Vancouver TheatreSports™ (VTS) rocks the laughs with its annual improv celebration, Throwdown – International TheatreSports Festival, at The Improv Centre on Granville Island from Wednesday, January 2 to Sunday, January 27, 2019. Tickets start at $10.75 and are available at www.vtsl.com.
January is often the time of year when the winter blahs set in – the holidays are over, it’s been raining non-stop, and you’ve received your credit card bill from December. The best antidote? – a good dose of hearty laughter.
Throwdown – International TheatreSports Festival welcomes TheatreSports™ teams from other cities who bring their ‘A-Game’ to head-to-head matches with each other including local teams comprised of VTS’ top improvisers.
VTS Artistic & Executive Director Jay Ono adds, “This year, we concentrated on inviting the best teams from the U.S. because later this year in October, the entire TheatreSports™ world will be gathering in Vancouver for the 2019 International TheatreSports™ Institute Conference, which VTS is privileged to host. Throwdown 2019 features fabulous team companies from Honolulu, Bellingham, Portland and returning champs, the talented group from Orlando – who have won for the past three consecutive years.”
From January 2 to 19, local teams comprised of VTS ensemble members play in a classic TheatreSports™ round-robin competition for bragging rights of the best team in Vancouver. The laughs start to flow based on suggestions from the audience, and things can quickly become quite partisan as audience members cheer on their favourite performers. As in all classic TheatreSports™ matches, the final outcome is determined by audience judges scoring each of the ‘games’ within a match. The team with the most points wins.
January 22 to 27 welcomes the four U.S. teams in a series of hilarious matches and showcases designed to banish even the gloomiest of times. The lineup features: Sak Comedy Lab – Orlando, Florida (returning champions); Curious Comedy Theatre – Portland, Oregon; On the Spot Improv – Honolulu, Hawaii; Upfront Theatre – Bellingham, Washington.
On the last evening, January 27, the winners of the international competitions play with the local victors from the previous weeks in a winner-takes-all laugh fest.
“There’s nothing like a little healthy competition to bring out the best in improv comedy,” comments Ono. “And the winner gets bragging rights for an entire year plus an invitation to return in 2020 to defend their crown.”
While no one can predict the outcome, one thing is for certain – audience members will leave in a happier mood from having laughed so much. It all adds up to more than enough fun to chase away the winter blues.
Tickets at www.vtsl.com
For a detailed schedule regarding times and matches for Throwdown – International TheatreSports Festival, visit www.vtsl.com.
For more information on Vancouver TheatreSports™, please visit the following platforms:
Website: www.vtsl.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/
Twitter: www.twitter.com/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/
About Vancouver TheatreSports™ (VTS):
Founded in 1980, VTS has grown to become a well-respected international leader in the improv art form. Voted the ‘#1 Improv Comedy Company’ at the prestigious ‘2017 Best of Vancouver Awards’, VTS entertains more than 65,000 people per year with 12 shows per week, 52 weeks per year at its own theatre, The Improv Centre. An intimate space located on Granville Island, The Improv Centre is a fully-licensed facility with its own Neil Macrae Bar & Lounge, which overlooks False Creek Marina.
In addition, VTS owns and operates The Improv Comedy Institute – an improv school which offers classes from beginner through professional level, conducts province-wide school tours, and operates Improv for Business – a corporate training division with a diverse portfolio of blue-chip clients.
VTS appreciates the on-going support of season sponsors: City of Vancouver, CMHC Granville Island, The Georgia Straight, and The Granville Island Hotel. www.vtsl.com
Media release and image provided by Teresa Trovato, Teresa Trovato PR.
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Throwdown Gets 2018 Off to a Laughing Good Start
VTSL Invites You to Share Some Laughs with Your Mom at the ‘Mother of All Mother’s Day Shows’