Theatresports: the athletics of improvised theatre

Only a few of us have the confidence and skill to perform onstage. Even fewer can stand in the spotlight and, on the spot, use suggestions from an audience to come up with a scene that has to do with "goldfish who can do Argentinean Tango." Most performers dread improvisation of any kind. I, however, recently saw a few performers onstage who seemed excited at a chance to be a part of competitive improv. You might consider this an odd sight unless you happen to be at Theatresports at Bad Dog Theatre. Tucked away in a corner on Danforth Avenue, it's easy to walk right past the small establishment that houses the company. Yet Bad Dog Theatre stages up to seven improv shows every week. While most improvs are "long form" improv, those which feature a storyline, Theatresports is among the few shows in the city which presents improvin its short form, as popularized by Whose Line Is It Anyway? It involves two teams of improvisers with scenes three to five minutes in length, each involving a game and an audience suggestion before the start of each act.

The two teams set to duel that night were Toxic (Rica Eckersley and Tom MacKay) and the Grumpy Waiters (Ken Hall, Kris Siddiqi and Marcel St. Pierre). After a contest where each had to sing a song to rhyme with an audience suggestion, the last comedian standing earned his or her team the chance to open the show. The teams then took turns presenting their short acts, taking suggestions from the audience and even asking audience members to volunteer onstage for a few acts. After every act, the host asked the audience to rate the skit on a scale from one to five. As the evening progressed, a rather shy audience eventually warmed up and actively participated in the show until its end. Eventually a winner was selected and was presented a mock cheque for a dollar by the host.

Created by Keith Johnstone, the show started out as Theatresports Toronto in 1982 with regular shows at the Harbourfront Centre. "Theatresports combines the action and mayhem of sports with improvised theatre," said Jan Caruana, the show's host and producer. According to Caruana, Johnstone aimed to break down the fourth wall between the actor and the audience and bring back a real kind of joy to theatre that he felt was missing. Over the years, the show has hosted some of Toronto's best comedic talent. Colin Mochrie, Pat McKenna, Bruce Hunter, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, Mike Myers and even a young Keanu Reeves are said to have performed at the show as novice actors looking for some time onstage. Its longevity and popularity even earned the show a spot as part of this year's WinterCity Festival, where performers improvised for a huge audience at Nathan Phillips Square. While a theatre-goer like myself might perceive improv in its short form as a hit-or-miss situation, Theatresports certainly proved otherwise. Without a doubt, it is a one-of-a-kind show in Toronto.