Vancouver Theatresports League

Coordinates: 49°16′17″N 123°08′09″W / 49.271427°N 123.135962°W / 49.271427; -123.135962

Vancouver Theatresports League

Vancouver Theatresports League

Vancouver Theatresports League logo
Genre Theatresports
Date of premiere 1980
Location 1502 Duranleau Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6H 3S4
Creative team
Performers Brian Anderson, Andrew Barber, Elizabeth Bowen, Chris Casillan, Nathan Clark, Ted Cole, Roman Danylo, Graeme Duffy, Dan Dumsha, Eric Fell, Angela Galanopoulos, Jeff Gladstone, Tom Hill, Denise Jones, Ellen Kennedy, Devin Mackenzie, Alan Marriott, Lauren McGibbon, David Milchard, Allen Morrison, Margret Nyfors, Scott Patey, Bill Pozzobon, Michael Robinson, Randy Schooley, Shaun Stewart, Michael Teigen, Taz VanRassel, Pearce Visser
Sound VJ Delos-Reyes, Grant Godsy, Laura Skelton
Lights Su Scarfe, Amy Wilding
Other information
Executive Director Jay Ono
Board of Directors Marlie Oden, Doug McCann, Gary Arca, Jeffrey Goldberg, Robert Phillips, Roland Monteiro, Claire Brown, Sarah Hentschel
Program advisory committee Jay Ono, Brian Anderson, Nathan Clark, Denise Jones
Instructors Nathan Clark, Graeme Duffy, Pearce Visser, Margret Nyfors
Official website

Vancouver Theatresports League (VTSL) is a Vancouver based professional improvisational theatre company, best known for providing an impetus for the present worldwide interest in TheatreSports at Expo in 1986. The improv techniques pioneered by it are now used for everything from corporate training to TV parodies. In 2014 they started The Improv Comedy Institute, an educational offshoot of the company.

Location

It is located at Duranleau Street across from the Kid’s Only Market on Granville Island, where a unique building was renovated into a 186-seat fully licensed Improv Centre with the help of $200,000 savings by VTSL plus a $500,000 Heritage Canada Grant and a $300,000 term loan from Canada’s largest community credit union Vancity.[1] It performs improvisational comedy Wednesdays through Saturdays. Until 2010, its previous homes were City Stage, later renamed The Back Alley Theatre, the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre and The Arts Club Revue Theatre.[2]

Shows, festivals and competitions

Current shows include Rookie Night, Off Leash, Improv After Dark, and TheatreSports. VTSL is also a six-time world champion in comedy improvisation. VSTL has had two television shows, Instant Comedy which aired as two specials on A&E in 1997 and The 11th Hour, a sketch comedy series on the CBC that ran from 1999-2000. VTSL has been for 25 years the host of The Massacre (previously The St. Valentine's Day Massacre) Tournament and international competition.[3]

Notable alumni

Players and alumni of VTSL include: Ryan Stiles and Colin Mochrie (Whose Line Is It Anyway), Ellie Harvie (The New Addams Family), Dean Haglund (The X-Files & The Lone Gunmen), Gary Jones (Stargate SG-1), Roman Danylo (Comedy Inc.), Penelope Corrin (Royal Canadian Air Farce) and Nancy Robertson (Hiccups, Corner Gas).

Awards

In 1997, VTSL won the Jessie Award for Excellence in Interactive Theatre for High Schools with their production of Free Willie Shakespeare created by Ian Boothby, Dean Haglund and Ellie Harvie.[4] VTSL also produced and directed the Jessie Awards for 9 years.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Vancity loan supports the laughter created by the Vancouver TheatreSports League, Vancity financial co-operative, 2010
  2. ↑ Vancouver Theatresports League, Tourism Vancouver, Arts and Culture, 2014
  3. ↑ The Massacre Returns January 22, Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance (GVPTA), 2014
  4. ↑ Annual Jessie Richardson Award Honors Vancouver Theatre, Playbill, 16 June 1997
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