2024 Audience Reviews

Company: Mike Fotis Productions
Show: The Camp Out
Venue: Mixed Blood Theatre

It's almost unfair how good they are at this

Long-form improv is really hard to do. You might come into it thinking, "Why is that so hard? Don't you just do your regular improv routine, but do it for longer?" No. No, you do not. That's a great way way to push your audience's patience to the breaking point. Long form improv is an entirely different beast, and when it's really good the audience can forget that what they're watching is being made up on the spot.

Mike Fotis has assembled a supergroup of some of the best local improv artists the Twin Cities has to offer, and, yes, they are in that "so good you forget it's not a regular play" category. Of course, the show itself is going to be different every night, so it's pointless for me to tell you what happened when I watched it. Le me just say that "The Camp Out", while very funny, is also incredibly poignant and sincere. Fotis' show (much like his other long-form show outside of Fringe, "Wish Your Were Here") is interested in exploring grounded characters at vulnerable moments in their lives, where the sadness and joy of life meet.

On even an off night of this show, it will be highly entertaining; and if you wind up in a performance where the cast is really on their game, you might even find it profound.