Epic Rap Battles of History just completed its third season, but co-creator EpicLLOYD (AKA Lloyd Ahlquist) is finding a way to stay busy. On August 1st and 2nd, he will host Off The Top, a pair of unique improv shows that will take place at the YouTube Creator Spaces in LA, London, and Tokyo.
Off The Top, which will be live-streamed on Ahlquist’s YouTube channel, will feature improvised rap battles and a game called “pain-prov”, but the most unique and exciting element of the show will be a series of improv games that will begin with suggestions from the Internet and span three continents.
As with Comedy Central’s new web series Social Scene, fans will be able to suggest scene ideas through Twitter and other social media platforms. Once Ahlquist and his team of LA-based comedians receive suggestions, they will act out a scene in front of a live audience at YouTube Space LA. Guests for that portion of the live stream will include Chester See, Timothy DeLaGhetto, Jessi Smiles, and ERB regular Zach Sherwin.
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Once the scene ends, Ahlquist will pass the torch to YouTube Space London, where two British actors will do the same scene in a different style. From there, the action moves on to Tokyo, where the Pirates of Tokyo Bay will get a chance to make a scene of their own. “We’ll do a scene here in the U.S. and then they’ll replay that scene in London in the style of Shakespeare or in Japan in the style of Kabuki,” said Ahlquist.
It’s a fun, novel idea, one that takes advantage of YouTube’s global atmosphere. If you’re as intrigued as I am, you can check out the two Off The Top live streams, which will began at noon EST on August 1st and 2nd (that’s 5 PM in London and 1 AM in Tokyo.) And if you can’t make it to the streams, don’t worry. The entire performance will be chopped into 6-8 episodes, which will begin airing on YouTube in August.
