Rapid Fire Theatre’s Improvaganza showcases international improv talent

Improvaganza — Rapid Fire Theatre’s international improv and comedy festival — ran June 13 to 23 in Zeidler Hall at the Citadel Theatre.

Various troupes from across the globe played improv games, which often involve a high level of performer coordination, cooperation, and mental acuity. The opening night featured both international and Edmonton-based troupes, including Dark Side of the Room, Gorilla Theatre, and Sphinxes.

Improv is a form of theatre in which the actors have no script. Every scene is unrehearsed, often kickstarted by audience suggestions. Award-winning company Rapid Fire was established in Edmonton in 1981. Though it originally called Old Strathcona’s Varscona theatre home, the company migrated its shows to the Citadel Theatre downtown in 2012 to accommodate a larger audience. Popular and successful, Rapid Fire “[aims] to provide affordable, high-energy improvisation, and alternative theatre.”

Rapid Fire’s artistic director, Matt Schuurman, discussed the merits of improv with The Gateway.

“Improvised theatre… all boils down to creating scenes, moments and stories off the tops of the improvisers’ heads,” Schuurman said. “In most cases, this involves taking a random suggestion from the audience to kick things off.”

According to Schuurman, Improvaganza’s three main goals were to entertain Edmontonians, give local improvisers a chance for professional development, and show performers from around the world how incredible Edmonton audience members are. Schuurman said his favourite thing about improv is its spontaneity. He believes improv genuinely represents how human interaction evolves in real-life situations.

“A lot of [the] reactions that we get from the audience are reactions of recognition,” he said. “A lot of people are laughing at the things we’re doing because [it may be] a thing that [they] recognize or perceive as a comedic emergent pattern.”

Though this year’s Improvaganza is over, Rapid Fire has more shows and festivals coming up soon. From August 16 to 22, Rapid Fire is running several shows in the Edmonton Fringe Festival, including Gordon’s Big Bald Head, The Kidprovisors, and Off Book: The Improvised Musical. This week’s array of shows will be held at the Garneau Theatre. The Prairie Bowl — a tournament between prairie-based improv troupes — will be running in fall 2018. The company also run shows bi-weekly and host workshops.

“The audience inspires what the improvisers are creating on stage,” Schurmann said. “What I want the audience to feel when they’re leaving is that they’ve been a part of … a you-had-to-have-been-there moment.”