Interested in learning about improv? This is your chance! Just a
$5 donation to help us offset the cost of renting the venue. A
minimum of 10 people signed up is required in order to run the
workshop. Email
to book your spot!
Public Improv Workshops run the last Tuesday of the month, from
7pm to 9pm.
The location changes from month to month, so it's important to let us
know you're coming so we can tell you where to show up! playing
"Where's Waldo?" in Greater Victoria can be a bit challenging...
My name is Todd, and I'm an Impromaniac. At least, I used to be. Four years (1999-2002) as performer and part of that time as co-director, until my incarceration impeded further improv-ing. Ok it wasn't incarceration. But nevertheless, that time with the Impromaniacs was a period that covered some of the best times of my life, ever. The Impromaniacs' continued teachings and improvements, and environment of complete trust and no-fear, forged strong bonds with many coperformers that still exist to this day. I've been gone 7 years, and many friendships are just as strong now as they ever were, and will probably continue to do so for eons yet to come. Especially Andrea, Jonathan, and Silvia, I love you all to death, and cherish our friendships so incredibly deeply. Highlights: trust exercises while camping on Saltspring! Saturday night post-performance partying at that bar in the Strathcona Hotel! Darren Borrowman throwing an old woman off the bus in Singe Festival 2002! Meeting Ryan Stiles & Colin Mochrie! My life acted out for my going away party! Halloween party planning - FOCUS! Althea! The search for... spatula! Big Booty!
I moved to San Diego in 2002 and immediately checked out all the improv troupes. And joined none. Why? They weren't good enough. The Impromaniacs that I remember is a unique place full of warmth, love, and warm squishy goodness, when players could perform as a true ensemble, growing and bettering their skills, and just gosh darn be having fun doing it, telling a story and doing it well.
Thank you, Impromaniacs of old, for accepting me, growing me, making me part of your evolution. It was more than a pleasure to be a part of -- it was very special. Congrats on 20 years, Impromaniacs. I'm proud to have been a part of it. I leave you with... bunnybunnybunnybunnybunnybunnyBUNNY!
It's hard to believe that it's been almost 9 years since I joined the Impromaniacs, a truly life altering event. I think I was always drawn to performing but I was a self conscious youth and it wasn't until I was 30 that I decided that I needed to outlet my creative side and I didn't care what people thought... as much. I was working, as I am now in forestry and my friend, an work colleague at the time, Steve (Improv Alumni) suggested I come to auditions. I said I would think about it and quickly decided that, yes indeed, it was time to stop talking about doing something creative and dive in. Well, the audition date drew near and I got more and more nervous, almost nervous enough to bail on the audition but I managed to drag myself there. Despite how lovely and inviting everyone was, I was ridiculously nervous. I was pacing and sweating as they led us through different games. Despite that, I was having fun and knew I was on to something. My old insecurities were riding tall though and I was sure I wouldn't be asked back... but I was wrong and here we are almost 9 years later. I am so happy I made that leap and that the Impromaniacs welcomed me in. I've worked with fantastic improvisers from around the world and made friends with so many. That spark got me interested in more and more theatre and it's my passion. I've chosen the beginning for my memory but really there are so many awesome moments, my first performance at Mocambo, the festivals and road trip to Bellingham to name a few. I hope the Impromaniacs keep going strong.
It was in the Spring of 1989 that a bold idea took shape in the brain
of Clark M. Clark, thespian and all-around good guy. I had met Clark
several months before; we appeared together in "the Hunting of The
Snark" at The South Island Zone Theatre Festival.
We found that we each
had an interest in comedy, but, although I had vaguely heard of
improvisation, I didn't really know what it was or what went into it.
Fortunately Clark did. I was quite the gadabout at that point in my
life, floating between jobs and looking for fame and -more
importantly-fortune in the world of acting. So, when Clark mentioned
that Langham Court Theatre was looking for backstage help and walk-on
roles, I agreed eagerly to lend a hand.
As anyone who has ever been
involved in a theatrical production will know, the rehearsal process,
while thrilling and creative, has moments of tedium as well. It was
during one of these "waiting for things to happen" periods that Clark
raised the idea of starting an improv troupe. Agreeable soul that I
was, I happily offered to go along for the ride. And what a ride it has
turned out to be, my prettys.
Fast forward to late Summer '89. Clark
had ads and posters advertising the auditions. I chipped in with
legwork, postering Victoria-way fewer bylaws back then-and offering
moral support and enthusiasm. We even had a venue; Clark had settled on
the Fernwood Community Association. Only one thing was missing. The
players. Would anybody show? Or would it be over before it started? The
big day arrived. Saturday. 9:30 am. Emotions tumbled together: Hope.
Fear. Anticipation. Finally, the door opened and in walked one-no,
two!-auditioners. Soon came a third. A fourth! Eventually there were
seven: bright-eyed and eager to get started. Their names still resonate
with me. Phil. Dan. Erin. Another Phil. Joan. Noel. Doug.
The initial
workshops-we called them rehearsals back then-involved introductory
exercises, some basic character work, and Trust games. It turned out
that Phil #1, his brother Dan, and Erin, as well as Clark himself, all
had a background in TheatreSports (tm) and so it didn't take long before we
were working on simple games: Freeze Tag, Line Story, Arms Debate. I
blocked, wimped, and waffled my way through, feeling the initial
stirrings of something which for me would be life-changing.
Oh, did I
mention we had no name at this point? How did Impromaniacs get chosen?
Via a rousing session of "Let's Choose A Name" on an early Saturday
morning over breakfast at Humpty's (now Alzu's). Yours truly raised
the Impromaniacs as a moniker idea, and to my surprise everyone liked
it. It fit. We did improv, and acted like maniacs. Thus was a legend
born. We did shows at a number of small venues that first winter.
Audiences came. More importantly, they liked.
As 1990 moved along, so
too did The Impromaniacs. We workshopped and grew as a company. We
became friends. Some of the original seven departed, but most stayed,
and gaps were filled by young and hungry theatre students. Julian
Polzin. James McKillop. Melissa Vandershyff. By the end of the summer,
we were nine and playing at The Belfry Theatre. Wow. That was nearly
twenty years ago, and The Impromaniacs roll on, stronger than ever.
The
company became a registered non-profit in 1992, produced The Singe
Festival in 1997 and 2000, and has been the first improv company in
Victoria to move away from short-form and embrace long-form. In 2003,
The first Victoria International Improv Festival was produced. There
have now been four, each one growing in stature and reputation. There
have been Cage Matches and TheatreSports (tm). Long-form and Short-form.
Hugs and Grins. And to think it all started with two guys and a flame
that has refused to be extinguished.
Back in the early 90s, my friend Quinn Fletcher and I discovered the Impromaniacs. We were fresh into our teens, and with an insatiable desire to act, we came to every one of their shows. Sitting up at the front, we would shout out suggestions and compete to see which of us would be called on to act as puppeteers or human props. One evening, after an enthusiastic round of Freeze, Jon Argue asked if we would be interested in coming to an audition. Would we!
The rest is a comic book. We spent some fantastic years with the troupe, rehearsing in the attic of an old church, and giving performances at Camosun College. But all good things run their course. Quinn moved on to Montreal after high school, and I stayed until University conquered my life.
Flash forward to 2009 and I'm back in the troupe! It's a whole new crowd and a completely different approach, but damn I'm loving it! I guess the Impromaniacs mean a lot to me.
I will always look back upon my time spent with the Impromaniacs with nostalgic sadness. The time spent, either every tuesday evening, or occasionally performing were moments I will treasure forever. I cannot, ironically, think of any one specific moment as a special memory. My memory works best on emotion, and I remember feeling GREAT when ever I was a part of this unique and amazing group. My biggest regret is not being able to do more while I was there. Its not the same here in Vancouver, heck, you have to PAY to attend an improv rehearsal in this expensive city.
Lets get right down to the nitty gritty here....I nearly peed myself at every show with the Impromainiacs. Mainly because I was among such talented improvers and of course I would laugh too hard. The people, the creativeness and the chemistry on stage was my favorite "memory feeling" of being with the Impromaniacs. The groups diverseness made for some very interesting skits that would bring out the oddest tales at times but usually the biggest laughs. I got married in 2004 and the Impromaniacs performed at the wedding. Anyone that was at the wedding always comments about what a great wedding it was and how they loved the show. All credit goes to that show for setting my wedding off to a great start. Even more impressive was they really had to dig deep for details about myself and the groom. So with the littlest of facts they made an amazing show. Those moments when I drift off I love how sometimes it's the Impromaniacs years that I think about. Congrats on the 20th anniversary !
