SHOWS

August 9th - 14th, Bad Dog Theatre hosts the 1st Annual Summit: Toronto’s Festival of Improv

INCLUSIVE SHOWS

Inclusive shows are designed to provide opportunities for all members of the community to play together. Some shows involve improvisers being picked at random from player submissions, some shows use the audience itself as the cast!

TORONTO'S IMPROV LOTTERY JAM
(Shaista Latif)
Six veteran improvisers play with audience members who are picked at random. Come early, leave your name at the front, and play with some your favourite improvisers in Toronto.

GENERATIONS
Nine improvisers plucked from Toronto's improv timeline - play together for the first time!

THEATRESPORTS
Created by Keith Johnstone, the show started out as Theatresports Toronto in 1982 with regular shows at the Harbourfront Centre. 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. Without a doubt, it is a one-of-a-kind show in Toronto.

THE WORKSHOP
(Bruce Hunter)
The Workshop was a hugely successful directed improv show by the great Bruce Hunter which ran late night Mondays in The Tim Sims Playhouse. Aurora Browne recently convinced Bruce to bring back this popular form that mixes newbie and veteran improvisers and explores the nuances and possibilities of scenes through Bruce's expert and sometimes twisted direction.

NEW WORKS

New Works teams are dedicated to debutting a brand new improv format during the festival. Teams are assembled by coaches and are given just a few short weeks to perfect an entirely new form. Enjoy this onslaught of never seen before works!

COMIC STRIP
(Herbie Barnes)
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humour or form of narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions.

MELODIOUS
(Jan Caruana, Sandy Jobin-Bevans, Scott Montgomery, Jay McCarroll)
Watch the best band you have never heard of recount favorite stories you don't know and sing all the best songs you can't remember! A fully improvised "Behind the Music", Lauren Ash, Sandy Jobin Bevans and Scott Montgomery improvise stories and songs based on questions from the audience! Hosted by Jan Caruana.

HOURGLASS
(Julie Dumais, Conor Bradbury, Ann Pornell, Michal Grajewski, Colin Munch, Chris Ramelan, Claire Salloum, Peter Stevens).
Where were you when… the planes hit the towers? When Henderson scored? When Kennedy was shot? When the wall fell? When the earthquake happened? HOURGLASS expands and collapses an imaginary historical event, inviting you to experience that moment: suspended in time - between everything that came before it - and everything that inevitably follows… from the most monumental, world-changing instant to the subtle effect on our lives. Where were you when...?

PORTAL
(Alex Hatz, Alex Schroen, Julia Bruce, Eric Hart, Lara Johnson, Craig Jackson, Graeme Stewart)
Two locations, separated by time and space, connected via the Rube Goldberg Machine.

5TH DIMENSION
(Darryl Pring, Mark Andrada, Ashley Botting, Rob Norman, Leslie Seiler, Lindsay Grant, Alex Tindal)
Is the grass greener? We will explore that theory. Based on an audience suggestion, we will perform both sides of a decision, following the choice in this world and the other choice in an alternate world. Where Bizarro lives. He's Superman's opposite.

GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD
(Cam Algie, Paloma Nunez, Bob Banks, Mark Cotoia, Sally Smallwood, Andy Auld, Jeremy Birrell)

THE PIRATE SET
(Phil Calutit, Lara Johnson, Jill Larkin, Eric Miinch, Colin Munch, Jimi Shlag, Adam Ward)
Pirates will rob at sea, plunder the land without commission from a sovereign nation, and reproduce work of another without authorization. Pirates just don't give a shit.

ROBOTS IN DISGUISE
(Tom Mckay, Kevin Matviw, Cara Pantalone, Meghan Bower, Sam Ruano, Rob Hawke, Gary Chan)
Machines will be built and hum into scenes. Cogs and gears will tumble out of their place into scenes as characters and props. And everything will be able to be popped open, like a car hood, for play or for sabotage. Actors will reveal themselves to be "rude mechanicals", mechanics, and mechanisms.

PIZZA PROJECT
(Sean Tabares, Sarah Hillier, Marty Adams, Jess Grant, Ted Hallett)
In improv, anything is possible. With Pizza Project, anything is a possible topping. Improvised theatre, with piping hot pizza! Hot scenes and a hot pie! Roofs of mouths will be destroyed

DANTE'S INFERNO
(Mike “Nug” Nahrgang, Allie Price, Megan Fraser, Lisa Brooke, Sam Kalileh, John Catucci, Lee Smart)
Hell has been depicted as nine circles of suffering located within the Earth. But Hell can be contained within smaller confines as well. Join us in a journey through limbo, lust, gluttony, avarice, prodigality, wrath, sullenness, heresy, violence, fraud and betrayal... and back again. Who will come out unscathed? Who will be lost? Who will be scarred forever? You?

THE HOUSE
(Alastair Forbes, Carmine Lucarelli, James Gangl, Kerry Griffin, Ralph MacLeod, Trevor Martin, Reid Janisse)
Six improvisers put their own cold hard cash on the line and only one will walk away with it all. Find out what it truly means to raise the stakes as the improvisers but their skills and their money where their mouth is. From the green felt of the poker table to the bright lights of the stage comes the experience where you'll watch the improvisers go all in against THE HOUSE.

WALKIE TALKIE
(Natasha Boomer, Erin Conway, Josh Murray, Andreas Pillos, Colin Sharpe, Nigel Downer)
A walkie-talkie or handie talkie (more formally known as a handheld transceiver) is a hand-held, portable, two-way radio receiver. A walkie-talkie's built-in speaker can be heard by the user and those in the user's immediate vicinity. Hand-held transceivers may be used to communicate between each other.

THE FLASHLIGHT PROJECT
(Meagan Crump, Brian Reynolds, Dave Phalp, Kevin Thom, Dan Hershfield)
Self proclaimed by coach Meagan Crump, the most amazing new format The Summit will see in 2010! She's never a liar, so you may not want to miss what is sure to be one of the most exciting shows you can catch this week. THE FLASHLIGHT PROJECT!

BALANCE BEAM
(Bob Banks, Stacey McGunnigle, Deanna Palazzo, Danielle Watling, Carolyn Williamson, Meagan Crump, Gary Rideout Jr, Pat Thorton, Mandy Sellers)
This show is based on patterns and strong choices. The cast and format were assembled by the sometimes broken-brain of Bob Banks, who hopes to push the boundaries of game-in-scene. The bigger the risk, the bigger the reward!!

ALUMNI TEAMS

Alumni Teams consists of established teams who have tremendous impact on the comedy community, and provide a unique format not found anywhere else. Laugh along with some of Toronto's most popular comedy legends.

ALUMNAE OF SECOND CITY
The world's premier comedy theatre and school of improvisation. The Second City specializes in sketch comedy and improvisation and has been delighting audiences for over 50 years (35 years in Toronto). Second City has resident companies in both Chicago and Toronto as well as National Touring Companies and casts on NCL cruises. They have shows seven nights a week at their Theatre (51 Mercer St.).

THE MAINSTAGE
(Rob Baker, Adam Cawley, Inessa Frantowski, Dale Boyer, Kris Siddiqi).
The cast of the Dora-nominated Second City for Mayor takes to the stage for a completely improvised adventure.

FALCON POWDER
(Scott Montgomery, Jim Annan, Kurt Smeaton)
Jim Annan (Second City), Scott Montgomery (Second City, The Hour), and Kurt Smeaton (Catch 23) make up this hilarious trio of improvisers. Their credits are endless and getting a chance to catch a Falcon Powder set is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Don't miss this show!

DINNER WITH SOMEONE FAMOUS FROM HISTORY
(Pat Thorton, Sean Tabares)
Pat Thorton (Comedy Network's Hotbox) sits down at a dinner table in the temporal nexus of the universe and has a chat with a famous figure from history.

WATERCOOLER GUYS
(Kevin Franks, Neil Crone)
Two heavyweights of Toronto Improv bring their coveted duo to The Summit. Neil Crone (Little Mosque On The Prairie) and Kevin Frank (Second City Toronto and London Alumni) come together for their two-man improv spectacular, The Water Cooler Guys!

THE GURG
(Brian Barlow, Chris Locke)
The Gurg is Brian Barlow and Chris Locke's hilarious improv/sketch troupe. They are from Toronto and when they perform people laugh like crazy.

CATCH 23
With 23 minutes per team (less for the purpose of The Summit), four rounds, audience and judge scoring, and several other carefully codified rules, Catch 23's structure actually liberates many performers to take risks that they might not at another regular improv showcase. Early years saw performers cover the stage with dozens of mousetraps, purposely try to make each other cry on stage, and drink things no reasonable person would ever consume in public. Catch 23 is now a staple at The Comedy Bar on Friday nights and a guaranteed great show.

PROJECTproject
(Julie Dumais, Sean Tabares, Sarah Hillier, Alex Tindal, Mark Andrada)
With a core cast of 4 improvisers (and more than 30 affiliated artists), PROJECTproject draws from almost every major house of improvisation and school of comedy in Toronto and features the diverse and formidable talents of: Julie Dumais (10,000 to Flight, Canadian Improv Games), Sean Tabares (As Is Syndicate, Bad Dog Sessions), Sarah Hillier (Ladystache, The Sketchersons), Alex Tindal (The Sketchersons, Canadian Improv Games), and, occasionally: Mark Andrada (10,000 to Flight, Lunacy Cabaret).

IMPROMPTU SPLENDOR
(Naomi Snieckus, Ron Pederson, Matt Baram)
Impromptu Splendor is a progressive improvisational long-form in the fashion of a one-act play. Each show is a fresh, sophisticated theatre piece that has never been seen before and will never be seen again! For each play, we chose a famous playwright or author and perform an improvised play in the style of that playwright or author.

THE ARMANDO
(With the cast of Monkey Toast)
This hand-picked (by Jan Caruana) group of Toronto's most talented improvisers will win over your heart within a structure based somewhere between an Armando (a well establish longform structure) and Monkey Toast (an award winning improve show put on in Toronto by David Shore). Watch as a special guest monologist tells true stories of their life and improvisers spin their own take on those stories

SLAP HAPPY
(Kerry Griffin, Sandy Jobin-Bevans, Tabetha Wells, Dave Pearce)
They have performed to critical and audience acclaim in Los Angeles, New York, Amsterdam, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Memphis, Orlando, Winnipeg and Leuven, Belgium. They have peformed with a DJ, with pyrotechnics, and without any audience input. Twice named the best improv troupe in Toronto (NOW MAGAZINE, 2002 & 2003), twice named the best improv troupe in Canada (CANADIAN COMEDY AWARDS, 2002 & 2003).

ALUMNI OF SECOND CITY LONDON
The cast of Second City London reunites onstage for a show of epic proportions.

MANTOWN
(Jason DeRosse, Adam Cawley, Bob Banks, Rob Norman, Rob Baker)
Welcome to Mantown, where some of the craziest, most hilarious, testosterone-infused comedy in the world comes from.Mantown is the type of act where every audience member feels like one of the dudes! The non-stop thrill ride will leave you breatheless and gasping for more. Man-up with Mantown

THE BGS VIDEO PROJECT
(Brian Smith)
When mediums collide! Brain G. Smith pays homage to the Neutrino Project, with this show that invites the audience into the cutting room floor by creating a three act, totally improvised video. It will be inspired by the audience, filmed, edited and shown all within the show itself.

BIG IN JAPAN
(Sean Tabares, Kevin Thom, Sean Magee, Jess Grant)
Known for their intense organic style, Big In Japan is easily one of the funniest improv groups in Canada. Their unique approach is highly indicative of the Impatient Theatre Co. approach to longform improvisation.

GHOST JAIL THEATRE
(Robbie Beniuk, Stephanie Kaliner, Andrea Del Campo, Jess Grant, Michal Grajewski, Mike Fly, Kayla Lorette)
GJT is a weekly comedy show which features monologues and scenes created in the moment without notes or forethought. Each show we randomly select a theme from a piece of writing provided by our audience and perform our improvised take on that theme.

ILLUSTRATED MEN
(Bruce Hunter, Adrian Truss, David Huband)
In 1986 Adrian Truss, Bruce Hunter and David Huband combined forces to form the infamous improv troupe Illustrated Men. Touring across North America and to places as far away as Monte Carlo and Alaska, Illustrated Men received rave reviews from both critics and audiences alike for their outstanding improvisational shows. The troupe also staged a highly acclaimed and successful production of Waiting For Godot at the Canadian Stage Theatre. These Canadian Award Winners of the Best Improv Troupe are ready to rock The Summit.

THE BEST OF BLUE JAYS WAY
Our favourite Second City alumni from the building at 56 Blue Jays Way.