SCHEDULE

The Winnipeg if... Improv Festival returns for the 13th time. This year we bring back some favourites and some new players that will blow your mind. The reason we know that they will blow your mind is that they have blown ours. You see, we at the Improv Festival have traveled the world and have performed with some of the very best improvisers on the planet. It is our mission to bring these amazing acts to Winnipeg for our local audiences to enjoy.

Call the Gas Station Arts Centre at 284-9477 or click here for for ticket details.
 
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Tuesday, November 6th 2012
THE FESTIVAL SAMPLER PLATTER

Photo: Janet Shum

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 ongoing Free Laughs Comedy Series that puts on free live comedy shows at the King's Head every Tuesday night. The sampler is exactly that, a free show that lets the audience 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 and a snack while the experts entertain you.
King's Head Pub, 120 King St.  |  9 p.m.  |  Free



Wednesday, November 7th 2012
THE DUNGEONS & DRAGONS IMPROV SHOW

Photo: Janet Shum

This improv show is a hit, a “line up around the block” and a “sold out run of shows” kind of hit for the Winnipeg International Fringe Festival. The show is based on the much-loved game of Dungeons & Dragons, which is a role playing game and just happens to be a perfect fit for improv. This show has giant dice, amazing costumes and hilarity. Did we mention the blood yet? This show has quite the following, so you had better show up in full costume as to not look like an outsider. But don’t worry, you don’t have to be a lover of D&D to enjoy the show… but it helps.
Gas Station Arts Centre, 445 River Ave.  |  8 p.m.  |  $10


Thursday, November 8th 2012
THE COMEDY SHOWCASE

Photo: David Crewe

The showcase features the great local scene of alternative comedy that Winnipeg has to offer, including stand-up comedy and sketch comedy. We also have the amazing Mark Little in town doing a set. Mark is a member of Picnicface (who has millions of Youtube hits and had a TV show on the Comedy Network). Mark won Canada’s top two stand-up comedy competitions: the Just For Laughs Homegrown Competition and the Yuk Yuk’s Great Canadian Laugh Off. Come see the locals rock the comedy stage, too. Hot Thespian Action, Aisha Alfa, Matt Nightingale, Mike Green Winnipeg continues to shine the comedy light brightly. Come down and be blinded!
Gas Station Arts Centre, 445 River Ave.  |  8 p.m.  |  $10


Friday, November 9th 2012
THE FRIDAY MAINSTAGE SHOW

Photo: Janet Shum

This year's Friday night mainstage show is inspired by two special improv formats fused together. First, The Armando Diaz Theatrical Experience, a show originating from Chicago and brought to us thanks to Joe Bill. The idea is that you improvise inspired by someone telling the audience true stories. They say that truth is stranger than fiction, this show proves it. The second format we'll be utilizing is a "Photo Show." This format was inspired after working with Die Kaktussen in Würzburg, Germany on several photography-based improv shows.So what happens when we mash these two improv format ideas together into one super-double-extra improv format? Come find out.

Gas Station Arts Centre, 445 River Ave.  |  8 p.m.  |  $10


Friday, November 9th 2012
THE BIG SMART IMPROV SHOW

Created by Lee White (CRUMBS), this show is a fusion of game shows and improvisation. Several lucky “contestants” battle with skill, trivia and wits to win the “Grand Prize.” What exactly is the “grand prize”? The “Grand Prize” is hilarity. (Grand Prize guaranteed to be shared with the audience)
Gas Station Arts Centre, 445 River Ave.  |  11 p.m.  |  $10  (but only $5 if you keep your tickets from the early show)


Saturday, November 10th 2012
THE SATURDAY MAINSTAGE SHOW

Photo: Janet Shum

Saturday features a two-for-one improv treat!

Set 1: The Bat

An improv show done completely in the dark. The Bat is a long-form improv structure performed entirely in the dark. Created by Joe Bill of Chicago's Annoyance Theatre, The Bat is a modified version of The Harold, in which characters and stores change and evolve organically during the course of three acts. Without the benefit of lights, The Bat functions similarly to a radio play in that half the performance takes place in the minds of the audience, making the part of the creative process.

Set 2: Pairs

This show was created at this very festival. You see, at many improv festivals around the world, there is always the idea to get all the improvisers onstage. What we've done is pair everybody up with a buddy. You will see everyone from the festival ensemble weave multiple story lines with the skill of a clown on a unicycle juggling chainsaws. Except instead of chainsaws, we're juggling stories. And instead of clowns on unicycles, we're improv actors on a stage. Still exciting though: we'll be on fire. (There won't be any fire.)

Gas Station Arts Centre, 445 River Ave.  |  8 p.m.  |  $10


Sunday, November 11th 2012
THE BONUS SHOW

The bonus show at the festival is a CRUMBS show with special guest Joe Bill. This will of course turn a duo show into a trio show. DJ Hunnicutt will be there improvising a soundtrack for the show, so CRUMBS was always pushing the limits of a duo anyway. Joe Bill is from Chicago and has toured the U.S. extensively, improvising for three decades. Stephen and Lee from CRUMBS have been improvising for two decades. All of them finally crossed paths and decided that they should do a show together and that their paths should cross more in the future. This show will be their paths crossing for the first time in Winnipeg.
Gas Station Arts Centre, 445 River Ave.  |  8 p.m.  |  $10