Author Archives: aliWit

WIT show posters

The Improv Divas 2010

Improv DivasWellington welcomes back The Improv Divas

The Improv Divas are back! NZ’s leading ladies of improv are ready to rock the capital with an all new, all improvised show in 2010’s International Comedy Festival.
Produced and performed by an all-female ensemble cast from Wellington Improvisation Troupe (WIT), The Improv Divas will lead you through an hour of humour, honesty and hilarity, telling stories made up on the spot based on audience suggestion and whatever the ever-present wind blows in. Continue reading →

Keith Johnstone

Keith Johnstone an internationally recognised authority in the field of improvisation, great chunks of which he created, including improvisation forms Theatresports, Maestro Impro (played in NZ as Micetro), Gorilla Theatre, and The Life Game. His books Impro, and Impro For Storytellers, have been translated into many languages.

Keith worked at London’s Royal Court Theatre for its ten most revolutionary years (1956 to 1966), and has taught at many European Theatre Schools, including six years at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and each spring for fifteen years at the Stattensteatre Skole in Copenhagen. Places where he has taught since include San Francisco, Brisbane, Sydney, Seattle,Vienna, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, London, Hong Kong, Austin (Texas), and Tokyo. He has lectured at the Deuches Institute for Provocative Therapy, and from teaching ‘clinic clowns’ in the Bavarian Alps. He founded the Theatre Machine improvisation group, the International Theatresports Institute, and was the Co-founder of Calgary’s Loose Moose Theatre. He is a Professor Emeritus at Calgary University.

More on his own site

Over the years several WIT members have made the pilgrimage to The Loose Moose Theatre in Calgary to attend the Summer School. Although the theatre is no longer lead by him, it is still infused with his philosophy and playful generous approach to improv.

The Improvathon – 2010 Fringe Festival

improvathonIt was the greatest challenge of creative and comedy endurance. An improv marathon – filled with all the thrills and spills that you have come to expect from Wellington’s finest improvisers. This improv extravaganza ran for 30 hours non-stop on the 12th and 13th of February, at the Wellington Performing Arts Centre, 36 Vivian Street.

Two brave audience and seven brave performers held out for the full thirty hours. We salute those heroes . . .and everyone else who took part and helped make it all happen.

WIT show posters

Gods & Heroes, 2010

Gods and HeroesGods & Heroes Relocated To Mt Victoria By The UN!

Friday, 5 February 2010, 11:01 am
Press Release: New Zealand Fringe Festival
Gods & Heroes Relocated To Mt Victoria By The UN!
Ancient Greek Pantheon Seen Milling About In Togas;
New Zealand Mortals Baffled By ‘New’ Mt Olympus

BATS Theatre

20 – 24 February 2010

A large angry man, clad only in a toga, was seen hurling thunderbolts at other similarly-clad beings atop the Mt Victoria Lookout last weekend. When stunned Kiwis, visiting one of their more beloved sites around town, asked one of the women what was going on she replied “Zeus is having a hissy fit. Again”. Another large man, clad in a massive lion’s hide, was seen wrestling animatedly with what he claimed was a 9-headed Hydra. It was, in fact, a stuffed kiwi plushie from Kirkcaldie & Stains.

Gods & Heroes: Improvised Myths is a brand-new improvised show, featuring Wellington Improvisation Troupe’s (WIT) most experienced players. The Greek Gods and Heroes you know and love now have a new home, atop Wellington’s own Mt Victoria. Witness the creation of new myths and legends as the daily squabbles and dramas of the Gods and Heroes invariably spill over into the world of the Kiwi mortals.

“Our Gods and Heroes are just like humans – they have the same strengths, the same weaknesses. They bicker and fight just like any family. They reflect our own stories, which is great material for improv”, says Christine Brooks, Director for the show.

“WIT has built a reputation for character-based improvised theatre that focuses on storytelling, through three seasons of its sold-out improvised soap opera, The Young and the Witless, and Gods and Heroes will build on this,” she said.

WIT’s best character improvisers bring you Gods & Heroes: Improvised Myths from Saturday February 20 to Wednesday February 24 at 9:30 p.m. at BATS Theatre as part of Fringe 2010.

WIT is an improvised theatre group that has been performing shows in the Wellington region since 2003. WIT has over 30 active members and they are also producing two other shows for Fringe 2010: The Improvathon and the popular format, Micetro.

CAST: Christine Brooks, originally from Christchurch
Geoff Simmons, originally from Auckland
Simon Smith, originally from Taranaki
Paul Sullivan, originally from Christchurch
Anton van Helden of Wellington

Performance dates and times:
Saturday 20 – Wednesday 24 December 2009; 9:30pm
$16 Full / $13 Concession / $10 Fringe Addict

Bookings at BATS Theatre: Phone (04) 802 4175 or email book@bats.co.nz

The Wishing Tree, 2009

flyer_wishingtree_miniIMPROV TO REMEMBER IN THE MORNING

An enchanting new improv show, The Wishing Tree, comes to BATS Theatre from 8 – 12 December, presented by the Wellington Improvisation Troupe (WIT). Based on a Japanese myth of love, luck and fate, a tree blossoms with genuine wishes as anonymously supplied by the audience. These true desires become the inspiration for scenes that will transport audiences to a world where their own wishes are brought to life before their eyes. Sometimes for good, other times for ill, and sometimes just for a laugh.

The Wishing Tree premiered during the 2009 New Zealand Improv Festival with a one-off show comprising performers from troupes across New Zealand and Australia. Described as “elegant and touching” (Salient Magazine), by popular demand WIT is bringing this show back to Wellington audiences who missed out on the sold-out show during the Festival.

WIT Co-Creative Director, Christine Brooks, describes the concept as “a different kind of improv. A lot of improv shows are a bit of fun, but can end up being pretty disposable, like a comedy version of a one night stand. The Wishing Tree creates improvised theatre that I want to remember in the morning.”

Based on a format created by Rama Nicholas of Impro Melbourne, The Wishing Tree has been performed around the world, from Belgium to Seattle, inspiring performers and audience alike.

“We all have dreams, goals and desires,” says Brooks, “but how much do we think about them? Sometimes you get what you think you’ve always wanted and it’s kind of disappointing or you get something unexpected and it’s great! The Wishing Tree allows people to reflect on their desires and wishes in a fun, open way. It’s thrilling to be able to entertain people and make them think at the same time.”

Starring WIT regulars from improvised soap The Young and the Witless, Derek Flores, Simon Smith, Anton van Helden, Paul Sullivan, Christine Brooks and others, The Wishing Tree will bring your true desires to life in a unique theatre experience this December.

WIT show posters

NZ Improv Festival, 2009

mini_nzif09The second annual New Zealand Improv Festival ran 7-10 October at BATS Theatre and the Fringe Bar, and featured performers from Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch and Australia.

Producer: Merrilee McCoy
Artistic Director: Derek Flores

MEDIA RELEASE  New Zealand Improv Festival 2009
Stumbling Towards Awesome!

Featuring: Wellington Improvisation Troupe (Wgtn), The Improvisors (Wgtn), The Court Jesters (Chch), The Con Artists (Akld) and Impro Melbourne (Aus)

The New Zealand Improv Festival is back – bigger, edgier, funnier, and ready to fall off the rails!

We bring you the best improv companies in NZ together for one awesome festival dedicated to making it up as we go along. What could possibly go wrong?

Groups from Auckland (ConArtists), Christchurch (Court Jesters), and Wellington (WIT & The Improvisors) are joined by Impro Melbourne in showcasing the best of improvisational theatre ready to change the way you see spontaneous.

Using nothing more than their wit and gumption these purveyors of on-the-spot creation will transfix you to the stage, all the while treading that highwire between genius and disaster. Even if it fails….it still succeeds!

Programme
07/10/2009 WellingSin City (Wellington Improv Troupe)
07/10/2009 Garry Trotter and the Philosopher’s Whateveryoulike (The Improvisors)
08/10/2009 Mr. Fish And His Spooky Library Of The Improv Macabre (Impro Melbourne)
08/10/2009 Bite Me: FangProv (Con Artists)
08/10/2009 Late Night Jam (NZIF Ensemble)
09/10/2009 Off The Map (Court Jesters)
09/10/2009 The Wishing Tree (Impro Melbourne)
09/10/2009 Late Night Jam (NZIF Ensemble)
10/10/2009 All Star Micetro Improv (NZIF Ensemble)