In honour of Canada 150, Vancouver TheatreSports League pokes fun at Canadian stereotypes in Oh, Canada – The True North Strong and Funny, until Sept. 2. at The Improv Centre on Granville Island. Tickets start at $10, available at vtsl.com.
Our obsession with hockey, a certain hunky prime minister, maple syrup, lumberjacks, and Timmy’s double-double – the list of Canuck stereotypes to make fun of is endless, eh?
In honour of Canada’s 150, Vancouver’s finest improv actors are dedicating a summer’s worth of shows to poke fun at their fellow countryfolk – and then promptly apologize.
In a series of vignettes and improv games, quick-witted ad-lib actors from Vancouver TheatreSports League lampoon Canadian institutions and icons such as Anne of Green Gables, Heritage Minutes and the dim-witted Dudley Do-Right. We’ll have to see if Don Cherry or Celine Dion make the cut.
Denise Jones oversees the comedic chaos, as artistic director and 14-year vet of VTSL. She’s particularly excited aboot VTSL mounting Oh, Canada – The True North Strong and Funny.
“I love hearing how the world looks at Canada. You know, we get dialled down to Tim Hortons and hockey and those sorts of obsessions. I think a lot of the stereotypes about Canada are true,” she says, gasp, unapologetically.
That’s actually Jones’ favourite thing to joke about – how apologetic Canadians are seen.
“So sorry, eh. So sorry. So sorry about that. All over the world we’re known as the country that when someone bumps into us, we say sorry. I’ve had people full-on smack right into me walking on the sidewalk and I will apologize for getting in their way. Oh, so sorry, so sorry.”
Something Jones is not sorry about? Watching VTSL alum and Canadian improv king Colin Mochrie gyrating on a stripper pole to the sounds of uncontrollable laughter.
“So we all learned from the legend,” says Jones of her mentor, Mochrie.
VTSL actors take their cues from the comedic stylings of legendary Canadian funny guys spanning from Wayne and Shuster to Bob and Doug McKenzie to current improv legends Mochrie and Ryan Stiles.
The True North Strong and Funny, fittingly, begins its run on Canada Day weekend. On opening night there will be roving actors dressed as Mounties.
For the July 1 show, Jones hopes the audience wears their civic pride on their sleeve.
“The show we have made is pretty Canadian but we’ll try and pile on as much as we can on Canada Day for sure,” promises Jones.
VTSL improv is very audience participatory, meaning volunteers will willingly or through coaxing climb on stage. The audience drives the outcome, explains Jones.
But will American politics come into play?
“Well I don’t know if we’re all tired of that,” says Jones through a heavy sigh, followed by a nervous laugh.
Nothing is off the table and no one is safe when it comes to improv, especially Trump. If an audience member shouts out a suggestion, it’s fair game, says Jones.
There will be plenty of leftover laughs – between The Beachcombers and Justin Bieber – if you want to see the show more than once this summer. Improv is a different experience every time.
“We don’t do the same scenes, the same set every time. So you’ll come see a variety of different games. And our cast is ever rotating, so you will never see the same show twice in our theatre,” explains Jones of the Vancouver institution which has been bringing the laughs every week since 1980.
The Improv Centre boasts a beautiful bar and patio right on the Granville Island waterfront, and guests can bring alcoholic drinks into the theatre.
North Shore resident Bill Pozzobon has been with the company for two decades and is now part of the VTSL artistic team. He’ll be appearing in Oh, Canada in rotation, like all the other ensemble members.
Jones says she is impressed that after all these years Pozzobon still brings a passion to the performance art and an interest to step out of his comfort zone.
“He has a real sardonic, dark edge as an improviser. He’s not like crazy smiley face improviser, he goes at it from someone who has seen a lot of scenes. So to have that spark after all those years is exciting and commendable,” she says.
Jones has done theatre, film and TV and says they are “very rewarding” but improv is a different animal.
“I walk away from improv nights feeling like something magical happened because you build something together with your cast mates,” she says.
