Proud to Celebrate 25 Years of Making You Laugh

This week on *drama on the waterfront, The Improvisors are proud to celebrate 25 Years of making you laugh!

By Tim Gordon

Tim Gordon, actor and facilitator, celebrates 25 years of The Improvisors

Harris Street. Circa Theatre. The Improvisors first show Suspect – an improvised murder mystery, is Main Bill for the International Festival of the Arts 1990. A cast of six, directed by Grant Tilly.

We were friends and colleagues who formed a company. We had no idea that the new phenomena of improvisation that had reached our shores, in the form of Theatresports, would be the basis of a business making people laugh for 25 years.


Theatresports created a unique artistic community of actors who loved the thrill and challenge of Improv. Its competitive side allowed the large National Theatresports Competitions to thrive through the 90s with teams battling wits, using the audiences’ suggestions to create the funniest scene, most satisfying story or most rounded characters – all made up on the spot.

The Improvisors in Otherwise Fine, 1989

It is scary. It is actually all made up. The audience don’t know what’s going to happen and nor do we. And for twenty five years they have loved to share the fear, applaud success and forgive  failure. Our job is to stay in the moment and to say "Yes" to every offer and that requires a great deal of trusting your fellow players.

Each comic has their own role – the opening player, like the fearless Canadian, Lori Dungey alongon stage, miming the environment, creating a real world for scene to take place. My role along with players like Ian Harcourt was often the number two player – the one who comes in to drive the story forward, then there were the big comic characters, Mark Wright, Geoff Dolan and Anna Kennedy – who just made people laugh; the charmers who the audiences adored, Tim Jones, Liz Mullane, and then, finally, there were the wrecking balls, Robert Pollock, Steve Wrigley, who tip the safe world upside-down and watch everyone make sense of the complication.

The Improvisors in 2014

Some scenes depend on the adroitness of language, some on the remarkable rhyming, some on songsters, they all require not only a quickness of wit, but more importantly a generosity of spirit and a graciousness in both success and failure.

From the James Cabaret, to The Paramount Theatre, up to the University Memorial Theatre, late nights at Bats and Downstage and finally we came to rest in our home at Circa Theatre.

For 25 years The Improvisors have flourished, not only through Theatre Shows but also as a successful Corporate Entertainment Company. It has been a wonderful ride and I am so pleased that on Sunday June 14th we are gathering the old guard to shake it off for a well-earned and proud Gala bash at Circa Theatre.

BOOK NOW!  www.circa.co.nz

Theatresports 2014: half way through the season!

The NZ Comedy Festival may be over, but the glooms of winter are still being driven back by the flames of live comedy at Circa Theatre every Sunday night. The Improvisors are half-way through their season of Theatresports. It’s a format that many people will have seen – two teams of players create short improv comedy scenes as they compete to win points from the specialist judges and the audience. What keeps the whole thing fresh is new performers, new games and - above all else - the fact that every scene is driven by ideas contributed by the audience.

Over the first three nights of the season, our players have used those audience suggestions to create scenes involving everything from a Mothers’ Day celebration at an underwater hockey pool to an encounter between the Apollo moon landing crew and a Russian astronaut, from a reggae song about sausages to (possibly taking first place in the “We really didn’t see this one coming!” stakes) a scene based on an audience member’s memories of filling out a Mexican tax return.

While audience participation is the fuel of the show, it’s the players who get put on the spot, not individual members of the audience. If people want to call out ideas for a scene – excellent! If they prefer to sit back and laugh and applaud as they see fit – also excellent!

The shows are family-friendly, both in their content and in their timing – they kick off at 7:00pm and finish around 8:30pm, which makes them a realistic choice for those who have to think about work/school/just getting out of bed on Monday morning.

So – let The Improvisors help you to get through winter! Back up your flu jab with an injection of improv! Theatresports – Sunday nights at Circa at 7:00pm through to June 15.

To book tickets for Theatresports, visit www.circa.co.nz or call the Circa Box Office on 801-7992.

Theatresports: fast paced and high on entertainment

Famed sports writer Guy McGuy sat down with The Improvisors’ Deana Elvins to talk weather, the interplay between theatre and sport, and her picks for the upcoming Theatresports season at Circa.

Guy:  So.  How about that weather?

Deana: Mm… weathery

Guy: I guess that’s the advantage theatre has over sport – no weather.

Deana:  Except indoor sports of course.

Guy: Oh. Yes.  So you are the coach for The Improvisors?

Deana:  No, Guy, actually I’m a player/manager.  I’ll be competing in the upcoming season, but I also look after the corporate, professional side of things for our teams.

Guy:  Sponsorship and the like?

Deana:  Kind of… in the off-season we do shows, team building, training and a whole lot more for all sorts of companies - everyone from family businesses to New Zealand’s biggest corporations..  Check out our website www.theimprovisors.co.nz

Guy: So then who is the coach?

Deana:  I guess you could say Tim Gordon is the coach.  He’s recently had some experience coaching the All Blacks, which I’m sure will prove invaluable for the teams.

Guy: What can fans expect in the upcoming season?

Deana:  Every Sunday night from May 4 to June 15 teams will battle it out in pursuit of the Paragon Cup.  This year all teams boast a wealth of experience and we’re expecting tough games and close matches.  It’s a traditional round robin format with the top scoring teams tested in the Grand Final on June 15.

Guy: For folks who’ve never seen it before, what exactly is “Theatresports”? 

Deana:  It’s improvised comedy.  Scenes are made up on the spot to make you laugh.  This is our 7s, our T20, the short form of the game -  so it’s fast paced and high on entertainment. 

Guy:  The team that gets the most laughs wins?

Deana:  Not necessarily.  Getting laughs is important, but to win teams need to pay attention to storyline and the technical requirements of the game as well.

Guy:  Any rule changes this season?

Deana:  Nothing specific, but we have been warned that refs are going to come down hard on wimping, blocking and gagging.

Guy: ???

Deana: (laughs) Oh sorry  ‘Wimping’ means being too scared to follow an idea through, ‘blocking’ is saying no to someone else’s idea and ‘gagging’, as you probably guess, means getting a cheap laugh that doesn’t serve the story.

Guy:  Do audiences need to be familiar with these rules?

Deana:  Not at all – it’s all explained on the night.

Guy:  Great!  Now I understand that there has been some concern about the brutality of audience involvement.

Deana:  Look, I won’t deny that back in the day and in some competitions  a few people may have been traumatised by over-enthusiastic audience involvement.  But The Improvisors pride ourselves on playing a very non-aggressive form of the game.  We ask for suggestions from audience but almost never drag anyone on stage.  I guess it could happen.  But I’ve never seen it.

Guy: So where can people see the games?

Deana:  If people want a great night’s entertainment, full of laughter and the spice of competition then they should come down to Circa Theatre on Sunday nights at 7pm from May 4.  Booking is advised.

To book tickets for the 2014 Theatresports season, visit www.circa.co.nz or call the Circa Box Office on 801-7992. 

Theatresports Freestyle: Explained

Improvisor Greg Ellis explains to drama on the waterfront the concept of Theatresports Freestyle.

Theatresports, as most people know it, is a series of short improvised games. It's the most popular type of improvisation and when people think of improv, Theatresports is the word that's always top of mind. But it's not the only improv format.

In the last couple of years The Improvisors has performed Improv Cage Match. It's a format that has been around the world of improv for years under a variety of different names. The basic idea behind the format is that there are 2 teams who can play whatever they like. The only limitation is that of time. Each team has 30 minutes of stage time. This time is divided over 3 rounds. The teams can divide this time however they like over those three rounds. So one team could play rounds of 15, 7 and 8 minutes while the other team could play 2, 20 and 8 minutes. After each round the audience is asked to vote on which team they liked more in that round. The winning team gets one point per round.

That's all very well but what sort of improv do the teams do during each round?

They do whatever they want. The idea behind this format is that teams can play to suit their strengths. They can play Theatresports games if they want but they can also create their own formats or just improvise something with no structure at all.

In the last couple of seasons we've seen improvised musicals, a fantasy movie, a gangster story and a current affairs show featuring 3 different mini-documentaries. Players love the format. It really gives them a chance to try new things and push the boundaries. It creates great play.

The format is also a great way to feature guest performers and in this season we hope to feature many of the Australian performers that will be in town for the NZ Improv Festival.

And it's had a name change. Improv Cage Match made the show sound a little sweaty, violent and low rent. Hopefully Theatresports Freestyle makes it clear what the show is all about. It's all the family fun of Theatresports (and maybe with some of the games you love) but it also features the freedom that comes when performers play with no rules at all.

- Greg Ellis

Theatresports Freestyle starts 25 August and runs every Sunday at 7pm until 13 October. To book, call the Circa Box Office on 801-7992 or visit www.circa.co.nz. 

A history of Theatresports

Improvisor Jennifer O'Sullivan talks to drama on the waterfront about the current season of Theatresports.

Back when I was in third form (remember forms?) at Upper Hutt College, I responded to a school notice inviting anyone interested in playing something called Theatresports to meet in the library at lunchtime. I didn’t know what Theatresports was, but being the ridiculous, overcommitted overachiever I was, it sounded to me like a) something else to add to my school CV and b) something a lot less sweaty than netball but just as competitive.
Fast forward five years and I am in my last year of high school. I have competed and played in Theatresports - the energetic, hilarious, sometimes touching, always surprising improvised theatre show - every year since that fateful school notice. I am in the Wellington team, being taken on tour by Steve Wrigley and Sully O’Sullivan to Hawkes Bay. I have dropped most of my sports and I am growing the reputation of being one of those weird theatre kids. And I am utterly smitten.
Fast forward yet another ten years and we’re at the present day. I’ve improvised with companies and players in Wellington, Melbourne, Canberra and London, and my affair with the unwritten word has been my passion for 17 years. And here I am, playing Theatresports with the people who introduced me to it all. I’m rather chuffed to be honest.
The Improvisors have been performing Theatresports at Circa for over 20 years and it’s still going strong, and this season is no different. Its longevity rests on the fact that each and every single show is always going to be different, with new games and players mixing it up with old favourites and performing legends. Check us out every Sunday til 7 July at Circa, and watch theatre history get created on the spot!

Jennifer O’Sullivan 

To book, call the Circa Box Office on 801-7992 or visit www.circa.co.nz.

The Improvisors' Theatresports for Kids!

Two teams. One match. The judges: YOU!

How often do you watch a sports match, wishing you could decide the outcome? Watch a movie, wishing you could have helped make it, because you had heaps of better ideas? Well, wish no more, because we’re bringing the power to YOU!

Want to see a scene about puppies? We can do that. Prefer a story about a gallant knight and his horse and their adventure to find treasure? You’re the boss! Every time one of our Theatresports teams gets up on stage, they’ll come to you for ideas and suggestions that will determine what kind of stories you see. And it doesn’t stop there - we’ll also come to you afterwards for your judgement and score. You decide the winner... you decide the loser... you decide the whole game! How cool is that? It’s the best of two worlds - theatre and sports - and you are the master of both!

For too long the power of entertainment has rested outside of the audience. For too long have you been subjected to stories that you’ve heard before, that you’ve seen before, that you already know the ending of. No more will you be expected to sit quietly in your seat, a passive spectator. This school holidays, drag your ma and pa along and help the Improvisors create the show that YOU want to see.

THEATRESPORTS FOR KIDS!

22 April – 4 May
11am and 1pm Mon – Fri, 11am only Sat, no show Sun 

The Improvisors have created a theatresports show especially for kids – just like Who’s Line is it Anyway - Theatresports for Kids is a show for 8-12 year olds that brings all the theatresports games of our family favourite Sunday shows to the School Holidays! No previous experience is required to join in the show – just enthusiasm, imagination and a sense of fun. And it’s not compulsory to join the show – our shyer audience members are welcome to watch the stories unfold and laugh! Why should grown-ups have all the fun?

To book, call the Circa Box Office on 801-7992 or visit www.circa.co.nz.

THEATRESPORTS 2012

Theatresports 2012

By Improvisor Ian Harcourt

The Improvisors latest season of Theatresports is drawing to a close with the Grand Finale in Circa One at 7:00pm on Sunday 1^st July.

Over the last nine weeks, teams of improv comedians have been battling every Sunday night to win the “audience favourite” vote. The shows’ new earlier start-time of 7:00pm seems to have been a popular change, making the shows more family-friendly, more student-friendly and generally more anyone-who-has-to-get-up-early-on-Monday-morning-friendly. Each night a large share of the audience have been people who have never experienced the comedy treat that is Theatresports before. And those who have seen the show before know that because everything is made up on the spot, every night will be completely different.

During the season we’ve seen the true romance story of a couple from the audience presented in dance, a love song dedicated to Basmati rice and an inflatable plastic cow doubling as a Star Wars stormtrooper’s helmet!! This is what happens when the show is driven by audience suggestions.

The Grand Finale is always one of the most popular shows in the season, so if you are planning on attending it’s worth booking your seats – and sooner rather than later.

Tickets are available for the Theatresports Grand Finale on Sunday, 1 July - to book, call the Circa Box Office on 801-7992 or go online at www.circa.co.nz.

Theatresports: No one really knows what is going to happen!!

Even though he doesn’t speak in the current Circa hit, A Shortcut to Happiness, actor Tim Gordon has no trouble telling drama on the waterfront all about The Improvisors and the upcoming season of Theatresports.

Tim Gordon. Photo by Rebecca Thomson, The Wellingtonian.

DOTW: What is your involvement with The Improvisors?

TG: In 1990 a group of actors started The Improvisors. Grant Tilly was the director of our first show Suspect – an improvised murder mystery at the old Circa. He understood improvisation and was a mentor over the first years.

Twenty two years on we are still rocking Circa Theatre. Myself along with Ian Harcourt and Greg Ellis go back most of that time.

DOTW: For those who might not know, what IS Theatresports?

TG: Theatresports is a hugely popular improvisational comedy format where teams compete to entertain and enact improvised stories under certain rules that govern a scene.

DOTW: Can you give us a bit of the history of Theatresports at Circa? When did it start? Why? Memorable victories?

TG: Theatresports grew out of Canada in the late eighties and came to New Zealand via Australia soon after. Wellington strongly embraced it and Sunday night became the traditional night because all the professional theatres were black allowing for availability of actors.

Wellington has won more National Championships than any other centre and our unique style was to create real, truthful, but still funny stories.

Otherwise Fine, 1989 Theatresports 

DOTW: What’s the inside scoop on this year’s season? Who should we look out for? Who do you think will win?

TG: This year the old guard will still be creaking the boards but snapping at our heels are a new breed who have recently been recruited through a series of workshops. It will make for an exciting season.

DOTW: Anything else to add about the 2012 Theatresports?

TG: My boys are now 12 and 10 and have been avid fans for a couple of years and there is no way that they will miss a night in the 2012 Season, whether I’m performing, MC-ing or Judging. Even when I am not cast in a certain show they will insist we go. The Improvisors Theatresports shows have always been a family show. We often see three generations come together and there is something for all of them because they all love the excitement of seeing a show at which no one really knows what is going to happen!!

The 2012 season of Theatresports starts on Sunday 29 April, and runs every Sunday thereafter until 1 July. Show times are at 7pm weekly. Tickets are available now! Get yours by calling the Circa Box Office at 801-7992 or go online at www.circa.co.nz.

Theatresports 2011

Theatresports 2011

A Message from the Wellington Improv Heavyweight Champion 2010

Many people would be filled with dread if they were told they had to get up on stage with no script and entertain an audience. But there are a small (some might call slightly crazy) group of us who get a real kick out of it. 

Never seen Theatresports before? You don’t know what you’re missing! A quick explanation - teams of up to 3 or 4 players improvise scenes within a chosen game structure. At the beginning of every game the team will ask the audience for a couple of ‘ask fors’ to get the scene underway.

As with any sport there are an agreed set of principles and rules you must adhere to. Disregard them at your peril! And at the end of each scene the audience and judges will score it out of 5. 

The team with the most points at the end of the night wins, but the player who accumulates the most points over the course of the entire season takes the championship title. 

With Winter just around the corner…oh who am I kidding, already here, there’s no better way to top off your weekend than to kick back on a Sunday night in toasty Circa watching some great improvised comedy.  Maybe I’m a little biased, but the truth is I always have a blast when I’m on stage with the guys. And the only time I don’t is when I get challenged to do a scene in rhyming couplets. Quite honestly, rhyming couplets are my kryptonite. Come along, you’ll see what I mean!

Richard Falkner won the title in 2009, I took it off him in 2010, who will take it out in 2011? One thing's for sure, I'm not giving up my title, or the real fake gold heavyweight championship belt, without a fight.

- Anna Kennedy

Part of the NZ International Comedy Festival 2011, Theatresports kicks off on Sunday, 8 May at 7:30pm and runs every Sunday until the Grand Finale on 10 Juily. Tickets are available now, so call the Circa Box Office at 801-7992 or go online at www.circa.co.nz to book today!

Theatresports – a view from inside the creative chaos!

By: The Improvisors

We’re now six weeks into what is shaping up to be a classic season of Theatresports in Circa Two. Wellington’s finest Improvisors are duking it out for the Wellington Heavyweight Improv Belt – it’s just like pro wrestling, but with less likelihood of bruising, marginally less grunting, and a great deal more hyperbole. Also, Theatresports is funnier than pro wrestling, even though nobody is wearing spandex.

As it stands, Ian Harcourt, Kenny King and Anna Kennedy are in pole position on the league table, testament to their consistent hilariousness and superior improv chops. They’re strong contenders to enter the Final, where the season’s top performers have the chance to claim the Belt for their own.

Theatresports 2010

Nevertheless, the season has been characterised by a punishing return to physical comedy. Specialists like Pete Doile, who, with Buster Keaton-like acuity, is able to turn his lithe-yet-hulking body into a stick insect or a meerkat with equal facility have excelled; the gauntlet has been thrown down to players to get out there and look silly on the stage.

Also making his mark on the season is rising Improvisors star, Ralph Howell. His style takes something from Improvisors veterans like Nic Gorman and Tim Jones, and adds a refreshing spritzer. Also, because he is younger, he is better to look at.

Of note have been guest appearances by Improvisors alumni such as comedian Steve Wrigley, and WIT’s Simon Smith.

If you’ve haven’t come down yet, don’t miss out on one of Wellington’s funniest nights out. If you’ve already been, drop by again – because the show is entirely improvised, it’s never the same twice!

The 2010 season of Theatresports is on Sundays at 7:30 pm in Circa Two until 27 June.

The Improvisors at Circa: Theatresports 2010, Shakespeare – The Musical, and Holmes Alone

Fresh from the successful run of their first ever kids’ show, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, The Improvisors’ Greg Ellis tells drama on the waterfront about the 20-year-old comedy group's new triumvirate of laugh-out-loud shows taking over Circa Two from 25 April.

The Improvisors have no less than three shows in the NZ International Comedy Festival this year. You guessed it, we love Comedy Festival time!

It's a great way to premiere new shows that extend us in one way or another and build on all the work we've done over the past few years. 2010 is no different. Except for the fact that we are twenty years old as a company this year.

In 1990, we performed our first ever show, the Improv Murder Mystery Suspect at Circa, and it has been our spiritual home ever since. In the intervening 20 years we've done lots and lots of shows but the ones we've probably enjoyed the most have been our improvised Shakespeares and our musicals. So, when Improvisor Deana Elvins suggested we combine both in a single improvised Shakespearean musical it was hard to deny that it was a great idea! Since the end of our Fringe Festival show Garry Trotter and the Philosopher's Whatchamacallit, we've been busily practising sonnets, soliloquies and songs. The lucky thing for us is that we have a talented bunch of musos in the company and Robbie Ellis and Simon Buxton create such fantastic music that it's very hard to fight the urge to sing.

Shakespeare - The Musical

Shakespeare - The Musical will be the perfect show for people who want to see something a little different in the Comedy Festival, something a little more than just one person and a mike. The amazing thing about this 80 minute show is that everything in it - all the music, lyrics, dialogue and story is made up right in front of the audience's eyes. The risk in the show gives it energy and really pushes the performers.

So whether or not you are a fan of Shakespeare or musicals, come along and check out Shakespeare - The Musical. Tragedy, Comedy or History - you get to choose. And as the audience you provide the plot suggestions along the way. Don't miss it!

Holmes Alone

And, for the first time we're presenting a double bill at Circa. Right after Shakespeare - The Musical you can catch me, all by myself, in Holmes Alone. Improvisation is not usually a solo pursuit - it's so much easier and less frightening to do it with others - but I've always wanted to try a completely improvised solo show. It seemed scary and challenging, especially since I haven't even done a regular solo show before!

And a little while ago I fell in love with Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. I've always loved the Victorian/Edwardian eras - the uptightness and the manners - and the Sherlock Holmes stories are written with a fantastic sense of pace and character. I decided I wanted my show to be a Sherlock Holmes show - a complete mystery with all its suspects and clues in about an hour. Eek!

It's been a scary prospect lurking on the horizon for almost six months now made slightly less daunting for a couple of reasons. First was seeing Guy Langford's awesome Wannabe, which proved that a real simplicity and precision help create multiple memorable characters. The second was having Aaron Alexander in as a director. Aaron is a great actor, improviser and thinker about theatre and his presence has helped me focus on getting the show out of my head and onto the stage.

Holmes Alone goes from being an exciting challenge to a terrifying one but what I can guarantee is that audiences will see me working harder onstage than I ever have before to bring Holmes, Watson and the rest of the required suspects and characters to life.

And as part of a double bill, you can get a great price to see both Shakespeare - The Musical and Holmes Alone on the same night. Why not kick-start your comedy festival with two shows for less than you'd pay to see some of the other shows on their own?

But wait there's more!

Theatresports 2010

Every year we use the Comedy Festival to kick-start our Theatresports season and this year is no different. Theatresports is the grand-daddy of them all, the improvisation format best loved by performers and audiences alike and it's stood the test of time.

In 2010, the basic format will be the same: two teams will compete against each other in a series of short improv games. The suggestions to fuel these will come from the audience, who will also help judge the results. It's fast-paced, never boring and a great way to experience improv for the first time or as a family.

This year we are not having ongoing teams but rather individual performers will carry their night's score to find out who will appear in the Wellington final on June 27. We are also inviting any of the 90 odd former Improvisors who have played in the past to get involved in the shows and we can already reveal that 7 Days stalwart and long-time Improvisor Steve Wrigley will take to the stage with us May 2nd.

So there's a lot going on for The Improvisors at Circa in the next few weeks - you've got no excuse not to catch at least one show!

Greg Ellis, The Improvisors


Shakespeare - The Musical, 27 April - 1 May
Holmes Alone, 27 April - 1 May
Theatresports 2010, Sundays, 25 April - 27 June