Paper Street Theatre
Paper Street Theatre Improv Festival
April 15th-19th, 2025 – at Intrepid Theatre
The Paper Street Theatre Improv Festival is back!
This year’s festival will feature special guests Tony Beeman and Cynthia Lair from Unexpected Productions in Seattle, alongside Dave Morris, the artistic director of Paper Street Theatre. Plus, a powerhouse ensemble of improvisers from around the Pacific Northwest! Each night, audiences will enjoy ensemble shows directed by our guest artists, as well as feature sets by these accomplished improvisers. It will be an exciting week of improv that feels like theatre.
The Festival Ensemble will be: Kelly Agathos (Brussels, Belgium), Tony Adams (Victoria), Chaz Booty (Victoria), Dominik Buconjic (Calgary), Michelle Chowns (Victoria), Ryan Kneil (Victoria), Syrah Khan (Victoria), Jullian Kolstee (Vancouver), Olivia Karpyshyn (London, England), Brett Macdonald (Victoria), Taylor Montalbetti (Vancouver), and Peter Rogers (Ottawa). Featuring guest technical improviser Lindsey McGowan (Ottawa).
Schedule of Events
April 15th
Burger and Briggs:To kick off this year's festival we're shining the spotlight on some new and emerging Victoria talent, starting with Burger and Briggs. Presenting improvised theatre based on emotion, movement, and play, they bring authenticity and vulnerability to every one of their performances. For Burger & Briggs, there is truth in every moment.
Snap! Theatre is a new improv company with commitment at its heart. They aim to combine storytelling and theatre to discover meaningful authentic moments with their audience. It may be funny, but it will always be real. After all, theatre is always at the end of your fingertips.
OK, Street: Paper Street Theatre's Dave Morris is joining forces with OK, Dope's Alex Forman to bring you something amazing.
April 16th-19th
The Festival Ensemble: Each night our international festival ensemble will perform a piece created that day under the direction of one of our visiting directors!
Feature Performances: The second half of each show will feature a format created and directed by one of our Festival Directors: Tony Beeman, Cynthia Lair, and Dave Morris. Featuring performances by some cast members of Paper Street Theatre, including Missie Peters, Rosie Weir, and Nicole Malcolm.
Feature Performances:
Wednesday: Genre Box
Thursday: Truth be Told
Friday: Triplet
Saturday: Four Hearts.
Various
Late Night Shows: On the weekend stay late to get a taste of Paper Street's famous mash-ups! On Friday and Saturday night at 10pm the festival ensemble will mix and mash some of Paper Street's most beloved styles. Buckle up for Tarantino Austen (Friday) and Rockets and Ravens (Saturday).
Public Workshops: Take a workshop to learn more about the art of improv from our visiting guests. See below for more details.
Schedule at a Glance
Public Workshops
Where’d You Go?
How can we become more focused in our improvised scenes; so that each moment guides us to the next? In this class, called “Where'd you go?” (We all do it…get in our heads and detach) we’ll practice how to stay connected using exercises from Patsy Rodenburg, Viola Spolin, Uta Hagen and other teachers. Our definition of “Response” can then expand to include intuitive emotional and physical reactions that emerge from simply being present.
Next Class:
- Sunday, April 20th, 2025
from 10am-1pm.
Instructor: Cynthia Lair
$50 (+GST)
@ Intrepid Theatre (1609 Blanshard St.)
To register send an email to: contact@paperstreettheatre.ca
Fall Free
When we are comfortable free falling into scenes, we can let go of many of the anxieties that keep us from being truly present. This is a workshop about bringing a brick rather than a cathedral, about being comfortable without control, and about building scenes with small intuitive building blocks without going into our heads. Confidence in our ability to free fall means there’s really no hole we can’t dig ourselves out of. This class is applicable to long form, short form, and everything in between!
Next Class:
- Sunday, April 20th, 2025
from 1pm-4pm.
Instructor: Tony Beeman
$50 (+GST)
@ Intrepid Theatre (1609 Blanshard St.)
To register send an email to: contact@paperstreettheatre.ca
Split Screens and Funky Scenes
Impro has a magical, immersive and convergence-y quality that few other artforms can imitate. We not only see different worlds come to life, but quick shifts in perspective and impressive ways in which the improvisers blend the codes of theatre and film for their audience.
This workshop will unlock a whole new world of scenework; we will experiment with splitscreens, barndoor edits and a bunch of other funky parallel scenes in the process!
Next Class:
- Saturday, April 19th, 2025
from 10am-1pm.
Instructor: Kelly Agathos
$50 (+GST)
@ Intrepid Theatre (1609 Blanshard St.)
To register send an email to: contact@paperstreettheatre.ca