Heightening Your Scene with Jonas McLean

November 21, 2024 @ 7:30 pm 9:30 pm EST

The Workshop

Do your scenes have great offers but feel like they aren’t living up to their potential? Are your shows full of fun characters who get discarded after one scene? Do you suspect your scene partners might be playing a different game of the scene from you? Try heightening! In this workshop you will practice taking your scenes to new heights. You’ll learn different ways to “raise the stakes”, how to keep a good thing going, and how to get your audience to follow stay with you when things get weird.

The Instructor

Jonas (he/him/they) got his start improvising as a player in the Canadian Improv Games 17 years ago, going on to volunteer for the games as a workshop leader, referee, and judge. Jonas has collected some expensive papers called degrees, including an Honours Bachelor’s in Dramatic Arts with a concentration in Theatre Praxis, a Bachelor’s of Education with Drama, English, and Social Sciences, and a Master’s in Theatre Theory and Dramaturgy for which his thesis, Can I Get a Volunteer: Contemporary Improvised Theatre and the Audience, focused on current examples of improv and audience participation. Jonas has performed on stages around Ottawa, Toronto, and Niagara, often in groups focused on narrative or genre-based improv including KO Improv, Outtake Improv, and currently Tangent Quest.

$40

9056517768

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4 Nihan Drive
St Catharines, Ontario L2N 1L1 Canada
289-407-6130
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Slashy Slashy – An Improvised Slasher Movie

October 31, 2024 @ 8:00 pm 9:30 pm EDT

I’ve attached some images for promo for our Halloween show at Spotlight. We’re VERY excited about it.

The call’s coming from INSIDE the club! 

Join Improv Niagara as we take you on the spookiest, scariest, slashy-est horror movie EVER. 

Even scarier, it’s completely live and improvised right before your very eyes.

Horror and comedy. Together at last. 

9056517768

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92 St. Paul Street
St. Catharines, ON L2R 3M2 Canada
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289-273-2123
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Fun Drop-In Improv Jam

October 28 @ 4:05 pm

Join us for Improv Niagara’s Improv Jam Night. Come give improv a try!

Open to all levels of experience! We warmly welcome individuals at any stage of their journey. Whether you are just starting out or have years of experience under your belt, this opportunity is for you. Embrace the excitement of learning and growing, as we believe that every level of experience brings unique perspectives and valuable contributions. Come join the fun and unlock your potential!

Tips: Dress comfortably (we’ll be moving around quite a bit) & bring a bottle of water.

REMINDER! Don’t forget to bring your indoor shoes.

Before attending, please read our Anti-Harrassment and Anti-Discrimination Policy.

Tickets

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4 Nihan Drive
St Catharines, Ontario L2N 1L1 Canada
289-407-6130
View Venue Website

9056517768

View Organizer Website

Improv Fallout End of Year Bash

October 28 @ 4:05 pm

It’s time! Finally. Celebrate the holidays! Enjoy friends, drinks and live comedy. And rejoice. Spend time with your pals at Improv Niagara!

So, come on out! Have fun. It’s the “Improv Fallout End of Year Bash!”

Don’t miss out.

241 Saint Paul Street
St. Catharines, ON L2R 3M7 Canada
+ Google Map
905-685-4040
View Venue Website

9056517768

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The cast of Improv Niagara on stage at Mahtay Café, posing with Colin Mochrie.
Uncategorized

In Conversation with Colin Mochrie

What do you say when you get that chance to meet one of your role models? Well, it turns out quite a bit! Last week, the crew from Improv Niagara got to have a private sit-down talk with Colin Mochrie, on our home turf of Mahtay Café, for over an hour!

We talked about everything Improv: What are his favourite games? (“Greatest Hits” with Ryan were always memorable ones for him.) What was it like to audition for Whose Line is it Anyway? (He got turned down the first time he auditioned for the British version of the show, believe it or not!)

We also got to learn a lot about his new show “Hyprov,” where he performs with professional hypnotist Asad Mecci. In this show, Mecci brings people on stage and hypnotizes them, removing all their fears and self-doubt, then proceeds to get them to improvise scenes with Colin. Most of the IN team also got to see the show later on in the evening and we were all thoroughly entertained. We're so thankful Colin took the time to meet with us! Maybe someday we will all get to meet again... maybe even on stage!
Dina Senior
Co-Founder, Improv Niagara
Improv, Longform, Shows

Isn’t Armando a Person?

This Saturday, in addition to hosting an Improv Jam for everyone in Niagara’s improv community to come play, the cast of Improv Niagara will be performing a well-known longform format called “Armando” (named after Armando Diaz, NYC improviser and founder of the Magnet Theatre.) 

We asked Mickie Krish to tell us how he feels about Armando:

Over the past year I was asked if I wanted to participate in an “Armando”. At first I thought, “Isn’t Armando a person? How do you participate in a person?" Secondly, “Isn’t that the name Will Ferrell says in Elf? Armando, Armando... Francisco. Nope it isn’t that name.” Thirdly, “I desperately want to be liked and to have attention, so whatever it is, the answer is; “YES!” Of course, I played it cool and agreed. “Yeah, uh... If I could fit it into my schedule...” One of the best decisions I have made!

As I have had the opportunity to perform Improv, the Armando style has been the form that appeals to me most. A brief summary is that the performers will get a suggestion word from the audience. One of the performers then comes forward and tells a true story about their life that the suggested word brings to their mind. Then the rest of the performers move forward and improvise scenes that the story brings to their mind.

This style allows for so much creativity and fun. You truly get to see a little bit of how the performers' minds work based on what they create from the given material.

The other reason I love this form is that, my experience shows that a lot of improv is finding the first person willing to step out with an idea and then the rest of the performers are in many ways scrapping their idea to fully commit to what has been presented. In an Armando, we see multiple scenes of where the suggested story takes people. So you can see multiple people's creativity on full display. And ALL OF THIS, comes from a one word suggestion!

As we have performed the Armando style, I have been more and more impressed with the performers from Improv Niagara. The creativity and level of skill that is demonstrated in being able to go from one idea to the next and the various ways that the performers are able to go to create a hilarious scene from a one word suggestion is remarkable! I am so thankful to be performing with this group and so excited for you to come experience this creativity before your eyes.
Mickie Krish
Improv Niagara Cast Member

Don’t miss Improv Niagara’s Improv Jam Night + Armando, Saturday January 18th 2020 at Mahtay Café & Lounge, beginning at 8pm.

Improv Niagara's cast outside their home of Mahtay Café in downtown St. Catharines
Events, Improv, Shows

A FREE Improv Niagara Show for a Good Cause

Christmas time is finally here! And, I have always found that giving is way more fun than receiving. Improv Niagara truly wouldn’t be what it is today without the many people who come to see the shows every month, and for that we are truly grateful. I can honestly say that without you, there would be no show (I mean, we do have great fun at rehearsals, but there is nothing like a laughing crowd of people!) 

This year, we are doing two “After-Christmas Specials.” Our first is “Improv Fallout” on Friday evening – the show you’ve come to know and love, but with a festive twist! The second show, Saturday evening, will be our first ever “Audience Appreciation” show!  This means, if you come to see Improv Fallout on Friday night, you will get the second Saturday show for FREE! (Pfffft…and they say that nothing in life is free!) 

If you are unable to attend the Friday Fallout show, that’s OK! Just bring a canned good or non-perishable food item and you will be admitted into our Holiday Improv Gathering.  All of the goods received will be donated to Community Care – St. Catharines & Thorold

It feels good to give back to the community that has supported us for nearly two years now! 

Happy Holidays from Dina and all the other improvisors at Improv Niagara! We hope to see you at the show. Maybe you can bring your out-of-town family too?

– DINA SENIOR
Co-Founder of Improv Niagara

An imagine of Improv Niagara's Mickie and Tino posing with the guest of honour Mickey in a frame that says "Mickey's Roadshow".
Birthday, Events, Improv

Mickey’s Surprise Birthday Party

One of the many ways Improv Niagara brings humour and joy to the Niagara Region is by performing at special events. Recently, IN was asked to participate in a Surprise 70th birthday Party in Port Colborne, Ontario. Take a look at what our cast member Mickie Krish had to say about the event:

What a wonderful party! Improv Niagara players, Tino Notarianni and I had the pleasure of sharing in a surprise birthday party for Mickey Mayne. It was a fantastic opportunity to use improv as a way to celebrate and honour a lovely woman.

Mickey is has been a fan of the “Antique Roadshow” television program for years. Her family decided that it would be fun to surprise her with an Antique Roadshow-themed party! Guests were invited to bring any items that they would like to have appraised. Tino and I came dressed in bowties and improvised histories and details about what made each item uniquely special and the price these beloved possessions would fetch from motivated buyers. Some of these “heirlooms” included, an old doll, a rotary telephone, a straight razor, and even some “dinosaur dung”. The audience enjoyed hearing what made each piece so special, while also seeing their family and friends present and become part of these histories.

Everyone had a fantastic time and we were so pleased that we could bring a bit of joy to such a lovely woman. Improv is a wonderful tool that allows people to come together and create.

– Mickie Krish

If you’re looking for a fun and unique way to bring joy to someone important in your life’s special event, say “Yes And!” to Improv Niagara!