Winnipeg Improv

The lights have gone down. The out-of-towners have flown home. The turkey gravy from Saturday night's show has been mopped up. Thanks to our faithful staff, volunteers, performers and audience for another great IF. We couldn't have done it without you. Special thanks to: Nick, Todd and the folks at the Gas Station Arts Centre The staff at the King's Head Pub Jack and the crew at the Lo Pub Our radio sponsors, UMFM and CKUW Our Tuesday night Free Laughs peeps Janet Shum: photographer J.D. Renaud: videographer Angela Wells: box office/chef Duncan McNairnay, Dave Michaelson, Tristen Foy, Lukas Conway, Anna Currie, Steve Currie: ushers and door staff Tim and Dan: party hosts Stephen Sim: artistic director Lee White: cruise ship captain Sarah Michaelson: media, volunteer coordination Tyler Sneesby: graphic design ps: We'll be putting some photos from this year's IF up on our facebook group real soon, so join us and get ready!

Tonight's the last night of the 12th Winnipeg Improv Festival. Where did the time go? The week has flown by with simply incredible performances from the festival ensemble. But tonight - this very evening - those same performers are taking their careers to a whole new level, with a sloppy, wild, high energy, prop-laden improvised game show! You must be here to see this happen! Tickets will definitely sell out, so we recommend calling the Gas Station Arts Centre to reserve yours: (204) 284-9477. Saturday, Sept 24th 2011 THE SATURDAY MAINSTAGE SHOW Samurai Davis Jr. & Dim Sum's Super Mega Happy Fun Time Improv Show Atlanta's Dad's Garage will amaze you and shock you with the Samurai Davis Jr. & Dim Sum's Super Mega Happy Fun Time Improv Show. The show is inspired by the world of insane Japanese game shows. Two teams of improvisers compete for the audience's love...and to stay dry. The team that loses each round has to deal with crazy punish...

Friday's mainstage show of the IF will be history in the making. Our talented cast is going to be inventing - yes, literally inventing - an entirely new improv format! There have been other styles out there, like DotDotDot, Ghost Jail's improvised script writing, and now THIS... we don't know what "this" is quite yet, but let's all discover that together. Reserve your tickets now! Call the Gas Station Arts Centre and get your seat for just $10. (204) 284-9477

We are mere hours away from the kick off of the 12th Winnipeg IF... Improv Festival. Holy smokes! Some of us can hardly believe the IF is happening. Our out-of-town performers have landed and are getting mentally prepared to face the hungry Winnipeg audiences. Come warm up at the FREE show at the King's Head Pub tonight: THE IMPROV FESTIVAL SAMPLER PLATTER   Stephen and Lee from CRUMBS host the opening show of the Winnipeg Improv Festival by doing scenes with out of town guests and local players in this Improv Festival tradition. The Festival Sampler show at the King's Head pub is a part of the on going Free Laughs Comedy Series that puts on free live comedy shows at the King's Head every Tuesday night. It is entering the fifth season of production. The sampler is exactly that, a free show that lets the audiences catch a glimpse and “sample” the improv styles of the guests that are coming to play in Winnipeg at the festival. Kick back, enjoy a beverage...

Dave Morris lives and breaths improv, and he is still alive. That is how amazing he is. Here he is doing an Improv Monologue Project where improvisers are given a location, a prop and a costume and then an improvised monologue is magically created. You will fall in love with Dave Morris , everybody does.

Game shows are an amazing genre; and Japanese game shows are an even more fascinating tradition. Many of course are now popular the world over, especially Wipeout type programs. And if'you've ever seen programs like Hey! Spring of Trivia or Banzai , then you know that anything can become a game of chance or an opportunity to bet money. Things like how long you can shake Bill Murray's hand without him letting go, for instance, can become part of the entertainment. "Mr. Shake Hands Man" is one of my favourite Japanese game show characters. Anyways, iIf you're ready to see wild characters, strange challenges and absurd punishments to those who fail, you're ready for Samurai Davis Jr. and Dim Sum's Super Mega Happy Fun Time Improv Show , brought all the way to Winnipeg from Atlanta. Two teams led by Atlanta group Dad's Garage will compete for audience love. See who ends up on top... and who gets covered in peanut butter. Saturday, Sept 24th 2...

Atlanta's Amber Nash has been making waves in the TV cartoon world as the voice of Pam Poovey from Archer (other members of the cast include H. Jon Benjamn, Aisha Tyler, and Jessica Walter, to name a few). Check out this behind-the-scenes clip from the show. Of course, voice acting and eating copious amounts of biscuits aren't Amber's only talents. She can act too.   See Amber Nash live at the Winnipeg Improv Festival, running Sept 20-24. She performs at the following shows: Tuesday, Sept 20th 2011 THE IMPROV FESTIVAL SAMPLER PLATTER King's Head Pub, 120 King St.  |  9 p.m.  |  Free   Friday, Sept 23rd 2011 THE FRIDAY MAINSTAGE SHOW Gas Station Arts Centre, 445 River Ave.   |  8 p.m.   |  $10 Friday, Sept 23rd 2011 THE FRIDAY NIGHT LATE SHOW Gas Station Arts Centre, 445 River Ave.   |  11 p.m.   |  $10  (but only $5 if you keep your tickets from the early show) Saturday, Sept ...

Meet Fraz. Audiences love this guy. He's got boundless energy on stage that spreads easier than butter. He's also got a real knack for impressions. Also also: he can do impressions while singing covers. See Fraz live at the Winnipeg IF... Improv Festival , September 20-24.

Crumbs. You've heard the name. Maybe you've seen them play in their 15+ years together? I sure hope you have. Something that sets these guys apart is their ability to not always push the "funny" side of improv. Their performances are laced with pathos, melancholy, deep emotion. And of course, comedy is in there too. But it's really truly something to show the real, stark things in life through simple audience suggestions like "accountant" or "cop." Watch these and you'll see. Crumbs 22.03.11 First Monologue from www.berlinimpro.de on Vimeo . Lee White performing in Berlin Crumbs Police Monologue from www.berlinimpro.de on Vimeo . Stephen Sim on stage in Berlin Crumbs 22.03.11 Scene Bad Guys from www.berlinimpro.de on Vimeo . Lee and Stephen: their powers combined. Soundtrack and visuals provided by DJ Hunnicutt. CRUMBS performs all week long at the Winnipeg Improv Festival, September 20-24.

Toronto's Kayla Lorette comes to the Winnipeg Improv Festival next week and you never know what characters she'll bust out on stage. For more information on Kayla and our other performers, check out the Performers page. Sit back and check this out!

Get ready for an amazing lineup of improv theatre in Winnipeg, folks. For the 2011 edition of the IF, we have extremely talented performers coming from Atlanta, Edmonton, Toronto and Vancouver. Plus, local favourites CRUMBS and the now-legendary Dungeons and Dragons improv cast will be holding it down to represent our hometown. We're excited to present a free festival kick-off show on Tuesday, September 20th at the King's Head Pub. From there, all shows take place at the Gas Station Arts Centre in Osborne Village: the Dungeons and Dragons show happens Thursday, September 22nd; Friday, September 23rd features a mainstage show and then our famous late-night jam; and we wrap things up with a really special presentation from Dad's Garage(Atlanta) on Saturday, September 24th. Join our Facebook page to keep up to date on all things IF! Look for regularly posted (and hilarious) videos from festival performers. Also, tell your friends about it. Thanks! September 22-24 ...