Cryptid-themed improv comedy show extends Ann Arbor run

This story is part of a series about arts and culture in Washtenaw County. It is made possible by the Ann Arbor Art Center, Destination Ann Arbor, Larry and Lucie Nisson, the University of Michigan Arts Initiative, and the University Musical Society.

“Tales from the Cryptid,” an improv show about cryptids, fantastical creatures, and other unexplained phenomena, has been renewed for a second run of performances in Ann Arbor, according to co-director Josh McDaniel.

The show’s initial run includes two more shows on Aug. 9 and 16 at hear.say brewing + theater, 2350 W. Liberty St. in Ann Arbor, which produces the show. The second run of shows will be staged on the second and third Sundays of every month in September and October. All performances run from 6-7 p.m. 

The show, which McDaniel co-directed with Havah Roussel, features performers from Ann Arbor, Ferndale, Hamtramck, and other nearby communities.

McDaniel, who also serves as stage manager, says the idea for the show came from Roussel, who “got really interested in the idea of urban legends and monsters and [other] things that people are very keen to believe quickly.” It’s also loosely based on the “Tales from the Crypt” TV show — but fully improvised.

So what is a cryptid, exactly?

“Think stuff like Bigfoot, or the Loch Ness monster, or the Mothman,” McDaniel says — creatures whose existence tends to be in question but who still garner plenty of excitement.

(He clarifies that Jimothy, an unusually shaped raccoon who has captivated the internet in recent weeks, is not a cryptid because his existence has been verified and confirmed by multiple sources. However, Jimothy’s been included in at least one “Tales from the Cryptid” show as an honorary guest.)

“Tales from the Cryptid” draws heavily on audience participation from the start of each show, when audience members contribute to the invention of a fictionalized town where cryptid sightings and other odd things have been happening. There’s also a segment in which the audience serves as a kind of “town hall that is trying to figure out what to do about the cryptid,” McDaniel says.

“Tales from the Cryptid”‘s creators have also set up a phone line that the general public is invited to call or text with their own tales of cryptid sightings or other “odd experiences,” McDaniel says. (They’ve gotten some great material, he adds, including a story from one caller who witnessed what might have been a cryptid — or a true crime.)

McDaniel invites readers to call (616) 228-7309 “to submit their [own] cryptid stories.” These stories are then recreated via shadow puppetry in an entirely improvised format: “The actors have to make up the shadow puppets as they’re going,” McDaniel says.

He’s also noticed “more and more kids” attending the show and participating enthusiastically, noting that it’s a great show for families. And while the shows are structured alike, each performance is unique.

“We never know exactly what’s going to happen,” McDaniel says.

Tickets are $17 and available here.