The Countdown Improv Festival is back and bigger than ever.
If that sentence looks familiar, I copied it from last August’s arts roundup and may well use it again next year. Now in its ninth year, the Countdown keeps on growing.
This year’s festival hits Ybor City Wednesday, August 6th through Sunday, August 10th, with more than 120 improv acts and an additional venue. Hillsborough Community College’s Performing Arts Building, Countdown’s home since the first festival in 2017, hosts shows on three stages from Thursday through Saturday. In a new wrinkle this year, Ybor improv club The Commodore, which Countdown co-founders Kelly Buttermore and Justin Peters own with partners, has five days of shows and events from the 6th through the 10th.
“With the addition of The Commodore, we’ll have more of everything this year, more shows, more acts, more workshops, more jams,” Buttermore says. “Every year, it just gets bigger and bigger. Now it’s the biggest one of its kind in the country.”
With The Commodore now hosting Countdown shows, Buttermore says it feels like the festival has come full circle. Back in 2017, Buttermore and Peters, a Brooklyn-based improv duo who perform as “From Justin to Kelly,” in honor of the horrid movie starring American Idol’s first two finalists, launched the first Countdown in Ybor with the idea of a traveling festival moving city to city each year. Instead, they fell hard for Ybor, and it became the festival’s home.
In November 2023, The Commodore opened in a plaza off Nebraska and Seventh avenues on Ybor’s western outskirts, and Tampa had a year-round improv venue. Today, Buttermore and Peters split their time between New York and Tampa. Just like the Countdown’s popularity brought The Commodore and improv comedy to Ybor, Buttermore expects The Commodore’s growing popularity to bring a contingent of locally-grown improv fans to the Countdown.
“The idea was always they would feed off each other,” she says. “I think this is the year things really come to fruition because of the growth of The Commodore. The community of improv students is growing. More people are coming to shows. Now we’ve got a lot of new improv fans who have been coming to shows throughout the year who will say, ‘I can see all these groups from all around the country in one place right here? Bring it on.’”
Besides its backstory and Ybor City setting, the Countdown’s format makes it unique. It’s the country’s only improv festival exclusively for trio, duo, and solo acts.
“The fun thing about that aspect of it is it tends to generate more ambitious and unique ideas,” Buttermore says. “A lot of improv is typically performed in groups of five or six, which means you might not even be on stage the whole time, and you have someplace to hide. With this, there’s nowhere to hide; you just have to make it work. It lends itself to some really cool, ambitious, fun work.”
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Jay NolanImprov trio Wisenheimer performs in the Mainstage Theatre during the 2023 Countdown Improv FestivalThis year’s lineup is a mix of returning festival staples and new acts. Here is a sample of what's in store.
There are local acts like Tampa trio Honk & Wave, who make their fifth consecutive appearance. There’s Diane Jorge, who performs as one-woman improvised telenovela Solovela, always a crowd-pleaser. The duo EGOT out of San Diego play a pair of delusional actors, ”two self-proclaimed legends of the entertainment industry.”
Sloogle is a solo (and duo) act featuring St. Louis-based improv performer Joshua Slobe and his scene partner, Google’s AI chatbot. From Justin to Kelly performs at 6 p.m. Saturday. Before that, they’ll join Matt Walker, a fellow co-owner of The Commodore, and make improv history late Friday night with “The Shamrock Shake Straight Bullshit Hour,” in which the three performers attempt to fill a 60-minute time slot while Buttermore and Peters also host shows in the Mainstage Theatre.
Saturday night shows at The Commodore include a local celebrity version of its flagship improv competition, Captain’s Wheel, featuring “Tampa Natives Show" host Mario Núñez; stage actor, director, and marketing guru Karie Goetz; Stephanie Harrison Bailey with Nimble Retail and Ybor co-working space Hive; and Tampa playwright Christen Hailey, whose 2024 Tampa Fringe show, “Captain Havoc and the Big Titty Bog Witches,” apparently drew the ire of Gov. Ron DeSantis with its inventive, descriptive title that jumps off the page.
The afternoons are filled with improv workshops. Countdown’s popular children and family improv workshop and matinee is Saturday at HCC. The schedule of improv workshops for veterans and military members is expanding thanks to a TECO sponsorship. National improv instructor and performer BJ Lange, an Air Force veteran, leads those workshops.
“Improv is great for the stage,” Buttermore says. “It’s great if you want to get up there, be funny, and perform. But the teachings and principles of it actually have a lot to offer in terms of connection, collaboration, and communication. It’s a great program for members of that community.”
For more information, go to Countdown Improv Festival and Countdown schedule
“Sacred Pilgrimage: Gaudí and Galban”
“Sacred Pilgrimage: Gaudí and Galban,” the first-ever traveling art exhibit by noted Cuban-American artist Edel Alvarez Galban, better known as AGalban, is on view at The Portico in downtown Tampa from August 4th through 22nd. The exhibit, inspired by the visionary genius of iconic architect Antoni Gaudí and the ongoing construction of La Sagrada Família in Barcelona, is on a multi-city journey that started at historic Peace Memorial Presbyterian Church in downtown Clearwater.
Special events at The Portico to coincide with the Tampa presentation of the exhibit
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Tarin Mohajeri"Sacred Pilgrimage: Gaudi and Galban" is at The Portico in Tampa through August 22nd, then Creative Pinellas.from August 29th through November 2nd include “The Art of Architecture: A Panel Discussion” at 6 p.m. on Friday, August 8th
. Put on in partnership with AIA Tampa Bay's Center for Architecture and Design, the discussion features leading voices in design exploring the intersection of art, architecture, and spirituality. The Portico, Joe's Art Time LLC, and the Florida Art Therapy Association host an open mic night on August 22nd from 6 to 8 pm at the Portico Cafe to reflect on and celebrate AGalban's artwork.
Following The Portico, “Sacred Pilgrimage: Gaudí and Galban” will be on display at Creative Pinellas in Largo from August 29th through November 2nd before moving on to Miami. The exhibit’s ultimate destination is Barcelona in June 2026, in celebration of the anticipated completion of Gaudí’s monumental masterpiece, the Sagrada Família, marking 100 years since the architect’s passing.
“Sacred Pilgrimage: Gaudí and Galban” is co-curated by Tarin Mohajeri and Antonio Permuy, and supported in part by the Gobioff Foundation.
For more information, go to AGalban
“In a New Light” at Tampa Museum of Art
“In a New Light: American Impressionism 1870–1940, Works from the Bank of America Collection” is on display at the Tampa Museum of Art from August 7th through November 30th.
“This sweeping exhibition brings together over 100 works by more than 75 artists to
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Bank of America Collection/Tampa Museum of ArtImpressionist painter Frederick Childe Hassam's work is part of "In a New Light" at the Tampa Museum of Artexplore the evolution and uniquely American adaptation of Impressionism,” a Tampa Museum of Art press release says. “The exhibition showcases the diversity, beauty, and depth of regional art colonies across the country, from New Hope and Taos to Carmel and Cape Ann. Through vibrant color, expressive brushwork, and dynamic perspectives,
In a New Light traces the transformation of landscape and daily life painting in the United States across seventy pivotal years. The works on view connect precursor movements, such as the Hudson River School, to the modernist currents that followed, offering insight into how American artists shaped a national identity through the lens of Impressionism.”
“In a New Light” is on loan to the Tampa Museum of Art through the Bank of America’s Art in our Communities program, which allows cultural institutions around the world to borrow curated exhibitions from the bank’s collection at no cost.
For more information, go to In a New Light
“Ship of Fools,” “All In” at Tempus Projects
“Ship of Fools,” a solo exhibit by Puerto Rican-born mixed-media artist Edgar Sánchez Cumbas, is at Tempus Projects in Ybor City’s Kress Contemporary from August 7th through September 18th, with the artist reception from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, September 5th.
Known for its vibrant, sculptural abstractions, Cumbas’s work has appeared at the SCAD Museum of Art, Tampa Museum of Art, Ringling Museum, and HCC Gallery 221.
For more information, go to Ship of Fools
“All In: George Anderton, Works from North A St,” a solo exhibition celebrating the expansive, decades-spanning practice of
Tampa-based artist George Anderton, is at Tempus Projects from August 14th through September 18th, with the artist reception from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, September 5th.
“Organized by José Gelats and Kathy Gibson, the exhibition highlights both recent and rarely seen works—many being exhibited for the first time in Tampa Bay— to offer a unique glimpse into Anderton’s evolving visual language,” a Tempus Project description says.
For more information, go to All In
FMoPA accepting submissions for “The Soldier’s Lens”
The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts is accepting submissions for the upcoming exhibition “The Soldier’s Lens” through August 15th. The FMoPA invites active-duty service members, veterans, and their families to share original photographs and videos “capturing their lived experiences in and around military life” for a curated exhibit “that honors the courage, complexity, and everyday humanity of those who serve.”
Selected work will be part of a group exhibit launching in October that will coincide with Veterans Day. It’s part of a larger, multi-phase legacy project that includes an online gallery, public programming, and the development of a companion educational curriculum.
To submit or get more information, go to The Soldier’s Lens
“wearable Art 19: Blurred” at Dunedin Fine Art Center
“Wearable Art 19: Blurred,” the Dunedin Fine Art Center’s 19th annual wearable art fashion show, is August 23rd at Blur Nightclub on Main Street in Dunedin. Featured designers this year are Rya DeMulder, Vanessa Froehling, Cindy Linville, Rogerio Martinn, Neva “The Diva” Durham, Josey Prior, Jhordyn T. Innocent, Bay to Bay Collective, Haley Damon, and Talia Craig.
This year’s show is also a tribute to Blur, “an iconic Dunedin venue that has helped shape the city’s dynamic, inclusive downtown,” a Dunedin Fine Art Center press release says.
“A longstanding advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and a symbol of joyful self-expression, Blur’s cultural impact is woven throughout this year’s theme and celebration,” the press release says.
For more information and tickets, go to wearable Art 19
“Earth and Ocean” at Morean Center for Clay
“Earth and Ocean,” an exhibit featuring the work of Nina Samuels and Charles Morrison, is at the Morean Center for Clay in St. Petersburg from August 9th through October 4th.
The exhibit’s artisanal ceramic sculptures, when submerged, become a new habitat for marine life.
Samuels’s work “focuses on the contrast and connections between industrial items and marine growth, which stems from her marine restoration work submerging ceramic pieces underwater,” a Morean Arts Center description says.
“Her exhibiting art features a series of manmade objects covered in marine life –
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Morean Arts Center"Earth and Ocean," featuring works by Nina Samuels and Charles Morrison, is at the Morean Center for Clay August 9th through October 4th. both sculpted and real. Viewers will find ceramic vessels with meticulously sculpted and glazed textures, sculpted marine debris with ceramic growth, vessel-shaped buoys with real barnacle growth, a small tank with native living growth on it, and more,” the description continues.
Morrison’s work is centered around nature.
“I often use wild clays and other natural materials as a medium to sculpt with,” he says in a Morean Arts Center description. “When I’m not using materials I have sourced from the earth, I’m making work inspired by it. Having grown up by the ocean and now being an artist in coastal Florida, I use the sea as a starting point for my ideas. Anything from the humblest microorganisms to the most revered fish in the sea are a constant source of inspiration.”
For more information, go to Earth and Ocean
“Popcorn Falls” at Stageworks Theatre
Hat Trick Theatre Productions presents “Popcorn Falls” at Stageworks Theatre in Tampa from August 14th through 17th and August 21st through 24th.
“The sleepy town of Popcorn Falls is forced into bankruptcy when a neighboring town threatens to turn them into a sewage treatment plant,” a description reads. “Their only hope – open a theater! Two actors play over twenty roles in a world of farce, love, and desperation, proving once and for all that art can save the world.”
For more information and tickets, go to Hat Trick Theatre
“Te Moana Meridian” at USF St. Petersburg
“Te Moana Meridian: How the Prime Meridian Shapes the World and the Case for Relocating it” is at Harbor Hall Gallery at USF St. Petersburg from August 25th through October 18th, with a panel discussion and reception on September 20th.
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Mario Gallucci/via USF CAM“Te Moana Meridian" is at USF St. Petersburg's Harbor Hall Gallery from August 25th through October 18thDesigned by New Zealand-born, Portland-based artist Sam Hamilton, “Te Moana Meridian” is an immersive five-channel video installation featuring an international cast of performers, artists, and practitioners. The exhibit makes the case that the current prime meridian in London is a relic of a bygone imperial and colonial era and proposes relocating the prime meridian to the open waters of Te Moananui-ā-Kiwa/the South Pacific Ocean.
“Te Moana Meridian” is presented by GENERATOR: USF Contemporary Art Museum.
For more information, go to Te Moana Meridian