October 2009
20 posts
That's A Wrap
We just wanted to give you all a big thank you for making Mprov 2009 an unforgettable experience. It’s the exchange of ideas and the delight in each other’s talents that can inspire everyone who participated. While we’re still a small community, it’s events like these that help grow it.
Year by year, we’re going to try and make this a better and better festival. If...
Oct 18 - Tonight's Schedule
8pm - Sunday Night Improv ~ with an all-star Mprov cast
@Theatre Ste Catherine (264 Ste Catherine E)
Oct 18 - What Happened Last Night...
Just like the previous night, the shows were being twittered live by Executive Producer François Vincent (Montreal Improv). You can find the evening in ye olde backwardsy-time right here:
http://twitter.com/montrealimprov
Oct 16 - Photo
Photo Credit: Irene Suchocki
Oct 17 - What Happened Last Night...
Last night’s events were being twittered live by Executive Producer François Vincent (Montreal Improv). You can find the evening in reverse chronology right here:
http://twitter.com/montrealimprov
Oct 16 - What Happened Last Night...
Field reporter Anders Yates (Uncalled For) sends in the following report.
The third night of Mprov was an epic mish-mash of people, languages and hilarity!
At 7 PM The Bitter End kicked things off with an improvised Horror story. Set in a small town where city folk seem to always meet unfortunate ends, we followed young John and his pet hawk, Tudors in their quest to uncover the truth. Amateur...
Oct 15 - Photos
Photo Credit: Joseph Ste. Marie
Oct 16 - What Happened Last Night?
No, really. What happened last night? I wasn’t there.
Email us your version of events: contact@mprov.ca.
Oct 16 - Tonight's Schedule
7pm - On The Spot + Andy Eninger (Chicago) 9pm - Crush (Ottawa) + FOCUS (New York City) 11pm - PROJECTproject (Toronto) + Parallelogramophonograph (Texas)
@Theatre Ste Catherine (264 Ste Catherine E)
Oct 14 - Photos
Photo Credit: Joseph Ste. Marie
Oct 15 - Tonight's Schedule
7pm - The Bitter End + Parallelogramophonograph (Texas) 9pm - The Bilingual Show ~ Improcrastination (Ottawa) + Montreal All-Stars 11pm - The Mprov Jam ~ with an all-star Mprov cast
@Theatre Ste Catherine (264 Ste Catherine E)
Oct 15 - What Happened Last Night...
‘Twas Night #2
7pm
Montreal Improv opened the festivities with their second staging of “Epic Fantasy”. This time out it was a lowly cheese-maker who ended the religious war between the witches who burned other witches and the followers of Hydrax the Many-Headed.
The second half featured Ottawa’s Insensitivity Training performing short-form games, including a few...
Oct. 14th - Tonight's Schedule
7pm - Montreal Improv + Insensitivity Training (Ottawa) 9pm - The Gorilla Show (Montreal) + The Bitter End (Montreal)
@Theatre Ste Catherine (264 Ste Catherine E)
Oct 13 - Photos
Credit: Joseph Ste. Marie
What Happened Last Night...
7pm
To launch the festival, Without Annette took to the stage and performed a single story centered on the town of Portland, Ohio. There was a gymnast on steroids, a dubious sports agent, a grieving windower, a hospitable undertaker and MURDER!
On The Spot headlined the first show with a series of improv games. We saw polygamous husbands, newly pitched movie titles, a trip to the technoverse and...
Oct 13 - Tonight's Schedule
7pm - Without Annette (Montreal) + On The Spot (Montreal) 9pm - Uncalled For (Montreal) + Montreal Improv (Montreal)
Mprov!
We are pleased as punch to present a week-long celebration of unscripted theatre. Mprov - The 4th Annual Montreal Improv Festival starts tomorrow night. 6 nights, 13 troupes, 14 shows. It’s the biggest improv event in Montreal and the biggest Mprov ever. We have acts coming in from New York City, Chicago, Toronto, Texas and Ottawa to go along with the local improv acts you may already know...
Workshops are now full
If you had been thinking of taking a workshop, we are sorry to inform you that they are now full. We can no longer accept new registrations.
Oh man, they are going to be so awesome. You really should have signed up. I’m going. Man, I can’t believe you’re going to miss them. I heard about one guy who took them in another town and now he rides a unicorn to work. Serious.
PROJECTproject
PROJECTproject was started in late 2007 by a core of hip, young Toronto comedians. The show involves a rotating lineup of a wide variety of improv styles. We are serving up our signature underground blend of inviting improvised comedy collaborations and experiments with a distinctive recession-defying house-party vibe.
Website - Facebook - Twitter
Friday, Oct 16, 11pm @TSC Saturday, Oct 17,...
Uncalled For
Bouncing off the walls, smashing funnybones, performing open-heart surgery on audience members and making it all up as they go along - fueled by audience suggestions, Uncalled For harnesses the awesome forces of improvised comedy to scintillate your comedy tastebuds. In addition to their work in improv comedy, Uncalled For has recently toured and won numerous awards for their scripted...
September 2009
22 posts
The Bitter End
Made famous by their improvised sitcom turned scripted webseries, the Bitter End are back with new exciting stories about never-before-seen characters.
“…consistently wowing local theatre audiences with their considerable comic and improvisational gifts.” -The Mirror
Website - Facebook
Wednesday, Oct 14, 9pm @ TSC Thursday, Oct 15, 7pm @ TSC
Organizing Committee
Who are the wonderful people behind this lovely festival? So glad you asked…
President/Artistic Director: Terence Bowman (On The Spot) Executive Producer: François Vincent (Montreal Improv) Workshop Director: Marc Rowland (Montreal Improv, The Bitter End) Artistic Associate: Anders Yates (Uncalled For)
Théâtre Ste. Catherine
The one and only venue for this year’s fest is Théâtre Ste. Catherine, or TSC for short.
Located in the heart of the “Quartier des Spectacles”, TSC is right at the center of Montreal’s growing improv scene.
264 Ste. Catherine E. (between St. Laurent and St. Denis)
(514) 284-3939
Tickets - Website - Google Map
Sunday Night Improv
Sunday Night Improv takes an all-star cast from the Mprov festival and puts them in an improv cage match. Each Improviser is selected at random to be in scenes which are then scored by the audience. Those with the lowest scores are eliminated until there is only ONE survivor.
Sunday, Oct 18, 8pm @ TSC
Improv Jam
The Improv Jam will feature a mix of players from local, national and international troupes smooshed together, stored in a Mason jar and placed in a dark, cool place. It’s a hodge-podge of talent, a potpourri of comedy, a mashup of improvised scenes, a stew of delicious proportions.
Thursday, Oct 15th, 11pm, @TSC
On The Spot
ca. 1990 (players may not be as shown)
On The Spot Improv is Montreal’s longest running imrpov troupe. Since their formation in 1990, Spot has performed in comedy clubs, theatres, auditoriums, arenas, outdoor stages, schools, corporate events, weddings, bar mitzvahs, picnics, parking lots and even in a shelter for ice storm victims. They have appeared at festivals and tournaments all over...
The Gorilla Show
The Gorilla Show pits five cast members of TSC’s Sunday Night Improv - Liane Balaban, Pat Dussault, Pat Kiely, Joe McLean, and Jenna Wright - against in each other in an epic battle to win the love and respect of Muffy, a Congolese Gorilla whose elegance and sophistication is surpassed only by her insatiable love of bananas. Each improvisor will take turns directing the others in...
Schedule
Tuesday, October 13th 7pm - Without Annette (Montreal) + On The Spot (Montreal) 9pm - Uncalled For (Montreal) + Montreal Improv (Montreal) Wednesday, October 14th 7pm - Montreal Improv + Insensitivity Training (Ottawa) 9pm - The Gorilla Show (Montreal) + The Bitter End (Montreal) Thursday, October 15th 7pm - The Bitter End + Parallelogramophonograph (Texas) 9pm - The Bilingual Show ~...
Crush Improv
Crush Improv hit the stage for the first time in the Fall of 2007 at Club SAW. Since then, the gang has performed in front of packed houses all over Ottawa. They produced a number of collaborative shows such as the hit series “Improv Awareness” and the Friday Skypetacular, where, for the first time ever, improvisers performed via videoconference as one troupe from two different ...
FOCUS
Hello, Darlings! Come sit down with a cup of coffee (or perhaps a martini) and join the panel of five of New York’s most talkative and opinionated women as they discuss weekly news events and interview alluring guests, from the worlds of literature, politics, comedy, and more.
Giving the ladies of The View a run for their money, the hosts of FOCUS come from a diverse array of backgrounds...
Montreal Improv
Montreal Improv features Marc Rowland and Francois Vincent. When they aren’t busy teaching improv, they’re busy doing improv, like at festivals, such as this one. They promise to enact an improvised Epic Fantasy. Think “Lord of the Rings” with less walking.
Website - Facebook - Twitter - Blog
Tuesday, Oct 13, 9pm @TSC Wednesday, Oct 14, 7pm @TSC
Without Annette
The best improv isn’t just about making you laugh. It’s about shaking your heart so hard that the laughs spill out like rubies, escaped raccoons, winning dice rolls. For ten years Without Annette have been playing stages across Montreal, Canada and the U.S. — gathering rubies, chasing raccoons, betting the farm.
“a 60-minute fit of laughter for the audience” — The Montreal Gazette
...
Andy Eninger
Andy Eninger is a playwright, actor and director based in Chicago. Andy’s solo improv show “Sybil” has been seen across the country, and most recently in Amsterdam and London. He is currently completing a book about Solo Improvisation. He has performed for Second City on NCL Cruise ships, as an understudy for Second City’s Mainstage, and in touring productions for Second...
Parallelogramophonograph
Parallelogramophonograph loves to tell stories. They have used their on-going residency (since 2006) at The ColdTowne Theater to create and experiment with new show concepts. Their original improvised plays have run the gauntlet of styles - from historic and highly stylized period dramas like “The 1930s”, “French Farce” and “Some Like it Improvised” to...
Workshop - Creating Meaningful Moments on Stage
CREATING MEANINGFUL MOMENTS ON STAGE with Parallelogramophonograph
[Sorry, this workshop is now full. No more registrations will be accepted.]
Great theatre is made up of great moments. We don’t have the luxury of re-writes and planning in improv, but that doesn’t mean we can’t treat each moment on stage with importance and weight.
What you will learn:
* Slow down and read...
Tickets
Mprov 2009 features 6 nights and 14 shows of world-class comedy.
General Admission: 8$
Festival Pass: 30$
The Festival Pass gets you into every single fest show (possibly even the ones that don’t exist). These passes are limited in number and once we’re out, that’s it, c’est fini.
All tickets go on sale at the door 30 minutes prior to show time. It’s first-come,...
Improcrastination
IMPROCRASTINATION est la seule troupe d’improvisation qui offre un spectacle bilingue à Ottawa. Le but de la troupe cèest d’unir la spontanéité et les rires des jeux d’impro anglais avec la construction et la créativité des ligues françaises. Au lieu de choisir entre les deux styles et langues, on a simplement mélangé le tout et IMPROCRASTINATION est né. Ce fut conçu en amalgamant le...
Workshops
Solo Improv with Andy Eninger [Sat Oct 17, Noon, @ Théâtre Ste. Catherine, 2 hours]
Create Meaningful Moments with Parallelogramophonograph [Sat Oct 17, 2:30pm, @ Théâtre Ste. Catherine, 2 hours]
[Sorry, these workshops are now full. No more registrations will be accepted.]
Each great workshop is priced at 30$. Please arrive at the theatre 15 minutes before the workshop starts.
Email...
Workshop - Solo Improvisation
SOLO IMPROVISATION WORKSHOP with Andy Eninger
[Sorry, this workshop is now full. No more registrations will be accepted.]
Dive into the world of solo improvisation! Whether you are working toward an improvised solo show, or just want to improve your work in any ensemble,this course is a challenge for improvisers of every level. What you will learn:
* Discover new characters * Learn to trust...
Performers
Andy Eninger (Chicago, IL)
Crush Improv (Ottawa, ON)
FOCUS (NYC, NY)
Improcrastination (Ottawa, ON)
Insensitivity Training (Ottawa, ON)
Montreal Improv (Montreal, QC)
On The Spot (Montreal, QC)
Parallelogramophonograph [aka: Pgraph] (Austin, TX)
PROJECTproject (Toronto, ON)
The Bitter End (Montreal, QC)
The Gorilla Show (Montreal, QC)
Uncalled For (Montreal, QC)
Without Annette...
Insensitivity Training
Insensitivity Training performs a weekly improv show at Ottawa’s Yuk Yuk’s on Elgin st. Playing to sold-out shows at the 2008 Ottawa Fringe Theatre Festival, “these guys have become the city’s edgiest live comedy show in just over a year” (Dharma Arts). Their deft and deadly humour can be found busting guts every Sunday night at Ottawa Yuk Yuk’s on Elgin Street. ...
August 2009
1 post
Say What?
A celebration of unplanned, unrehearsed and uninhibited theatre. It’s Mprov 2009.