Northwest Film Forum

Equal parts musical comedy, dance film and mockumentary, Improvement Club is a delightful new film that traces a Seattle performance group’s attempt to probe the failings of the American Revolution. When the ensemble loses its shot at a New York premiere, their wish for an audience takes them to the backwoods of the Pacific Northwest on what becomes a surreal quest for trust, togetherness and the meaning of artistic struggle.

Loosely inspired by the creation of Gloria’s Cause, a live, dance-driven rock musical by Seattle artist Dayna Hanson, Improvement Club takes an approach to narrative that borrows freely from dance theater—musical tropes (via interludes which punctuate the story). Dialogue gives way to songs, dance breaks and dreamy visual ideas. The film swoops from profoundly human, everyday situations to soaring flights of the imagination and back again in a kaleidoscopic story of love, loss and freedom.

• Read more about Dayna's work via Velocity Dance Center's Artist In Residence program.
   
• Don't miss Dayna's new live work The Clay Duke at On the Boards (December 5 - 8), a surreally beautiful recreation of a fateful Panama City school board meeting, featuring a mix of theater, dance, and music.

"Charming, buoyant and self-assured, Dayna Hanson’s “Improvement Club” is a Seattle comedy not quite like any other. . .Featuring some of the city’s most respected artists and performers playing themselves in an increasingly absurd tale of a luckless dance troupe, the film has broad appeal. . .Hanson also proves a rigorous, inventive film director, making every shot interesting and infusing “Improvement Club” with welcome bursts of goofy, unapologetic joy." -The Seattle Times

"What makes the film special is its refusal to play up . . .we're submerged in the reality of the situations (which still makes room for plenty of laughs). Small and lovely performances abound" —The Stranger