Cast members from The Upfront Theatre will spend 27 hours straight performing improv on stage beginning Friday, April 8 at 8 p.m. and ending Saturday, April 9 at 11 p.m.

A new show will start every hour with The Upfront’s most popular shows mixed into the lineup, including Hellingham, an improvised murder mystery, and Space Trek, an outer space adventure show.

Throughout the event, local nonprofits will try to fill as many seats in the theatre as possible with representatives. Those representatives will record the amount of time they were in the audience and that time will be applied to their corresponding nonprofit’s final tally. At the end of the event, the nonprofit that has logged the most hours will be awarded a fundraiser benefit show by The Upfront.

Last year’s winner was Bellingham Childcare & Learning Center, whose fundraiser show took place in November 2010 and raised more than $1,400.

“Our people had such a great time participating and the money we raised from the fundraiser show was extremely helpful, especially in this economic climate,” Karen Ekdahl, the center’s executive director, said in a press release.

Tickets will be available at the door throughout the event. Individual shows are $5 or$10, depending on the show time. There is also a “stay as long as your can” pass for $20.

The Upfront Theatre is a 100-seat, cabaret-style venue that offers live improv comedy shows every Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening. Established by Ryan Stiles in 2004, the theater is also available for hire, on or off-site, to entertain any size event and for corporate staff development training.

For more information visit www.theupfront.com or call (360) 733-8855.