Canadian Improv Games

The Canadian Improv Games (CIG) is an education based format of improvisational theatre for Canadian high schools. To participate in the games, high school students form teams of up to 8 players and are required to pay a registration fee (if their school is not able to cover the cost). The teams compete in regional tournaments, organized and coordinated by regional Canadian Improv Games volunteers. Players perform improvised scenes, fuelled by suggestions provided by the audience. Each scene is judged based on a fixed rubric. The winning team from each region proceeds to the National Festival and Tournament held in Ottawa. The National Arts Centre is a major sponsor of the Canadian Improv Games. The National Arts Centre is the site of the National Festival and Ottawa Tournament. The Games were created by Jamie "Willie" Wyllie and Howard Jerome, based on a concept originally conceived by David Shepherd and Howard Jerome. David Shepherd was the producer of North America's first professional improvisational theater The Compass Players in Chicago, which, was the forerunner of the Second City.

The teams consist of no more than eight performing members. Teams are given the option of maintaining 2 alternate players; it is recommended that teams have no less than five players.

There are 5 events in the Canadian Improv Games, including: Life, Character, Style, Story and Theme. Teams must perform 4 of these 5 events, including mandatory Theme and Life scenes. During a night of play, the players will provide the audience with an ask-for. An ask-for is used to specify the type of suggestion the team requires to fuel their scene. An ask-for can be a variety of things, ranging from, the title of a song, a non-geographical location, or simply an adjective. Scenes may last up to 4 minutes, and a whistle will be blown when the allotted time is up. The team is not penalized for the having the whistle blown, it simply means the end of the scene. However, they are not required to use the entire 4 minutes. Before performing a scene, the players may 'huddle' for up to 15 seconds to prepare and briefly discuss the upcoming scene. This also allows the opportunity for players to discuss the suggestion. Time calls from linespersons change and vary depending on location but one minute and thirty second time calls have been implemented in the 2008 season.

Judges are Canadian Improv Games volunteers, often accredited with theatre and improv experience. They are responsible for watching and rating each scene in a given round. Each judge can judge a scene out of a possible 59 points. Judges look for both technical and entertainment based factors. A fixed rubric outlines specific requirements of a scene. Such factors include the acceptance of offers, level of risk, use of staging, skill of the event, level of interest, and use of suggestion. Most scenes incorporate the "five elements" which include, location, relationship and characters, conflict, raising of the stakes, and a resolution.

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