CRUMBS to be in Toronto

Yes, CRUMBS is being flown into Toronto for the big 1 year Comedy Bar celebration. This is quite an honour

1- to perform at Comedy Bar now already a legendary venue (legendary after only 1 year? Yes!)

2- to perform with Projectproject while in Toronto

3- to perform with Tim Meadows of Saturday Night Live Fame

4- to perform at Catch 23

5- to perhaps perform with Ghost Jail Theatre but at least see the show

6- to perhaps perform at the Bad Dog Theatre but at least see the show

7- to perhaps perform with The Second City but at least see the show (for free)

8- but yes mostly to help party at the Comedy Bar and with all of our Toronto friends

improv vs writing

Thousands of people (maybe even more) have fought on both sides of this war. There are no winners and no real victim. You see, writing is improv.

There is a show that runs weekly in Toronto called Ghost Jail that does an improv/writing form. They are quite cool.

I first ran into this type of format through Becky Johnson while we were doing some improv in Toronto years back. She then did a version in Winnipeg while she was doing the Fringe with Kevy G. We then produced our own version at the Winnipeg Improv Festival in 2005 and in 2008.

The way it generally works (with variations of course) is the audience gives a suggestion. A couple of improvisers are sitting with pens and paper. The rest of the improvisers on stage start improvising scenes. Whenever an improviser has finished a bit of writing they take the stage and read their piece. The "writer" then joins the acting cast and one of the "actors" becomes a "writer". The written piece then inspires some more scenes. And so on and so on and so on...

Here is one of the improvised writing pieces that was produced:

(stethoscope was the suggestion)

stethoscope
periscope
telescope
microscope

losing hope
using soap
smoking dope
at the end of our rope

it's frayed at the end
around the bend
around the corner
over the rainbow
under the table
over the counter
over the shoulder
under my skin

take a sample

put it on a slide ... microscope

reach for the stars ... telescope

from under the sea ... periscope

to the beating of my heart ... stethoscope

The Big Stupid Improv Show

Where does the PIG come from?

Well, it all came from a typo that read “the Pig Stubid Improv Show”
rather than “the Big Stupid Improv Show” and it kind of stuck as a funny
little “happy accident” as well as the giving the show a bit of an image...
that of a pig. As well, the PIG could stand for the Probable Improv
Group or something like that. The actual pig graphic was stolen from
some graffiti that was photographed in the streets of Berlin in 2006.

Where does the name actually come from?

The show was named by Wes Borg (Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie)
as a last minute replacement show in the Edmonton Fringe Festival.
It was then adopted at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival when yet another
last minute drop-out occurred. Wes Borg was in town to run the show,
the next year he passed that on to Stephen Sim under the promise he
would not change the name to “The Big Stoopid Improv Show” (he didn’t
mention anything about pigs). The name is actually inspired by the “Big
Stinkin’ Improv Festival” that used to happen in Austin Texas.

How does the show work?

What does that even mean? Well, I will give it a shot. We cast the show
with cool folk (meaning improv players and actors) that are either local
players or performers from out of town in the city for the Fringe, and
then we squish them all together on stage to perform a show that is
made up from scratch. This year we will be playing with several improv
formats that are being played across the country (and the world).

What is improv really?

Are you sure you have stumbled into the right show? Are you really not
familiar with improv yet? Okay, all it really means is that we will make up
a show live. We are actors, writers and directors all at the same time. In fact
not only is improv the most dangerous form of theatre, it is also the most
environmentally friendly (even though it is disposable).

When and Where and Who?

Alright, I guess that info is important...

Wed July 16, 8:30 PM
Thu July 17, 4:15 PM
Fri July 18, 11:45 PM
Sat July 19, 2:15 PM
Wed July 23, 7:00 PM
Thu July 24, 12:00 PM
Sat July 26, 3:45 PM

All happening at Venue #2 (MTC Up the Alley)

This year’s Pig Stubid Improv Show will feature:
Michal Grajewski and Fraz from Ghost Jail (Toronto),
Ryan Gladstone from Monster Theatre (Vancouver),
Kevy and Arlen from SCRATCH (Edmonton),
Jefferson Sinclair from Letters@Large (Winnipeg),
Chadd, Toby, RobYn, Andrea, Jane, Outside Joke (Winnipeg),
Steve and Lee from CRUMBS (Winnipeg),
plus others who we don’t even know yet.