Rollins College

A charismatic priest and an old-school nun square off in a griping story of suspicion that is less about sex and race and more about the nuanced questions of moral certainty.

Click here for box office information and other Annie Russell productions this season.

Performances Seven Nights a Week!
(Typically scheduled for Mon, Thurs, Fri, Sat and Sun performances - check at the door.)

Goodbye to Disney's renowned live improvisational comedy venue. Five professional improvisers redefined theatrical risk as they tackled songs, scenes and tests of wit and skill based on audience suggestions.

Performance Times:
Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays: 8:15, 9:25, 10:40 and 11:50
Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays: 8:15, 9:25, 10:40, 11:50 and 1:00am

David's Warehouse Final Tally: 1094 performances as of September 27th, 2008!

A one-of-a-kind way to start your college career! A team of talented improvisers re-live the joys and challenges of experiencing college for the first time. Brought to you for this very limited engagement by the First Year Experience Program.

Eight people are coming to dinner, but one of them is about to get their just deserts. Murder We Wrote is an improvicidal murder mystery in which not even the actors know the identity of the murderer! Each evening, the audience randomly selects the victim, killer and murder weapon from an oversized deck of cards, and provides other key story elements, thereby setting the scene for a truly unrepeatable adventure. Are you able to put the pieces of the puzzle together before the final curtain falls and prevent the killer from striking again? With literally thousands of possible combinations, no two shows have the same murderous results! One thing, however, is certain: Murder is in the cards...

Online Reviewer, Ryan Price writes: "...my biggest takeaway from this was a desire to enroll at Rollins under Dr. David Charles. You can tell everyone involved on this play was having such a great time, and the fact that people were coming back to watch a second, third, or even more showings is a testament to the fun and intrigue of this production, and the charm exuded by David and his cast." Click here for the complete review.

Murder We Wrote was developed in part with the generous dramaturgical assistance of the Rollins College Student-Faculty Summer Scholarship Program

A traveling troupe of six musicians bring to life an original opera that is created from audience suggestions and an arrangement of props and costume pieces hidden from within their trunk. As the storybook opens and the resulting journey unfolds, audience members are introduced to various operatic terms, techniques and tidbits. Where will (your) opera take place? Who will serve as its star? Will our hero and heroine escape the evil clutches of our villain? Each audience determines the ingredients and the eventual operatic outcome, as after all, it is (your) opera in a trunk!

The Lost Comedies of William Shakespeare
An Improvisational Romp Through the Land of the Bard

Created and Directed
by David Charles

Four strolling Shakespearean players are about to perform the Bard's latest about-to-be-delivered play. One problem: he just died. The solution? Improvise a dead funny comedy based on your suggestions. Return to the year 1616, when men were men, boys were women, and women were confused. Experience Shakespeare that even YOU'LL find funny!!

Featuring the improvisational talents of:

The King's Men: David Charles, Chris Dinger, Gina DiRoma, Stephen Kadwell, Rachel McCabe, Chris Prueitt, Morgan Russell, Darren Vierday and Rob Ward
The Minstrels: David Asher Brown, Keith Dickerson and Marcus Adams
The Lighting Nymphs: Dana Robbins and Matt Cross

"David Charles, the Rollins College theatre professor who moonlights as one of Sak's resident jesters, has come up with a swell concept for the troupe's new show. What's more, Charles and his cohorts have the wit (and, even more important, the training) to make it work. Charles can get up on a stage and improvise a complete Shakespearean sonnet -- better yet, one the audience understands. And his castmates are no slouches in the "wouldst" and "didst" department..." -- Elizabeth Maupin, Orlando Sentinel. Click here for the complete review.

"Hot on the heels of Fourplay, SAK Comedy Lab presents further proof that there's more to improv than sketch comedy [...] The Lost Comedies of William Shakespeare [is] a daring and delightful experiment in fusing pentameter with long-form improvisation. [...] Charles and his rotating cast of players aren't simply peppering their speech with gratuitous 'ere's and anon's; they're performing an iambic improv high-wire act..." -- Seth Kubersky, Orlando Weekly. Click here for the complete review.

Can four improvisers create a one-of-a-kind musical based on audience suggestions? We certainly hope so! Four players explore the human condition in their own unique way, examining the triumphs and tribulations of this journey called life in improvised song! Characters and song inspirations are drawn from you, our audience, to create a truly unforgettable musical masterpiece of mayhem and melodic marvels!

Click here, or on the graphic above to visit the official FourPlay directorial blog where I charted the trials and tribulations of mounting the seemingly implausible!!

"We might as well stop right now and say that the people who have the hardest jobs in Orlando -- no, maybe the hardest jobs in all the world -- are the people at Sak Comedy Lab who make up FourPlay: The Improvised Musical. [...] Director David Charles and his crew have taken on a lot with FourPlay, this second edition of the long-form improv they started in the summer of 2005. Every night it's a different show. When it works, it's a stitch. [...} What you'll notice if you catch FourPlay a couple of times is that some of its cast members [...] are very good at what they do." -- Elizabeth Maupin, Orlando Sentinel. Click here for the complete review.

"All of these people [the characters] tie together somehow, and unlike a real musical, there's a reasonable plot stringing this carefully crafted impromptu entertainment together. [...] Once again Sak spins an engaging story with reasonable sub plots, dramatic tension, and a plausible resolution from nothing. That's more than you can say about Sondheim." -- Al Pergande, Ink 19. Click here for the complete review.

2006 Season...

Mixing the worlds of opera and improv...

(Your) Opera in a Trunk

Created by David Charles

Based on an original concept by Timothy Kennedy

& David Charles

Directed by David Charles

Second Southeast Tour.

What the critics said:

"'(Your) Opera in a Trunk' is a rare treat. Improvisation is a very challenging art form, but opera improvisation is mind-bending, as the cast must create characters and carry out a mini-opera based on suggestions from the audience. This quartet not only carried it off [...] but did it with funny results" -- Andy Metzger, Pensacola News Journal

"an outstanding performance by the Pensacola Opera Company [...] what a wonderfully educational experience this was for our students" -- Sandra Narwood, Workman Middle School Assistant Principal

"The Pensacola Opera team seemed to have such a wonderful gift for enlightening, educating and entertaining these students [...] The laughter and the enthusiasm of the students was such a welcomed sight amidst the backdrop of schoolwork and FCAT testing" -- Lisa Bond, Brown Barge Middle School Parent

Future performance information available by visiting www.pensacolaopera.com,

by clicking here to contact the education director,

or by calling their booking hotline at 850-433-6737.

2006 Season...

Just Closed at Orlando's Premier

Improv-Comedy Venue,

the SAK Comedy Lab:

You Bet Your Asterisk*

Closed July 7th

Fridays and Saturdays at 10:00pm

Audience contestants play for cold hard cash and valuable prizes, pitting their hand-chosen teams of improvisers against one another in rounds of increasingly difficult play. See the improvisational game show where everyone leaves a winner regardless of the outcome!!

Ticket and player roster information available at www.sak.com

or by calling SAK's box office at (407) 648-0001

Click here to see my play schedule for the month.

2005 Season...

Recently at the Annie Russell Theatre:

Pack of Lies

by Hugh Whitemore

Directed by David Charles

Based on a true story, this startling drama tells of two couples, close friends and neighbors. A government investigator thrusts the quietly respectable Jacksons into the middle of an espionage inquiry when he informs them that the gregarious Krogers are Russian spies. Innocent actions take on sinister meanings as the friends struggle between loyalty to their country and to one another.

Ticket information available from the box office at (407) 646-2145

2005 Season...

Premier Season...

SAK Comedy Lab's

FourPlay:

The (Improvised) Musical

Created by David Charles

Directed by David Charles

What the critics said:

"A number of improv musicals have floated through this town over the years [...] but SAK Comedy Lab's FourPlay is one of the funniest and most coherent I've seen [...] Everyone in the cast has brilliant moments, and the highlight is director Charles, who combines wonderful vocal depth and control with the manic energy and creativity SAK pounds into its students. Without him, the show would still be excellent, but the ideas he contributes are transcendent [...] FourPlay is just another of the disgustingly respectable shows that SAK can whip up without a writer" -- Al Pergande, Orlando Weekly. Click here for the full review.

"The bottom line is, will you get a fun evening out for your $13 ($10 for students and FL residents) admission? The answer is overwhelmingly "yes." The fearlessness of the players, the enthusiasm of the audience and the cleverness of the band in paying attention to the rhythms of the actors all work together to give you a fast-moving show that keeps you amused in terms of plot and astounded in terms of watching them make up lyrics on their feet, often in quite challenging situations" -- Charles Martin, East Orlando Sun. Click here for the full review.

"Charles, who also directs the show, takes big chances, and at this show he tried to make the most out of a guy who said he didn't do anything for a living and spends his relaxation time on the couch. This couch potato became the show's central character, and Charles' ode to his couch (sung to the tune of "Send in the Clowns") was Fourplay's musical highlight [...] "Why is life like the yellow stuff on my fingers?" he sang. "The pleasant taste is gone, but the discoloration lingers." -- Elizabeth Maupin, Orlando Sentinel. Click here for the full review.

2005 Season...

Have you experienced the

Orlando International Fringe Festival?

E Pluribus Unum:

Out of Many, One

Created by David Charles

Directed by David Charles

Audience stories and suggestions based around a common theme weave together to form a truly one-of-a-kind long-form improvisational experience. The Impromptu Theatre Company's debut piece features the assembled talents of 14 local professional improvisers and actors.

What the critics said:

"'E Pluribus Unum' offered a great example of what the Fringe does best -- long-form, thoughtful improv that goes beyond the cheap laughs" -- Charles Martin, East Orlando Sun

"Just because E Pluribus Unum is a different style of improv, that doesn't mean it can't be funny or even slapstick, but much of the humor comes from the realistic moments, recognizing yourself in the arguing couple or rude co-worker" -- John Graham, Orlando CityBeat

"tight and diverse and talented and insightful and funny and bizarre" -- Bob Kodzis, Create Magazine contributor

"It was fascinating to watch the improvised interplay between actors as seemingly random and disconnected characters and plot threads were woven into one compelling, powerful, coherent story. Watching this show has all the exhilaration and energy of a storytelling 'free fall!'" -- Robin Schulte, Storytellers of Central Florida, President

Click here to return to Upcoming and Current Productions.

Recent Productions

2008 Season...