A Message from the Theatre

Hello Festival Unexpected Improvisers!

We are incredibly excited to host you, as well as our two teachers, Inbal Lori and Kelly Kitchens, next week! We have a full week of events lined up for you! This is a week in which we are exploring theatricality in improvisation: Discovering Stories through the use of the Stage.

Unexpected Productions’ four core artistic values are Authenticity, Sincerity, Free Fall, and Theatricality. We hope you will show up embracing the first three, prepared to explore the fourth!

There is an official WhatsApp group for questions or help finding anything at

https://chat.whatsapp.com/DuTGTFGjMS73S8NvAHfyvC?s=cl&p=i&mlu=0

In order to help us ensure your week goes smoothly, I have prepared a form for you to fill out, letting us know when you’ll be available. You should receive a link to your response, which you can edit after you fill it out.

https://forms.gle/c5gsVNf9QywLNDzA6

Finally, here is the full Schedule! It should be very close to what you’ve seen on Eventbrite, but with more details. If you come on Monday night, we will ensure you are signed up and have whatever information you need.

Monday

7:00 PM: Festival Opening at Market Theater. We hope you will join us at the Market Theater to open the festival at 7pm! This will be a chance to meet each other, to sign up for performance opportunities throughout the week, and to chat with other festival participants. The UP Bar will be open!

Tuesday

8:00 PM (Call) / 9:00 PM (Show): First Festival Jam at Jules Maes (Georgetown). We hope you’ll join us in Georgetown at 8pm, at Jules Maes, in our first festival jam, where all festival participants will be invited to perform on the Jules Maes Backroom Stage. You may sign up on Monday, or via the form below, if you are not able to be there on Monday!

Wednesday

7:00 PM (Doors) / 8:00 PM (Show): Festival Unexpected Trios. The doors will open at 7 pm for Festival Unexpected Trios (the show starts at 8pm). Again, you’ll need to sign up on Monday or by using the form below! This replaces our normal community open mic show, Duos.

Thursday

8:00 PM: Theatre Unexpected Performance featuring Inbal Lori at Market Theater. We hope you’ll come down to the Market Theater at 8 PM and take advantage of your festival pass to see some of this festival’s topics in action, with Theatre Unexpected, a three-person improvised play featuring guest instructor Inbal Lori, along with Artistic Director Tony Beeman and Rebel Frequencies Director Liz Brammer.

Friday is a very full day, all in Pike Place Market, with our guest instructors giving us Lecture / Demo / Workshops, all at the Market Theater. We recommend bussing, taking the light rail, or a ride share, but if you do drive down, I often use the app SpotHero to find a good deal on a garage (Often the 2nd and Union garage is the cheapest option for a full weekday).

9:00 AM: Doors Open & Coffee. The Market Theater’s Doors Open, with Coffee provided! We recommend arriving well before 10 am, so that you are settled and ready to go at 10 AM!
10:00 AM – 12:30 PM: The Performer and The Stage with Kelly Kitchens. Award-winning Director and Festival Instructor Kelly Kitchens brings her experience staging opera, musical theatre, contemporary theatre and classic plays to the improvised stage! In this Lecture/Demo, Kelly will walk us through how she approaches storytelling through use of the stage, and how the improvisers, who must be performer, choreographer, and director all at once, can make use of these techniques to bring discovered stories to life.
12:30 PM – 1:30 PM: Lunch Break. Enjoy the Market’s many food options or bring your own lunch. The Theater will remain open for those who choose to bring a lunch.
1:30 PM – 4:00 PM: The Status Kingdom with Inbal Lori. Status influences every interaction we have, both onstage and off. Who leads? Who follows? Who takes up space? Who gives it away? Often, we communicate status before we ever say a word. In this interactive demo-lecture, renowned international improviser and festival instructor Inbal Lori explores everything you can do with status onstage, from high and low status to all the fascinating possibilities in between. Through body language, behavior, relationships, and physical choices, you’ll discover how changing status can instantly transform a character or scene.We’ll also explore the difference between personal and professional status and how the same character can hold very different positions depending on the situation. Learn to recognize status, play with it, shift it, and use it to create more complex characters, stronger relationships, and more dynamic improv.
5:30 PM (Call Time) / 6:00 PM: Friday Festival Happy Hour Jam at the Market Theater. Half of the festival participants are invited to the Market Theater to practice some of what they’ve learned in an hour-long Improv Jam on the Market Theater Stage. You can sign up on Monday or in the form link at the bottom of this email!
7:30 PM: Rebel Frequencies: Hope is Contagious. Unexpected Production’s ongoing mainstage show, Rebel Frequencies, in a Friday performance a combination of Unexpected Productions ensemble and guest cast (several of whom are participating in the festival). Hope spreads in a dystopian future as one small act of kindness sparks an improvised sci-fi chain reaction of connection and rebellion. Directed by Liz Brammer, this show explores status and human connection in dystopian times.
9:30 PM: Festival TheatreSports. A special Friday Night TheatreSports and focused on the topics of the day: Status and Staging. This TheatreSports will have a special focus on Staging and Status, as demoed in the earlier workshops. This TheatreSports will feature UP Ensemble and festival instructor Inbal Lori!

Saturday Another full day, this time starting in Georgetown. Festival Participants are split into two groups for a more class-like focus from our two guest instructors.

9:30 AM: Check-In (5700 6th Ave S, Suite 119, Seattle, WA 98108). You will be assigned one of two cohorts. The morning and afternoon sessions with each instructor are the same, so the only difference between the two cohorts is the order in which you participate in your class. The two locations are only a block away from each other and there is plenty of parking in the area.
10:00 AM – 12:30 PM: Morning Workshops
- Cohort 1: Kelly Kitchens Workshop — Georgetown Sink Room (650 S. Orcas Street, Suite 1)
- Cohort 2: Inbal Lori Workshop — The Umbrella Room (5700 6th Ave S, Suite 119)
12:30 PM – 1:30 PM: Lunch Hour (generously donated by Piroshki, Piroshki!).
1:30 PM – 4:00 PM: Afternoon Workshops
- Cohort 1: Inbal Lori Workshop — The Umbrella Room (5700 6th Ave S, Suite 119)
- Cohort 2: Kelly Kitchens Workshop — Georgetown Sink Room (650 S. Orcas Street, Suite 1)
Workshop Overviews: Both workshops focus on theatricality and expanding beyond words, dialogue, and exposition to tell stories.

Saturday will build on Friday’s lecture/demo with a deeper focus on how improvisers use movement to create meaning onstage. Rather than simply “moving more,” participants will explore how to move intentionally from one stage picture to the next, using space, shape, distance, rhythm, and physical relationships to tell the story.

Inbal Lori’s Workshop Subtext is the meaning underneath the words: what a character wants, feels, fears, or intends without saying it directly. We use it constantly in real life, often without realizing it. Onstage, learning to use it intentionally can become one of an improviser’s most powerful tools.

In this workshop, Inbal Lori explores how to say more with less and make every choice matter. Through scene work, you’ll discover how intention, silence, movement, distance, and body language can reveal relationships, deepen characters, and uncover the heart of a scene without forcing the story.
5:30 PM (Call Time) / 6:00 PM: Saturday Festival Happy Hour Jam at the Market Theater. Half of the festival participants are invited to the Market Theater to practice some of what they’ve learned in an hour-long Improv Jam on the Market Theater Stage. You can sign up on Monday or in the form link at the bottom of this email!
7:30 PM: Rebel Frequencies: Hope is Contagious. Unexpected Production’s ongoing mainstage show, Rebel Frequencies, in a Saturday performance that includes a combination of Unexpected Productions ensemble and guest cast (several of whom are participating in the festival). This show also includes Guest Performer Inbal Lori! Hope spreads in a dystopian future as one small act of kindness sparks an improvised sci-fi chain reaction of connection and rebellion. Directed by Liz Brammer, this show explores status and human connection in dystopian times.
9:30 PM: Festival TheatreSports. A special Saturday Night TheatreSports and focused on the topics of the day: Subtext and Theatricality, as worked on in the earlier workshops. This TheatreSports will feature UP ensemble and festival instructor Inbal Lori!
11:00 PM: Festival Party. Come hang out after TheatreSports for the big party! The bar will be open, food will be provided, and we’ll leave the stage lights may be open for whatever jamming or unsanctioned Drarold-ing you’d like to try.

Sunday This is our cool down day: Enjoy your day off and then come down to the theater to perform and watch a show directed by Inbal!

5:00 PM (Call Time) / 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM: Closing Night Improv Jam. Come down and jam with any participants left in town. This will be an informal jam session, open to the public, but mostly focused on giving festival participants a chance to cool down and maybe practice some of your newly learned skills!
7:30 PM: Deep Dream (Directed by Inbal Lori). A surrealist, dream-logic-inspired narrative performance, featuring UP Ensemble and guest performers. Storytelling inspires bodies and body language creates worlds. The stage is an imaginary border between sleep and wakefulness, where pictures appear and fade, stories are born and develop, and the audience gets a peek at a visual fantasy led by charismatic storytelling.

-Your Festival Team

What to Expect This Week

Your festival registration includes:

Festival Orientation and Welcome Party on Monday, August 24
Participation in group workshops with Inbal Lori and Kelly Kitchens at the theater on Friday, August 28
Focused workshops with Inbal Lori and Kelly Kitchens on Saturday, August 29
Tickets to attend all shows throughout the festival
Opportunities to perform during the week
One comp ticket for a guest at all shows at the theater
Access to the festival Welcome Party (August 24) and Closing Festivities (August 29)

At the Orientation and Welcome Party, you will receive a lanyard that will be your access to all shows. Please check in with the box office and present your lanyard as your ticket to the show.

Schedule Overview

Schedule | All times are PT

Monday, August 24th
Start time	Event	Details
7:00pm	Orientation and Welcome Party	Location Unexpected Productions’ Market Theater 1428 Post Alley Walk Wy, Seattle, WA 98101

Tuesday, August 25th
Start time	Event	Details
8:00 pm	Call for Performers	Location Jules Maes Saloon 5919 Airport Way S, Seattle, WA 98108 Parking Rear Lot available for saloon patrons—enter via alley behind 5919 Airport Way S. Street Parking on Airport Way S and adjacent side streets—metered or free check posted signs
9:00 pm	Duos/Trios/Groups Show	Location Jules Maes Saloon 5919 Airport Way S, Seattle, WA 98108 Tix https://tickets.venuepilot.com/e/improv-unexpected-2025-06-24-jules-maes-seattle-ba14e8

Wednesday, August 26th
Start time	Event	Details
7:00 pm	Call for Performers	Location Unexpected Productions’ Market Theater 1428 Post Alley Walk Wy, Seattle, WA 98101
8:00 pm	Duos/Trios/Groups Show	Location Unexpected Productions’ Market Theater 1428 Post Alley Walk Wy, Seattle, WA 98101 Tix https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1976782224848?aff=oddtdtcreator

Thursday, August 27th
Start time	Event	Details

8:00 pm	Theatre Unexpected with Inbral Lori & Tony Beeman	Location Unexpected Productions’ Market Theater 1428 Post Alley Walk Wy, Seattle, WA 98101 Tix https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1997772563516?aff=oddtdtcreator

Friday, June 27th
Start time	Event	Details
10:00 am	The Performer and The Stage with Kelly Kitchens	Please arrive by 9:45 am. Location Unexpected Productions’ Market Theater 1428 Post Alley, Seattle, WA 98101
12:30 pm	Lunch		Please see the Food Section below
1:30pm	Status Kingdom Workshop with Inbal Lori	Location Unexpected Productions’ Market Theater 1428 Post Alley Walk Wy, Seattle, WA 98101
4:00 pm	Workshops End
6:00 pm	Improv Happy Hour	Location Unexpected Productions’ Market Theater 1428 Post Alley Walk Wy, Seattle, WA 98101 Tix https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1976782224848?aff=oddtdtcreator
7:30 pm	Rebel Frequencies	Location Unexpected Productions’ Market Theater 1428 Post Alley Walk Wy, Seattle, WA 98101 Tix https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1986667267276?aff=oddtdtcreator
9:30 pm	Seattle Theatresports	Location Unexpected Productions’ Market Theater 1428 Post Alley Walk Wy, Seattle, WA 98101 Tix https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1976760857939?aff=oddtdtcreator

Saturday, June 28th
Start time	Event	Details
10:00 am	The Performer and The Stage with Inbal Lori or with Moving the Story Kelly Kitchens Workshop	Please arrive no later than 9:45 am. Location for Performer and the Stage 5700 6th Avenue South, Umbrella Room Location for Moving the Story: Kelly Kitchens Georgetown Sink Room (650 S. Orcas Street, Suite 1
12:30 pm	Lunch	Menu Piroshkies donated from Pirosky Pirosky (vegetarian and vegan options included), Fruit platters, Veggie platter, Cold Soft Drinks, and Water Bottles
1:30pm	The Performer and The Stage: Inbal Lori or Moving the Story Kelly Kitchens Workshop	Please arrive no later than 1:15 pm Location for Moving the Story 650 S Orcas St, Room 217 Seattle, WA 98108 Location for Performer and the Stage 5700 6th Avenue South, Umbrella Room Seattle, WA 98108
4:00pm	Workshops End
6:00 pm	Improv Happy Hour	Location Unexpected Productions’ Market Theater 1428 Post Alley Walk Wy, Seattle, WA 98101 Tix https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1977544308260?aff=oddtdtcreator
7:30 pm	Rebel Frequencies	Location Unexpected Productions’ Market Theater 1428 Post Alley Walk Wy, Seattle, WA 98101 Tix https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1255976051179?aff=oddtdtcreator
9:30 pm	Seattle Theatresports	Location Unexpected Productions’ Market Theater 1428 Post Alley Walk Wy, Seattle, WA 98101 Tix https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1115898314899?aff=oddtdtcreator
11:00 pm	Closing Party	Location Unexpected Productions’ Market Theater 1428 Post Alley Walk Wy, Seattle, WA 98101 Menu Pizzas, Appetizers, and Salads

6:00 pm

7:30 pm

Festival Finale: The Big Improv Jam

Performer Call time 6:30 pm

Location
Unexpected Productions’ Market Theater
1428 Post Alley Walk Wy, Seattle, WA 98101

Tix 6:00 Big Improv Jam
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1997772563516?aff=oddtdtcreator

Tix: 7:30 Deep Dream with Inbal Lori

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1997772563516?aff=oddtdtcreator

Workshop Details (subject to change)

Friday 6/28 10:00 am – 12:30 pm The Performer and The Stage Kelly Kitchens

Award-winning Director Kelly Kitchens brings her experience with staging opera, musical theatre, contemporary theatre, and classic plays to the improvised stage! In this Lecture/Demo, Kelly will walk us through how she approaches storytelling through use of the stage, and how the improvisers, who must be performer, choreographer, and director all at once, can make use of these techniques to bring discovered stories to life.

Friday 6/28 12:30pm – 4:00pm The Status Kingdom with Inbal Lori

Status influences every interaction we have, both onstage and off. Who leads? Who follows? Who takes up space? Who gives it away? Often, we communicate status before we ever say a word.

In this interactive demo-lecture, Inbal Lori explores everything you can do with status onstage, from high and low status to all the fascinating possibilities in between. Through body language, behavior, relationships, and physical choices, you’ll discover how changing status can instantly transform a character or scene.

We’ll also explore the difference between personal and professional status and how the same character can hold very different positions depending on the situation. Learn to recognize status, play with it, shift it, and use it to create more complex characters, stronger relationships, and more dynamic improv.

Saturday 6/29 10:00 am – 1:30 pm or 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm

Subtext with Inbal Lori

Subtext is the meaning underneath the words: what a character wants, feels, fears, or intends without saying it directly. We use it constantly in real life, often without realizing it. Onstage, learning to use it intentionally can become one of an improviser’s most powerful tools.

In this workshop, Inbal Lori explores how to say more with less and make every choice matter. Through scene work, you’ll discover how intention, silence, movement, distance, and body language can reveal relationships, deepen characters, and uncover the heart of a scene without forcing the story.

Learn to follow, lead, react, and discover with greater commitment and curiosity, creating improv that feels richer, more theatrical, and more alive.

Saturday 6/29 10:00am – 1:30pm or 1:30pm – 4:00pm

Moving the Story: Physical Choices for Improvisers Kelly Kitchens

Saturday will build on Friday’s lecture/demo with a deeper focus on how improvisers use movement to create meaning onstage. Rather than simply “moving more,” participants will explore how to move intentionally from one stage picture to the next, using space, shape, distance, rhythm, and physical relationships to tell the story.

Kelly will draw from Laban Movement Analysis and other physical-theater techniques, adapting them specifically for improvisers. Because there is no director telling you where to stand, when to cross, or how to compose the stage, improvisers have to make those choices themselves in the moment. This workshop will help players become more physically aware, make stronger self-directed choices, and create scenes that are visually dynamic, theatrical, and alive.

Meet the Instructors

Inbal Lori

Actress | Improviser | Director | Teacher

Inbal Lori is an internationally acclaimed improviser, actress, writer, director, and teacher originally from Israel and now based in Berlin. A graduate of the Nissan Nativ Acting Studio, she has been writing and performing for television and theater since 2000 and began improvising in Tel Aviv in 2001.

Since moving to Berlin in 2015, Inbal has taught and performed around the world, including throughout Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Colombia, Japan, Nigeria, and China. Her work includes the solo show Fragments of Life and international collaborations with improvisers including Tim Orr, Lee White, and Paula Galimberti. She has received numerous awards and scholarships for her acting, writing, and improvisation, including the Worldie Award from Canada’s National Theatre of the World.

As of 2025, Inbal serves as Artistic Director of the Berlin Impro Festival. Her teaching combines acting, improvisation, movement, storytelling, and human behavior, encouraging performers to make bold, honest, theatrical choices and bring more of themselves to the stage.

Kelly Kitchens

Director | Actor | Arts Educator| Adaptor

Kelly Kitchens is based out of Seattle Washington. Her passion for storytelling is anchored in the practice of fierce collaboration and her thirst for art-making excellence is in service to her vision of a more engaged, inclusive, curious world.

Kelly is an omnivore of theatrical genres, forms, and styles; and whether she is directing an opera, a musical, a contemporary work, or a classic play, she is well- known for her powerful staging, razor-sharp pacing, illuminating the pulsing heart of characters, and finding the edges without losing the center. In addition to creating compelling theater, Kelly is also well-known for cultivating courageous and compassionate spaces in the rehearsal hall, the conference room, and the classroom alike.

Her honors include: Two time recipient of and three time nominee for the Gregory Falls Award for Outstanding Director; recipient of and two time nominee for the Gregory Falls Award for Outstanding Production; Seattle Weekly Readers Poll Best Director; recipient of the Broadway World Critics Choice Award for Best Direction of a Play; two time recipient of the R.A.D. (Recognizing Artistic Diversity in Seattle) awards; two time recipient of Seattle Theater Writers Awards for Best Direction of a Play; named in Seattle Magazine’s inaugural list of “Top 20 Most Talented People in Seattle”; and was a nominee for the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, Mayor’s Arts Award.

Kelly serves as an Artist in Residence for the University of Washington’s School of Music; she is also guest lecturer in acting and directing for both undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Washington School of Drama and for Cornish College of the Arts. Kelly served as the Associate Artistic Director and then as the Co-Artistic Director at Seattle Public Theater, garnering many awards with that organization which also includes the Gregory Falls Award for Theatre of the Year. Kelly earned her B.A. from Vanderbilt University and her M.F.A. from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a member of the Sandbox Artists Collective, a member of Actor’s Equity Association, and a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

Performance Opportunities

Throughout the week, select participants will be invited to join Jules Maes, Duos, and Trios.
Everyone is invited to perform in “The Festival Jam,” the Sunday night closing performance.
Casting and placement will be announced mid-week.

Food & Beverage Info

Friday

Morning coffee provided by Unexpected Productions (thank you, Kent!)
Lunch: Not provided; restaurant recommendations below

Pike Place Food Recommendations

Recommended for location and quick preparation

DeLaurenti Food & Wine
1435 1st Ave
Seattle, WA 98101
delaurenti.com
Above the theater on 1st Ave

La Vaca Burrito Express
1429 1st Ave
Seattle, WA 98101
https://www.pikeplacemarket.org/tag/la-vaca-burrito-express/
Above the theater on 1st Ave.

Friend of Carmela
1904 Pike Pl
Seattle, WA 98101
https://www.friendsofcarmela.com
Short walk on Pike Place

Oriental Mart Filipino Restaurant
106 Pike Pl #509
Seattle, WA 98101
https://www.pikeplacemarket.org/vendor/oriental-marts-lunch-counter/
Short walk from the theater on Pike Place

Additional choices
https://www.pikeplacemarket.org/suggested_itinerary/lunch-break-options/

Saturday

Morning coffee: Not provided; see nearby recommendations below
Lunch is generously donated from Piroshky Piroshky (vegetarian and vegan options available)
Fruit, veggies, and soft drinks will be available

Georgetown Coffee Recommendations

ALL CITY COFFEE
1205 S Vale St,
Seattle, WA 98108
Ph: 206.767.7146

BROTHER JOE
5629 Airport Wy S,
Seattle, WA 98108
Ph: 206.588.2859

HANGAR COFFEE
6261 13th Ave S,
Seattle, WA 98108
Ph: 206.762.0204

Locations & Directions

Workshops And Classes Are Held In Three Locations.

Unexpected Productions’ Market Theater in Pike Place Market

- 1428 Post Alley, Seattle, WA 98101
- The Market Theater is in the lowest (Southern) part of Pike Place Market’s Post Alley. Below the Public Market Center Click, you’ll find Rachel the Pig. If you take the nearest set of stairs downward, it will take you to the bottom of Post Alley. Keep heading downhill, and you’ll find the Gum Wall. The Market Theater is located here.
- Please note that summer traffic in downtown Seattle is extremely busy. Please keep that in mind when traveling to the theater and parking. Here is a link for parking at Pike Place Market. https://www.pikeplacemarket.org/parking-directions/

The Georgetown Studios
- Classroom 1
  - 650 S. Orcas St, Rm 217, Seattle, WA 98108
  - This is a business park, and the entrance is on the west side of the building. Please arrive early. The front door of the building is locked, and Rm 217 is upstairs. Be on time to get into the classroom.
- Classroom 2
  - 5700 6th Ave. S., Suite P109, Seattle, WA 98108
  - This is a business park, and the main entrance is on the west side of the building. We will watch the door for the first few minutes, but if you arrive late and are locked out, the classroom is the windows to the right of the main door, and you can knock to get our attention.
- Located in South Seattle’s Georgetown
  - Food and Coffee can be found a few minutes’ walk away along Airport Way. Be careful crossing some of the roads, as many cars travel through the area during commute hours.
  - If you’d like to take the bus to or from Georgetown, we recommend using Google Maps to ask for transit directions, as the best bus to take can vary depending on the time of day. Make sure and ask your classmates if anyone is going the same direction, as there will likely be locals going between the locations each day.

Notes & Contact Info

Need help during the festival? Our team is happy to assist!

Festival Team Email: info@unexpectedproductions.org
Theater Phone: 206 587-2414

Contact Information

Tony Beeman, Artistic Director, tony@unexpectedproductions.org

Jay Hitt, Managing Director, jay@unexpectedproductions.org

Kent Whipple, Marketing & Development Director, kent@unexpectedproductions.org

Photos

Bill Grinnell will be taking photos of all 8 shows at the theater, plus Jules Maes, the orientation, any late-afternoon class sessions/workshops held in the theater, and, with a slight chance, the afternoon classes in Georgetown.

Photo albums from the Festival—including many of the shows and special events—will be available at the link below. These beautiful collections were generously created by our photographer, who donates his time to capture and curate each album (which takes about an hour to prepare).

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089332627436

If you’ve enjoyed his work and would like to show your appreciation, you can use this QR code to send a tip via Venmo. Your support means a lot and helps make this kind of documentation possible. Please Venmo at @wllmgrin or the link to the Venmo is https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3766643016599309268&created=1715565060