Victoria International Improv Festival 2008 ALMOST HERE!

VICTORIA INTERNATIONAL IMPROV FESTIVAL ALMOST HERE

Scripts? This year’s Victoria International Improv Festival (VIIF) performers don’t need no stinkin’ scripts, and they’ll prove it from October 2nd – 4th, 2008, at the Victoria Event Centre (1415 Broad Street).
Bringing the live, unscripted, improvised funny this year are, in no particular order:
!nstant Theatre (Vancouver, BC) – They hope Victorians will appreciate their magical eclecticism as much as the Germans do;
CRUMBS (Winnipeg, MB) – They’ve had a performance interrupted by the police, which is arguably far less demoralizing than performing in Winnipeg during the winter months;
Dad’s Garage (Atlanta, GA) – Intelligence reports their goal is to steal health care secrets from the Canadian government;
PROJECTproject (Toronto, ON) – Choosing to leave the centre of the universe was tough for them, but it only shows what risks this group will take;
Rosa Parks (Vancouver, BC) – Their pet peeve is “lady-prov”, of which this all-female improv troupe promises none;
SCRATCH (Edmonton,AB) – They’re bringing hospitalization worthy hilarity to our fair city;
Emmett Hall (Vancouver, BC) – An improvisational maestro, Emmett will be adding his musical styling’s to shows throughout the festival; and
The Impromaniacs (Victoria, BC) – They’re the hometown heroes and festival hosts – no pressure.

Full ticket and schedule information can be found on the VIIF website, www.viif.ca.

VIIF 2008 would like to thank our Improv God-level Sponsors: A Channel, the Yellow Pages Group, 100.3 The Q and The Zone @ 91.3 for their generous support.
We would also like to thank our Da Bomb-level sponsors: CRD Arts Development, Canadian Heritage, Downtown Victoria Business Association (DVBA) and the British Columbia Arts Council.
And finally, we'd like to thank our Rubber Chicken sponsors - Monday Magazine, Times Colonist, the City of Victoria and the Traveller's Inn.

Festival Inquiries: Jonathan Argue, Producer - info@viif.ca.
Sponsorship Inquiries: Robyn Hovorka, Sponsorship Coordinator - sponsorship@viif.ca.
Media Inquiries: Amanda Smith, Festival Administrator - amanda@viif.ca.

VIIF 2008 commercial goes live!

Big shout of THANKS to our TV sponsor, 'A' British Columbia for shooting and putting together a kick-ass commercial!

VICTORIA INTERNATIONAL IMPROV FESTIVAL TICKETS ON SALE!

September 8, 2008

VICTORIA – Get ready to bust a gut!

Tickets for the 2008 Victoria International Improv Festival (VIIF) are now on sale. “This gaggle of laughter only shows up in Victoria once every two years,” says Jonathan Argue , VIIF Producer. “We’ve grown the festival a little but have reduced the number of seats available – down to 170 from 200. This means that audience members should try to not leave their ticket purchases to the last minute!”

Tickets are available at the following outlets: Lyle’s Place (located at 770 Yates Street) starting Monday, September 8 - Monday to Thursday 10am to 6pm, Friday 10am to 9pm, Saturday 10am to 6pm, Sunday 12pm to 5pm; Victoria Event Centre Box Office (located at 1415 Broad Street) from October 2 – 4, starting at 6pm each day; and online at http://1415broad.ca. Tickets purchased online have a $1 CDN to $2 CDN service fee added to the cost of the ticket.

There are two different types of events: showcase events which feature one or more guest groups for 60 to 75 minutes; and ensemble events which mix individual members of the guest groups for 45 minutes. The showcase events are priced at $10 CDN for general admission and $8 CDN for students and seniors. The ensemble events (Thursday and Saturday evenings only) are priced at $7 CDN for general admission and $5 CDN for students and seniors.

Festival passes are available in limited quantities and provide access to all events over the entire length of the festival. In addition, evening passes for the Thursday and Saturday dates may be purchased for access to all performances for those evenings.

Festival passes are priced at $46 CDN for general admission and $34 CDN for students and seniors, while the Thursday & Saturday evening passes are priced at $23 CDN for general admission and $17 CDN for students and seniors.

VIIF 2008 would like to thank our Improv God-level Sponsors: A Channel, the Yellow Pages Group, 100.3 The Q and The Zone @ 91.3 for their generous support.

We would also like to thank our Da Bomb-level sponsors: CRD Arts Development, Canadian Heritage, Downtown Victoria Business Association (DVBA) and the British Columbia Arts Council.

And finally, we’d like to thank our Rubber Chicken sponsors - Monday Magazine, Times Colonist, the City of Victoria and the Traveller's Inn.

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Festival Inquiries: Jonathan Argue, Producer - info@viif.ca .

Sponsorship Inquiries: Robyn Hovorka, Sponsorship Coordinator - sponsorship@viif.ca .

Media Inquiries: Amanda Smith, Festival Administrator - amanda@viif.ca .

VIIF Needs YOU!!

The Victoria International Improv Festival is looking for a some awesome folks to lend us a hand during our busy festival!

Be a part of the action as we host 3 nights of purely improvised theatrical mayhem!!

Get a cool T-shirt, meet strange and wonderful people and check out Victoria's best improv! Whoo!

Contact Michelle Chowns, volunteer coordinator, at michelle@impromaniacs.ca

The Impromaniacs Present: AS THE LEAVES TURN

VICTORIA – The Impromaniacs, Victoria’s original Improv Company, are thrilled to bring you AS THE LEAVES TURN, FT. DAVE MORRIS IS A STORY TELLER!, at the Victoria Event Centre, 1415 Broad Street on Thursday, September 18th at 8:00 pm.

The Impromaniacs are extremely excited to present a very special evening of improvised theatre featuring special guest DAVE MORRIS all the way from far-away Vancouver! As the Impromaniacs last show before the upcoming Victoria International Improv Festival 2008, The Impromaniacs will be presenting a special long form improvised piece, inspired by everyone’s favourite daytime soap operas entitled AS THE LEAVES TURN. The evening will also feature a long form improvised solo performance by DAVE MORRIS IS A STORYTELLER as he weaves his own special blend of folk spun storytelling magic.

AS THE LEAVES TURN, will feature acting so bad it’s good, as The Impromaniacs make live melodrama based on the audience’s suggestions. Come watch as the Impromaniacs expertly weave together the threads of seemingly separate stories in true to form Soap Opera style. Feuds, friendships and Love triangles, squares, pentagons and even possibly hexagons will be formed then shattered as twist after twist will leave the audience shocked and gasping for more. Veteran Vancouver virtuoso improviser Dave Morris will then bring things back down to reality, with a solo improvised performance steeped in the age-old traditions of storytelling that will feature a hearty helping of honesty as Dave Morris creates live improv magic as only he can.
The entire performance will be created before the audience’s eyes, as we take our inspiration from audience suggestions and instantly weave them into improvised stories that are sure to delight! We've got something for everyone! Bring the whole family (and your best suggestions) out for this evening of great live entertainment featuring The Impromaniacs and special guest DAVE MORRIS IS A STORYTELLER.

What: Impromaniacs present AS THE LEAVES TURN, FT. DAVE MORRIS
Where: Victoria Event Centre, 1415 Broad Street – right across from the A-Channel
When: Thursday, September 18th, 2008
Doors open: 7:30pm
Performance starts: 8:00 pm (100 minute run, includes one 20 minute intermission)

Tickets at door: $10 General, $8 for Students/Seniors
Advance Tickets: $7 General, $5 for Students/Seniors

Advance Tickets available at: Lyle's Place – 770 Yates Street

For more information, please contact Ryan Whyte, Media Liaison, at media@impromaniacs.com, 250.507.4671.
The Impromaniacs acknowledge the financial assistance of The Province of British Columbia.