The Canadian Improv Games
Created | Updated Feb 21, 2002
The Canadian Improv Games (CIG for short) is a wholly remarkable organization whose main goal is to make high school students into better people through improvisational theatre. This is done, quite sneakily, by organizing tournaments* across Canada, and letting the students discover the hidden worth in themselves while participating for these events. To understand how this is done, we must understand the driving principals behind the CIG. These Principles can be summerized in the Canadian Improv Games Oath;
Please place your right hand over your heart...
...and your left hand on a body part of the person next to you*.
In the spirit of loving competition
To celebrate the Canadian Improv Games,
We promise to uphold the ideals of improvisation
To co-operate with one another
To learn from each other
To commit ourselves to the moment
And above all...
To Have A Good Time.
We have come together In the spirit of loving competition.
The term "loving competition" may sound like an oxymoron, I know, but it does exist within the confines of a CIG tournament. These tournaments are scored by a panel of judges, basing the points on basic rules of theatre, and improvisation. The competition then becomes much more internal, where scoring well is not done at the detriment of the other team, but rather on your own perfomance. Each night of play in a tournament usually has four or five teams competing together, in front of these judges. The teams will actually cheer one an other on, in hopes that they do better; because playing with a better team make you strive to be a better team (it works trust me). The fans of each team also get in on the act, cheering for everyone on the stage.
To celebrate the Canadian Improv Games
It is a celebration. While the tournaments are taken very seriously by the teams, the atmosphere is always light and fun. Its very hard to be too serious when ninety percent of the competition involves making your audience laugh.
We promise to uphold the Ideals of improvisation.
And what Ideals they are. The judging criteria is based on these ideals, so to do well, a team must understand them completely.
- Use Of Suggestion The teams must solicite suggestions (usually from the audience, but more on that later) for there scenes. These scenes must revolve completely around those suggestions. It is not enough to simply mention the suggestion once or twice, in some offhanded pun; a team must weave the entire scene using their suggestions as the fabric and foundation. They must make their scenes fit the suggestions, not make the suggestions fit the scenes. Teams who rely too much on scripted dialog will never score well.
- Difficulty Is the team performing a "safe" improv, with out taking risks, or are they pushing their abilities and taking realy big chances in their improvisation?
- Skill Of The Event Each scene has to be based on one of the CIG's five "Events". These events are based on the five basic aspects of theatre; Characterization (the Character event), Story (the Story Event), Style (the Style Event) Theme (the Theme event), and genuine emotion (the Life event*)
- Staging The actual "rules of the stage" part. This is the part where the teams must not only remember the basics ( facing the audience, projecting their words, not being all bunched up at the back where no one can see them) they must also physicalize. Physicalization comes in two basic forms. The first is actually moving about the stage, and creating "levels" (sitting standing, moving from one place to another). The other is creating imaginagry objects and locations. The basis of improv is to make things up on the spot. While the CIG does allow props* the teams could never possibly be able to forsee what items they may need during the couse of play. Teams who tend to mostly stand on stage and talk (known as "Talking Heads") rarely score well.
- Teamwork
To co-operate with one another
To learn form each other
To commit ourselves to the moment
Commitment. Not only commitment to the scene at hand, but commitment to preparing for that scene. Yes, even improvisors need to practice, and practice often. Teams who make it to the national finals don't just "wing it". They practiced their scenes, fine tuning them to fit into a four minute time limit, and sometimes even scrapping them altogether for something new. the practiced their skills; the physicalization, and character work. Teams that make it to the National Finals are prepared, because they've commited a lot of time and effort to being the best that they possibly can.
And above all... To have a good time!
And now, the part about "How To Play"
How a tournament works
How the events work
How the judging works
And Finally, the part about "Why To Play"
"aaaaaaannNNDD SCENE"*
Please excuse any errors, omissions, and bad grammer
oh yes...
and Beware of The Leopard
