Improv troupe to open theater
Cecilia Chan
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 29, 2007 10:25 PM
What do a schoolteacher, a former congressional aide and a bank loan closer have in common?
They all are members of a comedy troupe called Mixed Nuts, coming soon to a theater opening in Peoria.
Dramagenics Family Improv Theater, with 165 seats, is expected to open its doors sometime in April. advertisement
The performances are modeled after the TV comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway, where all of the lines are made up on the spot, with input from the audience.
"There's another theater in the East Valley that does similar things. They do really well over there," said Joe Kelepolo, the theater's executive producer. "One of the reasons why I wanted to open it here is there's nothing like that for people over here."
Kelepolo said he had been planning on opening a theater for 10 years.
The Peoria resident started doing improv in 1993, but when he got married it meant he had to get a job, said Kelopolo, who earns a living as a computer programmer.
Dramagenics is seeking sponsors or advertisers for its opening season.
The theater began auditions back in November and from there assembled a cast of 14.
Cast members include Joe Simon, an aide to former Rep. J.D. Hayworth; Courtney Robutka, a Glendale High School English teacher; and Brian Kohatsu, owner of a video productions company in Glendale.
The actors receive a percentage of the ticket sales and gratuities from the audience.
The troupe, which rehearses every Thursday night, has performed at the Arizona Broadway Theatre in Peoria, a clubhouse at Vistancia and at Entertainment Alley in Scottsdale.
Kelepolo said the theater is still making its way through the city permitting process and is comfortable with an April opening. He said the theater's original opening date was two months ago.
Until its new home gets the city's stamp of approval, the troupe plans to stage its act Saturday nights at the Peoria Center for the Performing Arts. Shows at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. are scheduled in the theater's classroom for April 7 and 14.
Although the Peoria theater is almost twice the size of the one in Scottsdale, Kelepolo said he is confident of filling the seats.
"I think it will do well enough to at least make it worth it," he said. "Once they (theatergoers) see how it is, they will bring their friends back."
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