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School may be out for summer, but class is back in session at Tri-Valley High.
Local teens from the award-winning improv troupe Creatures of Impulse will be taking the stage at the Firehouse Arts Center Wednesday evening as “Tri-Valley High: The Series” kicks off for its first of four performances.
A serialized, improvised teen soap opera in its seventh season, “Tri-Valley High: The Series” will have one show every Wednesday night this month.
Creatures of Impulse founder and director Mark Duncanson says his role in the improvised episodic soap opera “Liquid Soap” back in 1994 helped inspire the start of “Tri-Valley High: The Series.”
“I was in an improvised soap opera myself and thought it was a great, kitschy format for improv,” Duncanson said. “It lends itself to a fun time.”
While each performance is unscripted and dependent on audience suggestions to help create the plot, the characters stay the same and each show builds off the last. Recaps are provided for new audience members, but the troupe also encourages attendees to come to all four shows to get the full effect.
“Same characters (each show), same storyline — we just don’t know what’s going to happen next,” Duncanson said. “We have a nice retention of audience because they want to see what happens.”
To ensure it’s improvised, during rehearsal the cast only talks about what has already taken place and doesn’t discuss the show outside it. Duncanson has also asked cast members to watch a soap opera so they “can get in that mindset and look at the tropes of the show.”
“These kids want to be there,” Duncanson said of this year’s cast. “They’re so mindful of storytelling and making sure the audience is engaged in the story — that’s what really impresses me.”
Ranging in age from 15 to 17, this year’s cast members are Amador Valley High students Bethany Chase, Kinsey Ferrera, Aisha Mendonca and Donovan Napoli; Foothill High’s Jared Sigman, and Shef Ramakrishna of Las Positas College.
Performances are at 7:30 p.m. July 5, 12, 19 and 26 at the Firehouse Arts Center, 4444 Railroad Ave. General admission tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students. Tickets can be purchased at www.firehousearts.org, by calling 931-4848 or by visiting the box office at the center. The show is best suited for ages 12 and up.