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October 2019 - Improvathon Edition

Hi friends! It's Breanna your friendly neighborhood admin here, and it's my turn to help out with the HUGEletter. I want to talk about my favorite time of the year - Improvathon!

So What is Improvathon...

Improvathon is a 28-hour Improv Marathon
Starting at 8 pm on Wednesday, November 13th, HUGE Theater will have basically non-stop improv happening until Midnight on Thursday, November 14th. That 28 hours equates to approximately 55 groups performing, 2 designated meal breaks, 1 dance party, and 14 days of fundraising time.

Hold on, this is a fundraiser?
That's right! In fact, it is the only General Operations fundraiser HUGE leads each year. Improvathon is the fundraiser that makes HUGE... HUGE. It lets us keep ticket prices and classes affordable, let's us offer extensive scholarships and take big artistic risks, and helps us keep the lights on! This year our goal is $75,000, about the cost of keeping this place running for a month and a half. Most of the time we are able to rely on grants, members, and ticket sales to keep HUGE going, but the burst of Improvathon helps us get through rough patches.

Wait... what's this about 14 days?
We time Improvathon to land on Give to the Max Day, GiveMN's day of statewide giving to non-profit organizations throughout the state. Starting November 1, all donations to HUGE through GiveMN are eligible to win prizes such as Golden Tickets worth an extra $1000 which makes each donation potentially count for so much more. These prizes get more frequent and more generous on November 14th itself, but everything November 1-14th counts towards these drawings and therefore towards our Improvathon totals.

How YOU Can Help

Donate & Share

The BIGGEST way you can help is to donate and spread the word.
Every single donation between November 1st & 14th -- be it $5, $500 or $5,000 -- gets HUGE an entry in the drawings to win the Golden Tickets from GiveMN.org so pick your favorite improv groups and give often.

On top of that, spread the word.
I give to HUGE because I love this theater and I want it to keep existing. My mom gives to this theater because she loves me and enjoys coming to see shows here. My mom's neighbor gives to HUGE because my mom is a charismatic individual who can be very convincing standing outside your house on a chill November evening.

Be the link that introduces someone new to HUGE and let Improvathon be the day. Bring a friend to see a show. Send an email to a cousin you haven't seen in years. Help your boss understand why HUGE is a worthy cause.

Share HUGE far and wide, so HUGE can continue to brighten the world with a little more laughter.

Donate Nov 1-15

In my years doing Improvathon, I've nearly done it all - Iron Audience, Box Office, Performing, Coffee Runner, Bartender, House Manager, Donor...you name it. Not to forget about the folks doing things I don't have the skills for like Photographers, Techs, and everyone else involved that I am forgetting right now.

I encourage you to come to the theater and watch as much improv as you can handle, but if that is not enough for you, volunteer as well! The biggest need is for volunteers doing Box Office, Runner, & Photographer. Filling these positions for 28 hours is a lot to ask from our already amazing community.

Check out our Improvathon Guide for more information on all the ways to get involved.

Improvathon Guide

Nov - Dec at HUGE!

Check out this Winter lineup!

Fridays
Family Dinner
My Town presents: Multiverse
Bearded Company: CHRONICLES/
That Woman Is My Grandma

Saturdays
Family Dinner
The Mess
CSz Presents – A Christmas Carol: Unscripted

And as always: Show X,
HUGE Wednesdays, Space Jam,
and Improv-a-Go-Go

Info & Tickets available here!

Oct/Nov's HUGE Hero:
Iron Audience

During Improvaton we will have 28 total hours of improv with very little in the way of breaks (mostly for dancing). You know who is there supporting our performers through every second of that? The Iron Audience!!

That's right. The brave few individuals who commit to staying awake and watching the entirety of our marathon, through night and day and night again they will test their limits of laughter and sitting strength.

The energy our wonderful Iron Audience brings to the room -- be it 3:00 am or (arguably even harder) 3:00 in the afternoon -- is a gift to the performers and keeps our fundraising going strong, even while they are fundraising themselves!!

Do you want to be counted among these fearless individuals? You can be! Just sign up below. (But do it soon! Iron Audience caps out at 25 people!)

Ask Breanna, Improv Admin

This will be my 7th year participating in Improvathon, in just about every possible role. Ask me everything!

Jane asks: "Who are our sponsors and donors (coffee, etc.) and how can we thank them?"

Breanna: In the past, we have had sponsors like Toppers Pizza, Steamship Coffee, & Common Roots. This year's sponsors are still in the works, but if you have someone you think would be a good match, we would love to be connected with them!

Sean asks: Which member of the leadership team is crankiest after 28+ hours of wakefulness?

Breanna: Let's be honest, we all show the strain of 28+ hours in different ways. But I only know one person who danced with scissors last year...

Catherine asks: "Can you implement some form of notification to HUGE supporters who are definitely going to donate as soon as you find out the hour/s of the golden ticket/power hour window?

Breanna: Fun fact! We already know the majority of the prizes that GiveMN will be offering and when! While it can be hard for an organization our size to compete with some of the big-name groups in amount, we are usually #1 in sheer number of donations for our size, over the course of the event. This is GREAT for Golden Tickets, but not as great for Power Hours. Many large amount donors wait for the power hours to drop a $10-50k lump sum that we just can't match. So we will just stick to our amazing crowd of a multitude of smaller donations and try to collect those Golden tickets instead. (unless you know someone who can hook us up with $50k...)
Check out all those GiveMN prizes here: https://www.givemn.org/resources/gtmd/prizes

October 2019 - Improvathon Edition

So What is Improvathon...

How YOU Can Help

Nov - Dec at HUGE!

Oct/Nov's HUGE Hero: Iron Audience

Ask Breanna, Improv Admin

Oct/Nov's HUGE Hero:
Iron Audience