Out of Bounds West is a comedy festival happening May 22-25, 2008

Here's where you'll find all the information you could ever want to know about this year's performers.
And maybe a little more than you wanted to know.

~ FRIDAY ~

In our Friday 8pm block:

			Merchandise [Chicago, IL] The cast of Rhymes with Masshole are the founders of the multi-faceted Merchandise Productions - Aaron Hagele, James Lujan and Tim Slowikowski. All three met in 2005 while training at the Second City Conservatory and have performed original shows across Chicago, including the 2008 Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival and a recent 6-week run at the iO Theater (formerly Improv Olympic). Merchandise are the creators of over a dozen short films, one of which (The Handshake) was accepted into the Second City Film Festival in 2007. They also created, wrote and produced a television pilot entitled "Yes, And" that has screened in competition. Merchandise lives in Vermont with their bedpan, Larry. Merchandise is performing a sketch show Friday at 8pm ====> BUY TICKETS NOW <==== Artist's web site, Artist's MySpace page

CAST: Tim Slowikowski, Aaron Hagele, James Lujan, Neil Kubath (tech)

			Girls Girls Girls [Hailing from Austin, TX] Girls Girls Girls is Austin, Texas's only all-female improvisation troupe. Their specialty is creating long-form improvised musicals from a single audience suggestion. The Girls and their live musicians make up the songs, dances, characters, and stories all on the spot to create one complete story. Girls Girls Girls has been an artistic collective since September 2003, and currently is comprised of 9 members and several musicians. They strive to present shows that have both entertaining story arcs and clearly recognizable musical theater elements, such as singing and dancing. As a part of their development, they are continually designing new techniques for incorporating the nuances of musicals into an improvised performance. Girls Girls Girls is performing an improv show Friday at 8pm ====> BUY TICKETS NOW <==== - Reviews and Accolades - Read the GGG Austin Chronicle Review Winner Best of the Week FronteraFest 2007, 2008 Winner Best of the Fest FronteraFest 2008 Winner Best Improv Group Austin Chronicle Reader's Poll 2006 Austin Woman article and DT Weekend cover story Artist's web site, Artist's MySpace page

CAST: Andrea Young, Madeline Malka, Kacey Samiee, Julie Lucas, Monique Daviau, Erin Molson, Shana Merlin, Michael Brockman.


			Ladies and Gentlemen [Los Angeles, CA] Westside Eclectic house team favorites Ladies and Gentlemen bring their signature form "Coversatio" to Out of Bounds for the first time. Improvisers take a single suggestion and use it to inspire a conversation which then leads to an entire story with original characters, plots, and twists. Ladies and Gentlemen is performing an improv show Friday at 8pm ====> BUY TICKETS NOW <==== Artist's MySpace page
CAST: Megan Parks, Jamie Flamm, Phil Ranta, Mike McClendon, Chiara Triska, Cole Stratton, Dan Dominguez, Vanessa Ragland

In our Friday 10pm block:

		Parallelogramophonograph [Hailing from Austin, TX] French Farce is an exploration of the latent comedy in social status. Infidelity, insecurity, and insatiable appetites for wealth and power collide with riveting consequences. No topic is taboo; No neurosis too absurd. Rich in physical humor and word play, French Farce is a delight to watch. We turn a blank stage into a French salon, a blank script into sharp social commentary, and "improv comedy" into "théâtre improvisé". Parallelogramophonograph loves to tell stories and experiment with new narrative formats. Pgraph performs weekly at ColdTowne Theater in Austin, TX, and has played in festivals all over the country. They were recently voted "The Best Improv Group in Austin" by the Austin Improv Collective, and were awarded "Best of Fest" in FronteraFest 2008. The members of Parallelogramophonograph take turns sleeping in 2 hour shifts. ====> BUY TICKETS NOW <==== - Reviews and Accolades - Read their Austin Chronicle Review Read about Pgraph in the Austinist (1, 2) Artist's web site, Artist's MySpace page

CAST: Roy Janik, Kareem Badr, Valerie Ward, Kaci Beeler


			Start Trekkin NYC [Hailing from New York, NY] Eight improvisers take the stage in full Federation uniform and, based on audience suggestions, create an entirely original "episode" set in the Star Trek Universe. Expect melodramatic acting, pointy sideburns, aliens in bad wigs, paper mache rocks and transparent social commentary. But don't expect James T. Kirk or the USS Enterprise; this is a different ship and a new captain every week. Start Trekkin NYC is performing an improv show Friday at 10pm ====> BUY TICKETS NOW <==== - Reviews and Accolades - Review in the Downtown Express Artist's web site, Artist's MySpace page
CAST: Ben Sterling, Topping Haggerty, Aaron Saenz, Karie Hunt, Kate Caldwell, Phil Ristaino, Frank Todaro, Casey Jones, Lauren Hunt

			pH Production's pHrenzy! [Chicago, IL] Performers battle it out for the ultimate bragging rights in this high-energy, audience participative, crazy improv show, pHrenzy! One by one the performers get picked off, by both random rules and by the audience vote. Second chances, challenges, twists…you never know what will happen next in pH's pHrenzy!….the ultimate audience experience! pH Productions is a performance ensemble dedicated to educating and exposing non-traditional audiences to live theater. pH's original comedic productions continually test the boundaries of form, humor, and audience participation, to provide the highest quality entertainment. pH has been delighting audiences for almost five years now with their unique brand of comedy. pH Productions is performing an improv show Friday at 10pm ====> BUY TICKETS NOW <==== -Reviews and Accolades- Highly Recommended by the Chicago Reader Artist's web site, Artist's MySpace page
CAST: Tracy Meyer, Ed Gass, Jason Geis, Kayce Alltop, Chris Edwards, Cynthia Castiglione

In our Friday Midnight block:

			A VERY SPECIAL FRIDAY NIGHT MIDNIGHT SPECIAL: B. Heilbron's R. Kelly's Trapped in the Closet LIVE [Los Angeles, CA] Trapped in the Closet—Live is the stanky epic tour de force written by R. Kelly and performed word for word by indie comedian Brently Heilbron. Heilbron, voted “Best Stand-Up” in his native Austin, spent months learning all 22 chapters of “Trapped” and enlisted his most talented friends to lip-synch all across the country. As a comedian, he has opened for the likes of Paul McCartney, Rudy Ray “Dolemite” Moore, Daniel Johnston and Mini-Kiss. After successful runs on both coasts, the ensemble won praise from the New York Times (“an exciting experience for audiences and participants”), the Village Voice, the LA Times, Defamer, and more. Last fall, the cast attempted to enter the Guinness Book of World Records as they performed every single chapter live in one evening. The event was hosted by Bones actress Emily Deschanel and featured cast members from the R. Kelly version in attendance. The cast of Trapped—Live includes the talented comics and actors from the Generation Mig. They all believe in the tradition of the oral epic, as R. Kelly is a modern day Homer, a bard of sonic deception. Tonight, the cast will harken back to where it all began, the original chapters 1-12. Dig in! B. Heilbron's R. Kelly's Trapped in the Closet LIVE is happening Friday at 12 midnight ====> BUY TICKETS NOW <==== - Reviews and Accolades - Pick of the Week, Village Voice Pick of the Week, Time Out NY "An epic experience for audience and participant." --NY Times Artist's MySpace page
Performed by Brently Heilbron with Jenn Bass, Liz Feldman, Katey Mushlin, Jessy Schwartz, Mitch Baker, Chris Chauncey, Alex Staggs, Shane Laser, Jason Allen

CONTACT OUT OF BOUNDS WEST