CANMORE – With its third year running, the Canmore International Improv Festival (CIIF) is back once again for a Thanksgiving weekend of laughter.
Organizers have dedicated the opening show, Maestro Impro, to the late Jamie Perkins, who was a longtime resident of Canmore.
“He was a big supporter of the festival and a very close friend and was very enthusiastic about improv and the festival,” said Ali Froggatt, founder and co-artistic director of the festival.
As the very first CIIF VIP ticket holder, Perkins’ enthusiasm for improv brought him back to every single show, while also encouraging family and friends to join.
Honouring the life of Perkins, the team created improv scenes inspired by his “incredible zest for life and love of all things Canmore.”
“We had his family write out some anecdotes and stuff about Jamie and we’re going to use those as inspiration to start the improv – just honouring him with laughter and spontaneity, as we know he would’ve loved,” Froggatt said.
Maestro Impro will be open up the festival next Thursday (Oct. 10), followed by an after party at the Canmore Brewing Company from 9:30-11:30 p.m. where people can meet the cast members, as well as a live performance from the Mitch Belot band.
The three-day improv event will feature a mix of international performances from Colombia, Norway, New Zealand and Germany, as well as Canadian improvisors from Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.
On Friday (Oct. 11), the festival presents three exciting improv shows. With Super Scene, the international cast fight for their improv concept to shine through to the very last minute.
Then Norway-based improviser, Det Andre Teatret, will present two very different shows, ThrowAway and Murder She Improvised.
Finishing off the improv weekend is a workshop from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday (Oct. 12) for people who want to try their hand at improv by New Zealand’s Derek and Michi Flores. Wrapping up the festival will be Keith Johnstone’s Theatresports.
While the unpredictability of improv theatre not only brings about laughter, it can also evoke other emotions too.
With the returning show ThrowAway, it is centered around the notion of “stuff we don’t need anymore,” inviting audience members to bring along their unwanted stuff to the show. From those unwanted objects, the cast then reinvents them into a story.
“When we did [ThrowAway] the first year, there was a scene in the show that was the very final scene that I’ll never forget. This woman showed up and she brought a little Kinder Surprise Egg and left it on stage,” Froggatt said.
The Kinder Surprise Egg ended up as the final item left on stage. The cast picked up the Kinder Surprise Egg, which flourished into a silly, yet heartwarming goodbye scene between a father and son.
The son told his father that he needed to go to outer space as the extraterrestrials were calling on him to save the day, which the father ended up accepting.
“It was just very kind of funny, but a very sweet scene that everyone got goosebumps about. It was just very beautifully done,” Froggatt said.
Once the show wrapped up, the cast was then approached by the same woman that left the egg on stage. Overwhelmed, she told the cast that she had recently attended the funeral of a friend’s son and at the end of the funeral, each person was given a Kinder Surprise Egg.
“In the scene, they ended up using the name of this boy and [the cast] had no idea that was his name,” Froggatt said.
“I think that just goes to show just how magical improvisation can be because the performers are just tuned into the moment … It was really magical and I will never forget that and it’s one of the reasons I love improvisation. It has this possibility to go to those really profound places while still being fun, playful and hilarious.”
The Canmore International Improv Festival will take place at artsPlace from Oct. 10-12. Tickets at the door or are available for purchase online at artsplacecanmore.com. For a full list of shows throughout the weekend, visit canmoreinternationalimprovfest.ca.
