Pittsfield OG Liz and Ben, a Kiwi, Improvise B-Horror at The Foundry
The improv duo, now based in Brooklyn, builds a spooky-season show live from audience suggestions and stories, with "B" standing for Berkshires.
Saturday, October 3, 7:30pm | West Stockbridge, MA
"The Return of the Liz and Ben" comes to The Foundry on October 3. Liz Butler and Ben Jardine improvise an entire show inspired by B-horror movies ("with the 'B' standing for Berkshires," they say) using suggestions and stories from the audience.
Butler is from Pittsfield. She is an improviser, clown, singer, and director who lives in Brooklyn now. In New Zealand she co-founded the Yellow Cat Collective, which makes performance work with feminist themes, and taught at the NZ Improv Festival. She was nominated for Most Promising Emerging Artist at the 2022 NZ Fringe Festival and performed at the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe. She trained at Chicago's iO Theater and the Upright Citizens Brigade in New York.
Jardine is a New Zealand-American writer, improviser, and musician who grew up in Los Angeles. He trained at the same two schools as Butler. His writing has appeared in magazines and poetry books in the U.S. and New Zealand.
The same day, the pair also teach improv workshops at The Foundry, focused on "realistic" improv, which is rooted in emotion and doesn't always go for laughs.
The Foundry, 2 Harris Street, West Stockbridge, MA. Tickets at eventbrite.com.
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After a decade of writing for RI (along with many other publications and organizations) Jamie took over as editor in 2025. He has a masters in journalism from NYU, a wonderful wife, two kids and a Carolina dog named Zelda.
