Past Shows, for those who like to remember . . .
| Remember
. . . WIT Dreamz, CSI Wainui, Witside
Story, The Wishing Tree, Micetro, The Young and the
Witless IV, Improv Divas, Love Possibly The
Wishing
Tree, Improv Shorts, The Second New Zealand
Improv Festival, The
Young and the Witless III, WellingSIN
City, Gorilla Theatre, Micetro, The
First New Zealand Improv Fest, Improv
Angels, Catch 23 and so, so much
more. Page is ordered geologically; scroll down for older shows. |
|
|
|
|
 NZIF
is over. But oh what a festival the 2011 New Zealand Improv
Festival
at BATS was! Familiar faces included The Court Jesters, The Improvisors and WIT, as well as new groups Up Against Improv, Chicken Legs Theatre, and representatives from Brisbane, Dunedin and Canberra. As well, two of Australia’s best improvisers Rebecca De Unamuno and Jason Geary visited with new and unique shows. Thanks and cheers to all the people who made it happen ... the producer, the musicians, the lighting guy, the players, the ticket takers, the setters-up-of-things, the leaflet hander-outerers, the lovely reviewers, the lovely sponsors, the lovely audiences. And Producer/Artistic director Merrilee! |
|
 Back for its fifth season in June and July 2011 Wellington's best, and only, improvised soap opera turned its overly melodramatic eye to the highly competitive and scandalous world of indoor social netball. Team mates and lovers, friends and coaches, nemesis and referees - all ripe for soft lens over-acting and long dramatic pauses with a swelling musical score. |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
CSI Wainui
|
|
Battle of WITs
|
|
WITSide Story As
part of the 2011 Wellington Fringe Festival, 3 nights of
heartfelt stories at BATs Theatre, a journey into the world of
musical theatre. Musical master Robbie Ellis supported a team of skilled improvisers; Christine Brooks, Mark Scott, Jen O'Sullivan, Geoff Simmons and overseas guest, Anne Brashier. These guys and dolls bought to life a new story each night inspired by suggestions from you, the audience. |
|
|
. |
|
 The Wishing TreeFollowing a popular season in 2009, the Wellington Improvisation Troupe (WIT) bought The Wishing Tree to the Garden Club Tuesday 7th – Saturday 11th December. Based on a Japanese myth of love, luck and fate, The Wishing Tree has been performed around the world from Belgium to Seattle, inspiring performers and audiences alike. 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”. Wishes, supplied anonymously by the audience, are brought to life by the improvisers, providing the inspiration for scenes where the wishes unfold – sometimes for good, sometimes for ill and sometimes just for a laugh. Starred WIT regulars Christine Brooks, Derek Flores, Ralph McCubbin Howell, Merrilee McCoy, Mark Scott, Simon Smith and Paul Sullivan. |
|
 |
|
The New
Zealand Improv Festival 2010 An event
so awesome it had its own
website! There were rampaging plethori of amazingly fatastic shows at BATS Theatre and The Fringe Bar, which featured New Zealand's most talented improvisors (and some darn fine ones from beyond our shores too). There was The Wellington Improvisation Troupe, The Improvisors , The Court Jesters, The Con Artists, Rebecca De Unamuno (Sydney) and Crumbs (Canada) The New Zealand Improv Festival's third year was bigger, edgier, funnier, and we can't wait until the next one! |
|
| The Improv Lab In September 2010 some strange and some wonderful new formats were trialed at the Fringe Bar - featuring cowboys, dragons, musicals and so many more. Expect to see some of the shows back for a return season of their own.  |
|
Thank God it's . . .
Improv! A late night delight from WIT
hit BATS Theatre on a near-monthly basis in mid 2010 Every month a
different
show from WIT's finest performers.Late night improv - if it's good enough for the Court Jesters in Christchurch, it's good enough for us. That's our new rule. On WIT: "Another small miracle of ingenious group creativity." - John Smythe, Theatreview "Made me laugh a lot" - Laurie Atkinson, Dominion Post Showtime: 11pm Venue and Bookings: BATS Theatre
|
|
Love Possibly Wednesdays with WIT in March/April
2010 saw a six
week season of Love
Possibly From true love, desires, pleasure and
heartbreak; Love Possibly is a show sure to fulfil your weekly RomCom
needs... The audience calls the shots, as the cast then
draw on inspiration from
movies such as ‘Four Flops and a Turkey’, ‘Nothing Hill’ and ‘Bridget’s
Dairy Intolerance’; create a completely improvised ‘chick flick’ and
attempt to find true love, over the course of one hour. Broken hearts
are a certainty… |
|
Gods & Heroes - February 2010 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 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 as part of Fringe 2010 Dates: 9.30pm Saturday February 20th to Wednesday February 24th Venue: BATS, 1 Kent Terrace Tickets: $16 Full / $13 Concession / $12 Fringe Addict Bookings at BATS Theatre: Phone (04) 802 4175 or email book@bats.co.nz The Gods are running both a Facebook page, and Fringe Blogs. |
|
ImprovathonThe 30 hour 2010 Improvathon was so huge it has its own page |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Second New Zealand Improv FestivalThe second fantabulous New Zealand Improv Festival happened in October 2009. All praise to Merrilee and Derek, WIT, The Improvisors , The Court Jesters , ConArtists , Impro Melbourne and everyone else who made it fly! Relive the wonder in photos and reviews .
|
|
The Young and the Witless III
|
|
WellingSIN
City
|
|
|
|
|
| Sunday Improv Jam |
|
New Zealand Improv Fest "New Zealand's most playful minds spring forth in a
festival of improvised theatre."
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
Improv
Angels:
With the help of ‘Charlie’ and some key information from the audience, the Divas will take everyone on an hour long improvised journey. It’s a hair-tossing attempt to spontaneously solve the latest mysterious crime wave, save New Zealand ... and maintain meaningful friendships at the same time. “I laughed so hard I couldn’t see.” - Salient, NZ comedy festival 2008 Catch some all-women action! They’ve shown that they can find love and be hilarious in Lovepossibly. And now they’ve taken on the action genre but it’s still ultimately about relationships. For example: can you still kick-butt with your best friend when she’s sleeping with the super villain? Or is there an ‘I’ in ‘Team’? These are everyday questions that women, and many men, are aching for answers to. Improv Angels continues ‘Wednesdays with WIT’ at the Blue Note Bar, an initiative started by Derek Flores, who will play Charlie for the Improv Angels. Yes, Charlie is a man and they’re okay with that. You tell them the crime and they’ll show you that women can do anything… with heels on. Starring: Anna Burns, Christine Brooks, Clare Kerrison, and Merrilee McCoy. Improv
Angels |
|
The
Young
and
the
Witless
2:
|
|
Catch
23 -
Improv Comedy
|
|
|
|
|
Micetro
- Bringing Improv to the
Burbs
|
|
or coverage concerning the mists of
time
through to 2007 check out the old old
shows
|
|
| WIT... Fumbling Towards
Awesome |
All-Star Micetro
Fresh from
sucessful seasons of Micetro Improv, Gods& Heroes, and Improv
Divas, WIT, purveyors of fine improvised comedy since 2004, were proud
to
offer up another compelling, must see season of spontaneous scandal and
improvised intrigue in June, July and August 2010.
The wittiest WITs have been determined over 10
weeks
of shows, with the best of the best duking it out in the
Comedy Festival Micetro finals season.
