No Script? No Problem! (Part II)

Montreal Improv: l-r Bryan Walsh, Kirsten Rasmussen, François Vincent, Marc Rowland (photo credit: Jeremy Bobrow)

Why do improv?

(part II of a series)

Those times of divine inspiration where an improviser makes it work despite all odds are what we live for.

by Marc Rowland of Montreal Improv

In nature there are pecking orders amongst socially organized species. Bigger chickens peck at smaller chickens and assert their dominance to take the choicest grains and roosting spots. In the chicken coop that is the comedy world, improv may well be the smallest chicken there is. In Canada, stand-up and sketch keep improv in its place, but all over the country high school students are practicing improv, performing shows and competing to prove who’s the best at spontaneous make-em-ups. In fact, Canadians have an international reputation for being particularly good at improvisation. So, if improv is the runt of the comedy litter, then why are so many Canadians doing it?

No Script? No Problem!

Montreal Improv: l-r Bryan Walsh, Kirsten Rasmussen, François Vincent, Marc Rowland (photo credit: Jeremy Bobrow)

What is improv?
(Part I of a series)
by Francois Vincent


Montreal Improv has been invited by CharPo to write a series of articles about improvised theatre. Never one to turn down a soapbox, here we are. I wanted to start by talking about what improvised theatre is to me.


Improvised theatre, improv or impro as it is called in French (and in European English) is best described as "unscripted theatre". It is generally understood to be comedic in nature and comedy is what we teach in our classes and perform on our stage. But not necessarily so. It can be moving, disturbing, arousing, enlightening and all the other things we can find in scripted theatre.