Vancouver International Improv Festival

Ken Lawson

alistair — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 16:34:50 +0000

Ken has been performing at improv festivals all over North America for a few years now; this is one of his favourites. He loves performing locally with Theatresports and other cool groups who will have him. Earlier this year Ken performed with The Second City on a ship in the Caribbean for a very long time. He occasionally shows up on TV and independant movies and is a regular on APTN’s sitcom, Health Nutz ( soon to be shooting season 2 ). He is one half of The Movers, a webseries about movers, and you may have played him as a guy or girl in several video games. He also co-runs the Roundhouse Youth Theatre Action Group and does corporate leadership training. Ken enjoys rocking his Flying V with the comedy metal group Knights of The Night.

The Sunday Service

alistair — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 16:18:54 +0000

The Sunday Service is a comedy group that produces a weekly show held at Kozmik Zoo (formerly Hennessey Dining Lounge) in Vancouver, BC, Canada. They also produce a monthly podcast (The Sunday Service Presents: A Beautiful Podcast) on the internets. … Continue reading →

Charna Halpern

alistair — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 16:11:07 +0000

Artistic Director and Co-Founder of ImprovOlympic
Charna Halpern is a co-founder of the ImprovOlympic, now known as The iO. She was born and raised on the North Side of Chicago. In 1984, with partner Del Close, she began teaching The Harold to many students in the Chicago theatre community. She and Close co-authored the book Truth in Comedy: The Manual of Improvisation with editor Kim “Howard” Johnson in 1994.

Charna Halpern has been teaching performers how to work together for more than 25 years. Halpern’s theaters are the meccas of training in the art of improvisation and act as a recruiting stop for television shows like Saturday Night Live, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report and MADtv, supplying Hollywood with writers and performers. She is also the author of the improv training manual Art By Committee.

Charna will be instructing the International Ensemble.

Chris Casillan

alistair — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 15:39:23 +0000

Chris is a Filipino-Canadian actor, improvisor, comedian, and musician. Currently, he lives in Vancouver, BC where he is a mainstage performer, teacher and writer with The Vancouver Theatresports League, and is an original member of both Urban Improv (four time Canadian Comedy Awards nominee) and Canadian Content (2009 Canadian Comedy Awards winning sketch-comedy troupe). Chris has toured the globe performing with the international hit Axis Theatre stage production, The Number 14 and has entertained the Canadian Peacekeepers in Egypt, Israel, Bosnia and Croatia. Also, he has been on television (Fringe, Killer Mountain), radio (BBC Radio 4) and produced, written and performed in West London with Canadian Content.

Leslie Korein

alistair — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 15:33:43 +0000

Leslie Korein has been performing improv professionally in NYC for the past 8 years, and recently moved to Los Angeles. In New York, she performed with Trike, a Time Out NY Critics’ Pick and INNY award nominee. She also acts, directs and teaches with the nationally-respected arts education organization, The Story Pirates, and has shared the stage with the likes of Jon Stewart, John Oliver, Kristen Schaal, Reggie Watts and even Lou Reed! In addition to performing weekly at the Magnet Theater in New York City, she co-wrote and starred in Girl Camp, a sapphic love musical at the Upright Citizens’ Brigade Theater.

Kirsten Rasmussen

alistair — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 15:30:15 +0000

Kirsten Marie Rasmussen is an improviser who was forged in the hot flames of Rapid Fire Theatre, Edmonton. She played with Rapid Fire for three years and toured with them to many Canadian Festivals. Kirsten now is co-director and founder of the Montreal Improv Theatre, in Montreal Quebec. There she teaches, directs, produces and performs. She recently returned from a tour of her hit show, Dick & Honey’s Guide to Successful living. She is also a proud trainer and judge for the Canadian Improv Games. Kirsten’s speciality in improv is her physicality and characters. Her skills come from many years of dance training and clown workshops. Kirsten is also taking a step into the stand up world; hooray for microphones. She has also recently created a solo comedy show called BLINK BLINK BLINK that was featured in Regina at the Globe Theatre’s Sandbox series and at the Montreal Fringe Festival.

Matt Folliott

alistair — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 15:25:49 +0000

Matt Folliott is an improviser/comedian/actor born and raised in Toronto and currently performs long form improv with Impatient Theatre Co., Standards & Practices, The Jeremy Birrell Show & Sing Sing. Matt has traveled all over North America to perform in comedy festivals including The Del Close marathon in New York, Chicago Improv Festival, The Toronto Improv Festival, The Ottawa Improv Festival, The Vancouver International Improv Festival and Edmonton’s Improvaganza and has had the honour of performing in The Friars Club (NYC) Improv and Sketch competition in New York City.

Matt has trained with Toronto’s Second City, Impatient Theatre Co. (Toronto), Annoyance Theatre (Chicago) and IO Theatre (Chicago) and has had the pleasure of working with improv superstars like Mick Napier, Susan Messing, Jet Eveleth and Joe Bill. He coaches and teaches Improv at Impatient Theatre Co. and Second City as well as other improv hot spots around Toronto. When he’s not improvising he’s making that paper as a voice actor, filling your ears with subliminal thoughts and desires to consume.

Chris Craddock

alistair — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 15:20:25 +0000

Chris is an Edmonton based Actor/Producer/Writer. His theatre work in Canada has been recognized with four Sterling Awards and two Dora Mavor Moore Awards, and his film Turnbuckle was nominated for two Ampia Awards. He is the proud recipient of the Embridge Emerging Artist award, the Centennial Medal for his contribution to the Arts in Alberta, and the Alberta Book Award for his collection of plays for teens Naked at School. His musical BASH’d (co-written and performed with Nathan Cuckow) received a 2007 GLAAD media award.

Chris has recently returned from New York City, where he was performing Off-Broadway with his award winning musical BASH’d! He is the screenwriter for the feature film, The Pharmacist/La Pharmacien. Chris was the 2010 Writer in Residence at the Edmonton Public Library.

Mark Meer

alistair — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 15:12:35 +0000

Mark Meer has been a member of Edmonton’s Rapid Fire Theatre since 1992, performing with RFT across the globe at numerous international improv tournaments and festivals. Mark is a core company member of the Canadian Comedy Award-winning improvised soap opera Die-Nasty, a founding member of the comedy troupe Gordon’s Big Bald Head, the host of the Varscona Theatre’s monthly variety show Oh Susanna! and performs regularly with Atomic Improv. Mark is a writer and performer on both CBC Radio’s The Irrelevant Show and on APTN’s CAUTION: May Contain Nuts. Mark’s voice is featured in a number of video games from Bioware Corp, including Baldur’s Gate: Shadows of Amn, Baldur’s Gate: Throne of Bhaal, Jade Empire, Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening and Dragon Age II. In 2007′s Mass Effect, 2010′s Mass Effect 2, and the upcoming Mass Effect 3, he stars as the voice of the player character, Commander Shepard. Mark is always thrilled by the opportunity to write about himself in the third person.

Matt Horgan

alistair — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 15:08:38 +0000

Matt Horgan has been improvising since 1994, when he joined the “We’re Not Your Mother Players” while attending the University of South Carolina. After graduating from SC with a BFA in Media Arts (completely useless), Matt moved to Atlanta and saw an improv show at Dad’s Garage Theater. He knew immediately he had found a place to call home. Matt has been performing, teaching, directing and writing at Dad’s Garage for over a decade now. In addition to making the adults chuckle from time to time, Matt entertains the young ‘uns as Larry Lederhosen, the human host of Dad’s longtime improvised kids’ show, “Uncle Grampa’s Hoo Dilly Storytime”. He has also had the pleasure and honor of representing Dad’s Garage at a host of tournaments & festivals all over the US, as well as in Vancouver, Edmonton, Regina and Toronto. Matt recently joined the artistic staff at Dad’s Garage, where he now serves as an Associate Artistic Director, monitoring the quality and quantity of butt jokes across all productions.

Kyle Dooley

alistair — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 15:01:40 +0000

Kyle has performed at most of Canada’s improv and comedy festivals, both as an individual and as a part of Picnicface. He can also be seen touring the Maritimes doing standup for crowds anywhere from “dingy bar” size to “well … Continue reading →

Evany Rosen

alistair — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 14:57:38 +0000

Evany is a Toronto native who makes her home in Halifax as a standup comic, actor, writer and member of sketch troupe Picnicface. She has appeared at Just for Laughs, and on TV with TV’s Jonathan Torrens and HBO’s Call me Fitz. She’ll also be starring in the upcoming Picnicface TV series this fall on Comedy Network. In 2010 she earned a bachelor’s degree in early modern philosophy which, according to her father, “seems like a real airtight backup plan.”

Hip.Bang!

alistair — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 14:18:00 +0000

Hip.Bang!’s unique brand of absurd scene work and playful theatricality engages and delights audiences. The duo performs regularly around Vancouver and B.C. and were featured in the 2011 Chicago Improv Festival and the 2010 Rapid Fire Theatre’s Improvaganza festival. Both fellows are members of Vancouver’s Instant Theatre and are co-founders of the Pump Trolley Comedy collective.

The Bobbers

alistair — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 14:12:41 +0000

The Bobbers–queer comedy improv–are based in Vancouver BC and have been making people laugh with their unique comedy shows at festivals, events and now on their very own TV show called Tops & Bottoms on OUT TV. Continue reading →

Ghost Jail Theatre

alistair — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 14:07:05 +0000

Ghost Jail Theatre is an improvised comedy show performed for a live audience. The show features writing and scenes created in the moment without notes or forethought. Each week we randomly select a theme from a piece of writing provided by our audience and perform our improvised take on that theme.

Founded by Ian Rowe and Caitlin Howden in Toronto in 2007, the show ran weekly in Toronto for four consecutive seasons, while simultaneously showcasing the format at improv festivals across the country, and is now settling into its new mobile home in Vancouver.

BUCKO

alistair — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 13:59:40 +0000

One from Calgary, one from Winnipeg. They met in Toronto but they’re here in Vancouver. BUCKO is a character onslaught of two people: Lauren Cochrane and Aaron Merke.* Their form builds relationships on relationships and the outcome is never what you’d expect. In the end, the audience will be swirled in a cluster of awesomeness and bewilderment.

*Performers might be/can be/sometimes will be/rarely are naked.

Picnicface

alistair — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 13:49:52 +0000

Picnicface is a Halifax-based improv and sketch group whose work straddles a line between darkness and whimsy. They have a sketch series called Picnicface coming out this fall on the Comedy Network, and they also made a movie, Roller Town, and book, Picnicface’s Canada (HarperCollins). They’ve been described in glowing terms by Will Ferrell, Dave Foley and Paul F. Tompkins. You can see four of the eight members at this year’s festival. The attractive four–not the rotten, creepy four.

Big in Japan

alistair — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 13:44:39 +0000

Known for their quirky and organic style of play, Big In Japan have been one of the hottest Harold teams in Toronto since 2005. Having rocked improv festivals such as the Del Close Marathon in New York and the Dirty South Improv Festival in North Carolina, Big In Japan continue to push the art form resulting in a unique style of performance that is ever changing.

General Fools

alistair — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 13:40:19 +0000

GFIT was founded in 1997 in Regina, Saskatchewan and for over 14 years the company has had the pleasure of performing across North America at various festivals and theatres including Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Atlanta, Bellingham, and Toronto. Attending VIIF this year will be Mike Fly (creator of the Improv Monologue Project) and Jayden Pfeifer (creator and host of Red Hot Riot) with special guest, Amy Shostak (artistic Director of Rapid Fire Theatre and International Ensemble member).

Chet Watkins

alistair — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 13:34:35 +0000

Founded by Armando Diaz in 2009, Chet Watkins has been a staple on the New York improv scene, providing well acted and physically risky long form improv at the Magnet Theater. Think Sam Shepard meets an episode of All in the Family meets your actual mom telling you about the birds and the bees. In their current form, this ensemble takes a mundane event from an audience member’s week and mines it via a short interview for one of life’s big questions which serves as the jumping off point for a one act play. Masters of the monoscene, Chet Watkins never disappoints. They perform in an open run every week at the Magnet under the direction of Jodi Lennon (Exit 57, The Annoyance, Second City).

Popular Science

alistair — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 13:24:33 +0000

Popular Science is a leading source of longform improv and an official iO West Harold team. With up-to-the-minute games/scenes/monologues, insightful commentary on game and relationship, and even scientific takes on the hottest audience suggestions, we aim to be your first stop for what’s new and what’s next.

Named Best DCT Show at the 2010 Del Close Awards. Popular Science: we’re funny…scientfically speaking.

Dad’s Garage Theatre

alistair — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 13:14:49 +0000

Dad’s Garage is proud to present Kill the Dog at this year’s VIIF.

Straight from the sweet southern home of butter and whiskey (Atlanta, GA), come the improv duo of Amber Nash and Matt Horgan (Amber and Matt are also appearing in the International Ensemble). This comedic couple are long time members of Dad’s Garage Theatre and the recent recipients of mild amounts of fame and even milder amounts of fortune from their latest country music video: Rusty Trombone (www.dadsgaragetv.com). Their newest two-person long form excursion, Kill the Dog, is a live improvised screenplay based on the recognizable-only-if-you’re-in-the-industry screenwriting book Save the Cat. So, what does this mean for you? If you come to their show, Amber and Matt will make up and perform an entire Hollywood-style movie right in front of your very eyes using only the suggestions you give them at the beginning of the show. If you don’t come to see their show, we can only assume that you have never had the blessing of experiencing whiskey-infused butter.

Randy Dixon

alistair — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:34:18 +0000

Artistic Director of Unexpected Productions

Randy Dixon is one of the most experienced improvisational artists in the Northwest. He has appeared in film, television and on local stages. In 1983, he was a founding member of Unexpected Productions and has served as the Artistic Director since 1988. He has conceived, directed, and acted in numerous shows. He is also the founder of the international improvisation group, Orcas Island Project. Randy teaches, performs, and directs improvisational theater all over the world. His book on improvisation, Being Present: Spontaneous Storytelling and the Art of Improvisation was published in German. In addition, he works with and consults with many companies and corporations using applied improvisation. Randy has B.F.A. in Drama and a Master’s Degree in Mythological Studies.

Randy will be instructing the International Ensemble.

International Ensemble

alistair — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 07:16:37 +0000

The International Ensemble is an opportunity for individual improvisers the world over to spend a week workshopping new and new-to-them improv forms. Dozens of performers apply for a handful of spots and work with guest directors to create evening performances live for you, our audience.

The International Ensemble is a group of people who will likely never all work together again. In some cases, you’d have to travel pretty far to see any of them on their home turf. Now you can enjoy all of them, on one stage, at one time, without even leaving your seat.

This year’s ensemble will be directed by esteemed improv legends Randy Dixon and Charna Halpern.

Meet the members of the International Ensemble.

Taylor White

alistair — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 02:18:39 +0000

Originally from Florida, Taylor has been performing improv comedy in New York City since 2005. He is currently a member of Magnet Theater house team Dunk and is a writer/performer with the sketch group Good Morning, Ladies! (directed by Armando Diaz), as well as a frequent guest with NYC’s 4Track. Taylor has appeared in a gaggle of improv shows including CRUSH, Commando, The Friday Night Sh*w, Doom & White, and in the mixed-media sketch shows Mizz Miraculous and Megalomania. He has performed in improv festivals across the United States and Canada. Taylor sometimes works as a roadie and tour manager for nerd rap pioneer, mc chris. He loves Heavy Metal, horror movies, comic books, and cats. Cats more than any of the others, really.

Watch Taylor in action:

The Mosquito

Stanley’s Umbrella Hat Warehouse

Extremely Local News Episodes 1-4

Bananas

Craig Anderson

alistair — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 01:46:07 +0000

Craig Anderson has been improvising in Vancouver and across North America for five years, including work with !nstant Theatre, Second City, The Impatient Theatre Co., and the Vancouver International Improv Festival. Craig is one fifth of the Sunday Service, one half of comedy duo Bronx Cheer and performs with Ghost Jail Theatre. He produces a monthly stand up comedy night at the Waldorf called Ladies and Gentlemen, Comedy. He also produced and starred in the webseries With Friends Like These and Mental Beast, and is sometimes on television.

Christian Capozzoli

alistair — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 01:44:10 +0000

Christian Capozzoli has appeared in numerous ensembles at Magnet Theater including The Evente and The Armando Diaz Experience. He has guested with Second City main stage, been recognized as one of the top improvisers in North America, and his show 4TRACK has been hailed by critics. He also is a member of Story Pirates, performs sketch and stand up comedy and has studied at both UCB Theatre and Magnet Theater.

Amy Shostak

alistair — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 00:54:28 +0000

Amy has been performing with Rapid Fire Theatre since 2002, and is the current Artistic Director. She can be seen weekly at Theatresports, and usually at CHiMPROV too.

Amy is a trainer and judge for Rapid Fire’s high school festival, The Wildfire. She also leads workshops for the public at the Rapid Fire Academy, as well as corporate workshops on leadership and team-building.

Improv has taken Amy many places. She is so pleased to have been able to perform at The Canadian Comedy Awards in Toronto, The Vancouver International Improv Festival (ViiF), The Winnipeg Improv Festival (IF), the Berlin Impro Festival, The Dad’s Garage World Domination Theatresports Tournament in Atlanta, and Vancouver Theatresports League’s St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. In 2010, she went on her first improv tour under the Rapid Fire banner with Toronto’s Kurt Smeaton, traveling to Germany, Austria and The United Kingdom.

Amy has been involved in numerous collaborative projects. Most recently she created My Name is Jonas (Rapid Fire Theatre) with fellow RFT members, Colin Matty and Kory Mathewson, and A Watched Pot Never Boyles (Rapid Fire Theatre) Arlen Konopaki. In 2008, she combined forces with Kirsten Rasmussen and Clarice Eckford, to conceive Kiss My Bus (Rapid Fire Theatre) at The Edmonton International Fringe, a play literally performed on a bus. Previous credits include HAG! (InterFear Festival) and An After School Special…Hardly! (Nextfest), both co-created with Kirsten Rasmussen.

Amy is a graduate of The University of Alberta, where she received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Drama and Art History. She loves heavy metal and naps.

Amber Nash

alistair — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 00:51:40 +0000

Amber is really excited to be back at VIIF. She makes her home in Atlanta where she is the Associate Artistic Director of Dad’s Garage Theatre Company. She is also a member of The Doug Dank Project, Laughing Matters and she performs on stage at Catch 23 on occasion as well. Amber performed with Second City last winter at the Alliance Theatre and is the voice of Pam on the FX show Archer.

Watch Amber in a Dad’s Garage TV video.

And another!

AL Connors

alistair — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 00:49:24 +0000

As with many Canadian improvisers, AL got his start with the Canadian Improv Games. He liked it so much that he’s now Artistic Director as well as producer of tournaments in Ottawa, Montreal and online. At home in Ottawa, AL improvises with Crush Improv, most recently winning Outstanding Ensemble (Crush) and Spirit of the Fringe at the 2011 Ottawa Fringe Fest. AL has performed in all across Canada as well as in China and Australia, and is hella-pleased to be back for his third VIIF. When not improvising, this fall AL’s directing A Company of Fools’ award winning play A Midwinter’s Dream Tale this November as a part of the Great Canadian Theatre Company’s 2011/2012 season; and starring in The 39 Steps at the Gladstone Theatre.