A Portland-based comedy troupe hosted a comedy benefit show, Giving from the Art, Volume 1 – United We Stand, to raise funds for the United Way of Southern Maine (UWSM) at the Portland Conservatory of Music on Saturday, Dec. 6.
 |
| Improv-A-Ganza members Tom Aimi, Scott Oliver, David Shuster and Michelle Violette trade lines with comedians Adam Groppman and Amanda Eaton at the Giving from the Art fundraiser PHOTO BY LAUREN KEELING |
“Given the reduction of funding for warming shelters in the area, we wanted to do our part in helping raise money for that,” said Tom Aimi, the troupe’s founder and host. “For those most in need in our community, the winter is the toughest season of the year. We wanted to give back to our community and do what we could to try and make a difference for those without shelter this winter.”
The UWSM was selected to benefit from the event, as one member of the troupe formerly worked with the organization and knew it would be a great choice to work with.
“One of our improv performers, Scott Oliver, used to work at United Way,” Aimi said. “He was very aware of all of the great work that they do for our local community, so it was a no-brainer for us.”
The UWSM provides support and assistance to Mainers in the southern part of the state, including helping with access to healthy foods, and housing, employment and financial planning assistance.
“Events like Giving from the Art are instrumental in helping us serve our neighbors,” said Lucia Rico, Senior Manager for Individual Engagement for the UWSM. “The funds and items raised will directly support warming shelters, clothing distribution, and food security efforts, making a real impact for people facing hardship this winter.”
“The holiday season should offer warmth and stability for everyone,” Elliott Greene, Director of Volunteer Engagement for UWSM said. “We deeply appreciate the creativity and commitment shown by Tom and the entire Improv-A-Ganza team.”
This is just the first of what Aimi is hoping will become a series of events to help benefit the community.
“We plan on doing bi-annual benefit shows from here on out. And, if all the things line up like we hope that they will, our next benefit show around late spring/early summer will be a big one with a very well-known headliner,” he said.
The group invited several comedians to join them and played a series of games similar to the TV show “Who’s Line is it Anyway?” during the event, providing the participants the chance to create quick, funny scenes based on a prompt.
“I think that my favorite moment of the show was at the end where our group, Improv-A-Ganza did the famous “Whose Line” game ‘Scenes From a Hat,’ because we invited up to the stage previous performers from the show to join us in delivering hilarious one-off quick scenes,” Aimi said.
Improv comedy is based on spontaneous creativity and playing off what others are doing in the moment, making it particularly challenging in front of a waiting audience.
“The fact that people could have such quick wit and come up with hilarious things off the top of their head without knowing what was going to come at them always impressed me,” he added. “It’s very difficult and it always keeps you on your toes. It forces you to be present in the moment and be attentive to all of the moving parts of the scene. You never know what thing will spark another great idea and give the scene a whole new spin.”
Improv-A-Ganza was founded by Aimi in June of 2024 after years of hoping for the opportunity to start such a group, when a friend who runs a restaurant in Westbrook was looking for new acts for their establishment.
“It dawned on me then that it was time to actually put it all together and make it happen,” Aimi said. “I’m incredibly proud of where the show has come from and where it is now, and so are the other performers in our group.”
Originally a competitive environment, with performers needing to win a monthly show to remain on stage, Aimi shifted to a core group of performers who formed the comedy troupe as it stands today.
“After the turn of the year though, I decided it was time to solidify a team so that we could collectively develop the show to be better and better with every rendition,” he said. “I’m very glad that we made that change because with our current group of the five of us, we come together and work together in such an awesome way that the show does in fact get tighter and better every single time that we perform.”
The comedy troupe also performs monthly at Batson River Brewing and Distilling on Hanover Street in Portland. <
“One of our improv performers, Scott Oliver, used to work at United Way,” Aimi said. “He was very aware of all of the great work that they do for our local community, so it was a no-brainer for us.”
The UWSM provides support and assistance to Mainers in the southern part of the state, including helping with access to healthy foods, and housing, employment and financial planning assistance.
“Events like Giving from the Art are instrumental in helping us serve our neighbors,” said Lucia Rico, Senior Manager for Individual Engagement for the UWSM. “The funds and items raised will directly support warming shelters, clothing distribution, and food security efforts, making a real impact for people facing hardship this winter.”
“The holiday season should offer warmth and stability for everyone,” Elliott Greene, Director of Volunteer Engagement for UWSM said. “We deeply appreciate the creativity and commitment shown by Tom and the entire Improv-A-Ganza team.”
This is just the first of what Aimi is hoping will become a series of events to help benefit the community.
“We plan on doing bi-annual benefit shows from here on out. And, if all the things line up like we hope that they will, our next benefit show around late spring/early summer will be a big one with a very well-known headliner,” he said.
The group invited several comedians to join them and played a series of games similar to the TV show “Who’s Line is it Anyway?” during the event, providing the participants the chance to create quick, funny scenes based on a prompt.
“I think that my favorite moment of the show was at the end where our group, Improv-A-Ganza did the famous “Whose Line” game ‘Scenes From a Hat,’ because we invited up to the stage previous performers from the show to join us in delivering hilarious one-off quick scenes,” Aimi said.
Improv comedy is based on spontaneous creativity and playing off what others are doing in the moment, making it particularly challenging in front of a waiting audience.
“The fact that people could have such quick wit and come up with hilarious things off the top of their head without knowing what was going to come at them always impressed me,” he added. “It’s very difficult and it always keeps you on your toes. It forces you to be present in the moment and be attentive to all of the moving parts of the scene. You never know what thing will spark another great idea and give the scene a whole new spin.”
Improv-A-Ganza was founded by Aimi in June of 2024 after years of hoping for the opportunity to start such a group, when a friend who runs a restaurant in Westbrook was looking for new acts for their establishment.
“It dawned on me then that it was time to actually put it all together and make it happen,” Aimi said. “I’m incredibly proud of where the show has come from and where it is now, and so are the other performers in our group.”
Originally a competitive environment, with performers needing to win a monthly show to remain on stage, Aimi shifted to a core group of performers who formed the comedy troupe as it stands today.
“After the turn of the year though, I decided it was time to solidify a team so that we could collectively develop the show to be better and better with every rendition,” he said. “I’m very glad that we made that change because with our current group of the five of us, we come together and work together in such an awesome way that the show does in fact get tighter and better every single time that we perform.”
The comedy troupe also performs monthly at Batson River Brewing and Distilling on Hanover Street in Portland. <
