Live at the NAC: The 2002 Canadian Improv Games! -- Ottawa Regional tournament: March 4-9; national semi-finals: April 9-12; National Finals: April 13
February 26, 2002 -
Ottawa, Ontario -- The National Arts Centre (NAC) presents
the twenty-fifth annual Canadian Improv Games Play-Offs, two weeks of
wild inspiration, electric energy and creative mayhem generated by
high school theatre improvisation teams from all across Canada.
Founded in Ottawa in 1978 by Jamie Wyllie, Howard Jerome and the late
Johnson Moretti, the Games have grown to become Canada's most
geographically dispersed theatre festival and, for many students, an
inspiring and life-affirming event. The Canadian Improv Games (CIG)
are produced in association with the NAC English Theatre.
This year the Games get underway March 4 to 9 with the Ottawa
Regional Tournament in the NAC Studio. Then our two regional winners,
plus the winners of regional tournaments held in communities across
the country, converge to battle it out in the National Semi-Finals
and Finals in the Theatre, April 9 to 13. This year, the Games
welcome teams from tournaments in Lower Mainland (BC), Vancouver
Island (BC), Edmonton (AB), Regina (SK), Winnipeg (Man), Toronto,
Kingston, Sudbury, Ottawa, Montreal (QC), Saint John (NB), Halifax
(NS) and St. John's (Nfld).
Official hotelier for the 2002 Canadian Improv Games Play-Offs is
the Capital Hill Hotel and Suites.
The 20 secondary schools competing in this year's first-round
Ottawa Regional Tournament (March 4-7) are:
Monday, March 4: Lisgar Collegiate Institute, Nepean High School,
Osgoode Township High School, St. Matthew High School, Sir Wilfrid
Laurier Secondary School.
Tuesday, March 5: Brookfield High School, Colonel By Secondary
School, Sacred Heart High School, Sir Robert Borden High School, West
Carleton Secondary School.
Wednesday, March 6: Cairine Wilson Seconday School, Holy Trinity
Catholic High School, Immaculata High School, Mother Teresa High
School, St Peter High School.
Thursday, March 7: Canterbury High School, Merivale High School,
Earl of March Secondary School, Gloucester High School, Ridgemont
High School.
The ten regional winners will compete in the Regional Finals
(March 8-9), and the top two teams overall will go on to join 13
other teams from across Canada in the National Competition (April
9-13).
What Are The Canadian Improv Games?
Celebrating their 25th anniversary this year, the
Canadian Improv Games promote improvisational theatre in high schools
across Canada, offering encouragement and training in improvisation
and helping students develop their creativity, resourcefulness,
problem-solving and communication skills. The Games are a
foot-stomping, hand-clapping, high-voltage riot of youthful
creativity and good-natured competition, where winning means more
than collecting a medal or bringing home a trophy: it means having
fun!
Each team in the tournament is required to compete in five
separate events designed to test and showcase various performing arts
skills. A panel of judges scores the team's performance in each
event. The events are:
The Character Event - The team designs and performs a
game demonstrating its ability to portray characters during an
improvisation.
The Story Event - The team designs and performs a game
demonstrating its ability to tell or perform a story with the use
of narration.
The Life Event - The team designs and performs a game
demonstrating its ability to portray a pivotal moment in a
character's life in an honest and sincere manner.
The Style Event - An improvisation performed in a style of
film, theatre, televistion, etc. selected by the team.
The Theme Event - The team performs a scene or a series of
scenes that explore one or more aspects of a theme assigned by the
referees.
General inquiries about the Canadian Improv Games should be
addressed to National Director, Alistair Cook: telephone (604)
874-7522, E-mail improv@magma.ca;
or inquiries about the Improv Games in Ottawa can be directed to the
Ottawa Regional Director, AL Connors: telephone (613) 726-6339,
E-mail info@ottawaimprov.com.
Additional information is also available at www.improv.ca
or www.ottawaimprov.com.
This year's Games are once again dedicated to the memory of
Johnson Moretti (1951-1999), former Vice President of the
Canadian Improv Games, who spearheaded the growth of the Games from
an Ontario-based competition to a truly national festival.
More important, Johnson played a critical role in ensuring that the
ideals of the Games as set forth in the Canadian Improv Games Oath
were passed on to teachers and players. Johnson passed away on March
30, 1999 after a courageous battle with cancer, and his absence from
the Games has left an unfillable gap. We remember Johnson for
everything he did for our friends, students, families and
country.
The humour and spirit of Johnson Moretti, who had "a heart as big
as his smile," endure in the Johnson Heart Award, presented at the
close of the Ottawa Regional Tournament to the individual who
displays the most enthusiasm for improvisation and on whose life the
Games have had a most positive effect.
The 2002 Canadian Improv Games
in association with the NAC English Theatre
Ottawa Regional Tournament • March 4-9 • NAC Studio,
19:30
Students (with student I.D.) $8.00, adults $11.00
National Semi-Finals • April 9-12 • NAC Theatre,
19:30
Students $8.00, adults $11.00
National Finals • April 13 • NAC Theatre, 19:30
Students $10.00, adults $15.00; Special Patron ticket $50.00
Ticket prices include GST and Facility Fee where
applicable.
The Facility Fee supports the maintenance of the National Arts
Centre.
Tickets are available in person at the NAC Box Office (no
surcharges), through the Ticketmaster link on the NAC's Web site
(www.nac-cna.ca),
and at all Ticketmaster
outlets, or by telephone from Ticketmaster, 755-1111. (A service
charge applies on all Ticketmaster purchases.)
