington Improv Theater’s Starship Odyssey: The Final Mission begins their mission with an audience suggestion. No one — including the cast — knows how it will end.
Part of WIT’s summer series “Improv Saves the World,” Starship Odyssey is an improvised twist on science fiction. You may see a swashbuckling captain, a diabolical alien overlord, an android who learns to love and more. Each show begins with the premise that the crew of Starship Odyssey must travel 500 years in the past, to the year 2019, in an attempt to save the future.
Improv is usually performed in a plain space without props or costumes, but costume designer Bill Nelson and production designer Raymond Simeon bring Starship Odyssey to vivid life with atmospheric flair. Check out the gallery above to see what’s in store. The show will be ASL-interpreted on July 27.
If that wasn’t enough, audience members can even purchase astronaut ice cream from concessions during the show.
Improv Saves the World also features:
- WIT’s company ensembles like iMusical (who create an instant musical based on your suggestion)
- Guests from New York’s Magnet Theater
- Featured ensemble Lena Dunham (a team of all black improvisers who “give you a thousand different angles on what it feels like and means to be someone’s black friend”)
“Improv Saves the World” runs through August 4.
Want to give improv a try? Summer classes are registering now! You can also bring improv to your office with a WIT@Work organizational training.