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Jan
31st
Tue
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Comedy Shows: Feb. 2-4

Thu, Feb. 2, 8pm —  Another Blueberry Twins Mystery

Sons of a famous inventor, the Blueberry Twins solve more riddles and mysteries at recess than most detectives do over an entire career.  An improvised comedy thriller from Brent & Marc of the Bitter End.  $8 or $5 with a pass.  Facebook event.

Fri, Feb. 3, 8pm —  Smackdown - Competitive Improv

The Friday main event.  2 teams compete for the audience’s favour and the Smackdown trophy. Fodor’s says, “Their Friday night Smackdowns, where the audience determines the winner, are definitely good for a laugh.”  $8 or $5 with a pass.

Fri, Feb. 3, 10pm — The Late  Show with Sex T-Rex, Uncalled For and Outjoust

This Friday we have a special show. As special as a unicorn with straight A’s. As special as an ice cream sundae made of gunpowder. As special as an antique time machine.

We have a set from the two toughest bosses from UNCALLED FOR: The Video Game, Matt Goldberg & Dan Jeannotte. Then there’s the dudes who run the Montreal Improv Theatre, Vinny Francois, Marc Rowland & BJ Walsh, who have finally agreed on their new troupe name: OUTJOUST. To close out the evening, straight from Toronto, darlings from last year’s Fringe and traveling trampoline act family, it’s SEX T-REX.

And it’s only 5$ for all this specialness!  Facebook event.

Sat, Feb. 4, 8pm — Tweetprov


Join some of Montreal’s best and brightest improv stars as they draw upon trending topics, hashtags, as well as daily posts from public figures, regular folk, and YOU to tell stories of love, adventure, mystery, and intrigue!

Directed by Pat Dussault.  $8 or $5 with a pass.   Facebook event 

Want to volunteer to work the door or do lights and sound and see shows for free?  Join the Facebook Group or write us here.

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Jan
19th
Thu
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I caught some footage of Marc chopping down a tree.

- vinny

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Dec
17th
Sat
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Marc and Brent give a TEDxMcGill talk.

- vinny

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Oct
16th
Sun
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From the MPROV 2011.

photo credit: Joseph Ste-Marie

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Oct
4th
Tue
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Finding The Pleasure of Being On Stage

Improv classes drill students on scene initiations, story-telling, finding the game, characters, environment, etc. but there’s something else that a performer needs to really capture an audience’s imagination.  That ineffable quality is the ability to convey the pleasure of play.  An improviser may be technically proficient, great at making offers or whatever, but if they can’t connect to their pleasure then there’ll be something dead in their perfomance.

There’s no one exercise that teaches this.   You need to feel genuinely inspired, connected and interested in your performance.  The best improvisers glow with energy and its difficult to take your eyes off of them.  We need to know what it feels like when we’re inspired and inspiring, and when we’re not.  And in the future, seek out that pleasure, and let the audience in on it, and they’ll love us for it.

-marc

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Jul
30th
Fri
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Jul
17th
Sat
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This is what it’s like working with Marc.

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Jun
14th
Mon
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Montreal Improv Recommends: Shoshinz presents: A Day in the Life of Ms. Hiccup

My decision to see Shoshinz was based on the above youtube video of what I assume was their Fringe-for-all for 2008.  This year’s show features just one of the Shoshinz duo, as the titular character.  Ms.  Hiccup is a strange, clown-like character that goes through her daily routines from morning to night.  The blurb from the Fringe site describes this show best, “[t]his surreal Tokyo comedian will lure you in and bend your mind with brilliant physical theater, dance, absurd music and song.”   Watching Ms. Hiccup, I felt like her show came from a pure desire to entertain, and I was entertained.

-mr

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Jun
12th
Sat
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Montreal Improv Recommends: 7 (X1) Samurai

samurai

A bunch of us went to go see 7 (X1) Samurai at MAI last night.  I was excited to see David Gaines’s one-man rendition of the classic Japanese movie “Seven Samurai” after I watched the 90 second trailer and it did not disappoint.  Gaines is a seasoned and talented physical performer and it was a pleasure to see him switching between characters and establishing whole landscapes with just his fingers and some sound effects.  Although the majority of the play is spoken in a sort-of gibberish Japanese, the actions and characters are supremely clear, which is a testament to Gaines’s presence and precision.

-mr

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