mprov OCT 10 - 14, 2012

The 7th annual improv festival in Montreal, Canada OCTOBER 10-14th Email: [email protected]

[mprov2012]

About Last Night: Sunday Edition

It was the last night at the Montreal Improv Theatre before switching venues for our finale tonight at Theatre Ste Catherine (8pm).

The first show, uh, I missed because it was sold out and we were at capacity. But by all accounts (and the laughter I heard from just outside the room) Easy Action, Theatre de L'Instable and Dave Morris knocked it out of the park.

The second show I got to see because I (vinny) hosted it so they had to let me in. The Ladies' Jam featured a misbehaving fog, a busload of cheerleaders, and a lot of crawling. The Curfew went up second and did series of scenes featuring a prop comic trying to entertain murderers on death row, the real effect of antioxidants and an episode of Jeopardy! where people really were in jeopardy. Closing out the night and the run of shows at MIT was Get Up. They delivered a spectacle where the 60s were the backdrop for change, rebellion and sexual awakening. Also setting up a sweet pad in your parents' garage.

It's the end of MPROV tonight. Check us out at TSC, 264 Sainte Catherine Street East

Sunday, October 14 @ Theatre Ste-Catherine

8pm: Sunday Night Improv

[mprov2012]

About Last Night: Saturday Edition

The post is subtitled Saturday Edition but it recaps Friday night. But the column is ostensibly about last night, so it should be the Saturday edition, right? Confusing? No way.

Our opening show of the evening was kicked off by the shortform jam, with performers from several different troupes combining to play some fun and snappy games and featured an airline PR disaster after letting an unqualified civilian design their aircraft. NYC's envoy, The Curfew took inspiration from a tattooed history teacher & a Shakespeare production with actors sharing roles. Then Victoria, BC's Dave Morris took the stage in a solo show that was highlighted by the best improvised hand-puppet war re-enactment Montreal has ever seen.

The sold-out 10pm show started with Uncalled For set inspired by Gangnam Style and asked the common first-year med school question: "What is a person?" Coming from Austin, Texas, Get Up got up and showed us how father-son relationships really work. The key ingredients are tickling, flying carpets and speaking with geese. The show and the night was closed out by The Bitter End, reuniting as a couple of their members drove up the 401 from Toronto to join us for the fest! It was a creepy horror that was led by a sheriff who just wanted to be listened to but instead made monsters by combining animals like a giraffe and a bear or a giant sloth that was a giant sloth.

It's our second last night of shows and the last night at the Montreal Improv Theatre. Your last chance to check out all our visiting acts and a special guest troupe of French performers playing in English!

Saturday, October 13 @ Montreal Improv

8pm: Easy Action, Théâtre de L’Instable, The Curfew

10pm: Ladies’ Night, Dave Morris, Get Up

[mprov2012]

About Last Night: Friday Edition

The second night of Mprov featured two more shows of improvised theatre. Huge shock, right?

The 8pm show was opened by On The Spot who had to do 15 scenes in 30 minutes. Which  they managed to squeeze in just under the half hour and featured a man doing the taxes while his buddy did the dishes. Then The Brat took the stage featuring Raoul and Pepper saving a baby from a briss and Father Jones' crisis of conscience for leaving the church for his new wife, Baby Girl. Finally, Kirsten & Sandi used their Canadian prairie charms to tell the tale of Bill coming back to town to win the jaded heart of Annie Jill. Sadly, 11 yr old Betsy had plans of her own.

The late show started with Ghost Jail writing and performing feeding each other. We saw a dirty cop get caught with his pants down and the search for a cure for love. Second act was Improv Ronin and their murder mystery, whodunnit? Turns out that the butcher is a pretty good guess for a grizzly crime by a clock. He was undone in the end, like so many others, by not being able to read an analog clock. The show closed with musical improv from Way The Hell Off-Broadway. With a songs about an old-age home, and some ragtime ditties, they capped off another great night of improv with a love song to an audience member whose love life "was complicated" but a song can untangle even the knottiest situations...

Tonight, the out-of-town acts take the stage!

Friday, October 12 @ Montreal Improv

8pm: Shortform Jam, The Curfew, Dave Morris

10pm: Uncalled For, Get Up, The Bitter End

10$ a show or 15$ for both! Tickets at the door. Get there early because we're expecting big crowds... See you soon!

[mprov2012]

About Last Night: Thursday

Last night was the premiere of Mprov with two shows!

The 8pm show started off with Grindprov from TSC taking the stage. Their goal: to do thousands of scenes so that the audience would have a preview of every kind of improv scene.  But, I think there's still some improv left undone.  Following Grindprov was LLCoolProv. Dance and improv and stories about jockeys and their disguised mustachioed managers. The night capped off with MI's House Team (name still TBD). Lots of fun watching  and a hospital run by nuns with no doctors.

At 10pm, it was "It's Not You, It's Me", which chronicled the break-up of a couple who moved in together but found out that being with someone can change you into a person you don't like being.

There's more to come! Like, for example, tonight:

Thursday, October 11 @ Montreal Improv

8pm: On The Spot, The Brat, Kirsten & Sandi

10pm: Ghost Jail, Improv Ronin, Way The Hell Off-Broadway

10$ a show or 15$ for both. Tickets on sale at the door.

[mprov2012]

OPENING NIGHT!

It's finally here!

The festival organizers are covered in paint, sweat, blood (mostly not our own) and glitter. All in the name of putting on the best improv festival Montreal has ever seen. Did we succeed? You tell us on Monday.

Tonight's shows are ready to go!

Wednesday, October 10 @ Montreal Improv (3713 St Laurent #202)

8pm: Grindprov,LLCoolProv,Montreal Improv House Team

10pm: It’s Not You, It’s Me (Tragic Improv)

10$ at the door, 15$ for both shows!

[mprov2012]

@ The Montreal Improv Theatre (3713 St Laurent)

@ Theatre Ste-Catherine (264 Ste. Catherine E.)