Five reasons not to miss theatre sports festival Throwdown
1. MMA OF IMPROV
The annual improv celebration features theatre sports teams from other cities in quip-to-quip combat with each other and with local teams comprised of Vancouver theatre sports improvisers.
2. RETURNING CHAMPS
Competition winner (for the last three years) SAK Comedy Lab from Orlando, Fla., is back. “I personally believe this is the best festival I have ever been a part of,” SAK’s Emily Fontano tells us. “I would go annually to that beautiful city to watch geniuses at work and playing together even if I wasn’t competing.”
3. UPFRONT TEAM COMING
International improv star Ryan Stiles is the owner (and janitor, according to the theatre’s website) of Bellingham, Wa.’s, Upfront Theatre. Known for long-form narrative shows such as the murder mystery Hellingham, Upfront is also sending a team to compete in this year’s Throwdown.
4. TOTALLY SCREWBUKI
Based in Honolulu, Hawaii, competing company On the Spot incorporates “narrative storytelling, minimal dialogue, and strong blocking to create cinematic images to tell complex stories,” according to its website. Their original formats include an homage to that master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock; a 1920s-style silent-movie show; and a fully improvised Kabuki-style show called, naturally, Screwbuki. (Note: Portland’s Curious Comedy Theatre also performs.)
5. WINNER TAKES ALL
The winners of the visiting teams competitions compete with the local victors in a no-holds-barred improv slugfest on the final night of the Throwdown, Jan. 27.