Improvisation in Canada
Regions
Historical Moments
The Second City Opens Its First Permanent Canadian Company in Toronto
The Second City opens its first permanent Canadian location in Toronto, Ontario, establishing what becomes one of the most successful and talent-rich improv training programs in the world. The Toronto company develops its own distinct voice within the Second City tradition, producing alumni who define Canadian and American comedy for decades. The opening marks the beginning of The Second City's expansion beyond its Chicago origins.
The Second City Toronto Opens
Bernard Sahlins and Joyce Sloane opened The Second City Toronto in 1973, extending the Chicago company's franchise to Canada for the first time.
Andrew Alexander Revives Second City Toronto
Andrew Alexander acquired the rights to operate The Second City in Canada for $1 in early 1974, borrowed $7,000, and reopened the company at the Old Firehall at 110 Lombard Street — beginning the era that produced SCTV and launched dozens of major comedy careers.
SCTV Premieres from Second City Toronto
Andrew Alexander and Len Stuart launched SCTV in 1976 as the first production of The Second City Entertainment Company, drawing its cast largely from the Toronto stage. The groundbreaking sketch series ran until 1984.
Second City Television Premieres in Canada
Second City Television, known as SCTV, premiered in 1976 in Canada, produced by The Second City Toronto and Andrew Alexander. The sketch comedy series featured ensemble members including John Candy, Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, and Catherine O'Hara across its eight-year run. SCTV was broadcast nationally in Canada and syndicated in the United States, earning numerous Emmy Awards and establishing Second City alumni as defining voices in North American television comedy.
Loose Moose Theatre Company Founded in Calgary
Keith Johnstone and Mel Tonken co-founded Loose Moose Theatre Company in Calgary in 1977, creating the home where Johnstone would develop Theatresports and other foundational improv formats.
Keith Johnstone Introduces Theatresports
Keith Johnstone introduces the Theatresports format at Loose Moose Theatre in Calgary, creating a competitive framework in which two or more teams of improvisers perform scenes scored by judges. The format combines the spirit of athletic competition with improvisational aesthetics, creating immediate stakes and audience engagement. Theatresports spreads rapidly across Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and eventually worldwide, becoming one of the most widely performed improv formats in history.
Loose Moose Theatre Company Founded in Calgary
Keith Johnstone founds Loose Moose Theatre Company in Calgary, Alberta, creating the institutional home for his developing system of improvisational theater. Loose Moose becomes the birthplace of Theatresports and a laboratory for Johnstone's ongoing experiments with narrative, status, and spontaneity. The company's work, grounded in Johnstone's distinctive pedagogy, influences improvisers throughout Canada and internationally.
Canadian Improv Games Founded in Ottawa
In 1977, Jamie Wyllie and Howard Jerome founded the Canadian Improv Games in Ottawa, Ontario, establishing an annual competitive improvisation tournament for high school students. Wyllie's troupe Stage Fright organized the first matches among eight Ottawa high schools, adapting competitive formats accessible to students encountering improv for the first time. The competition grew to fourteen regional programmes across Canada, with a national final held annually at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.
Ligue Nationale d'Improvisation Founded in Montreal
Robert Gravel and Yvon Leduc performed the first match d'improvisation on October 21, 1977, at midnight at the Maison Beaujeu in Montreal, inaugurating the LNI and the hockey-inspired competitive improv format they had invented.
Ligue Nationale d'Improvisation Holds Its First Match in Montreal
On October 21, 1977, Robert Gravel and Yvon Leduc organised the first Ligue Nationale d'Improvisation match at the Maison de Beaujeu in Montreal, Quebec. The format placed improvisers on a stage marked like a hockey rink, with referees, penalties, and crowd scoring drawn from professional hockey's visual language. The debut match established a competitive improvisation format that became the dominant form of competitive improv in francophone culture worldwide.
Vancouver TheatreSports League Founded
Keith Johnstone's 1980 Vancouver workshop catalyzed the formation of the Vancouver TheatreSports League, formally incorporated as a BC Society in 1981 and home to Colin Mochrie among its inaugural performers.
Theatresports Comes to Edmonton via Theatre Network
Theatre Network Artistic Director Stephen Heatley invited Keith Johnstone to Edmonton in 1981, making Theatre Network the third company in the world to regularly produce Theatresports and beginning the Edmonton improv tradition that would become Rapid Fire Theatre.
Theatresports Toronto Founded at Harbourfront
The company began as Theatresports Toronto in 1982, presenting weekly improvisational comedy at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto, establishing what would become Bad Dog Theatre Company.
La Soiree de l'Impro Premieres on Radio-Quebec Television
On December 20, 1982, the sixth-season final of the Ligue Nationale d'Improvisation aired on Radio-Quebec, inaugurating a televised series called La Soiree de l'Impro. Broadcasts reached audiences across Quebec and drove adoption of the improvisation match format in schools and community leagues throughout the province. The program ran through 1988 and positioned the LNI as a mainstream cultural institution rather than an experimental theatre form.
Rapid Fire Theatre Formed as Independent Company
In 1988 the Edmonton improv performers who had been working under Theatre Network formed Rapid Fire Theatre as their own independent company, with Jack Smith as first Artistic Director.
Canadian Improv Games Establishes National Tournament at the National Arts Centre
In 1988, the Canadian Improv Games established a partnership that brought the annual national tournament to the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. The NAC’s Babs Asper Theatre became the venue for the national finals, giving student performers their first experience on a fully professional stage. The partnership elevated the competition’s national profile and gave the Canadian Improv Games an institutional home it has maintained ever since.
Die-Nasty Founded in Edmonton
Dana Andersen, Mark Meer, David Belke, and other founding members launched Die-Nasty in Edmonton in 1991, presenting a live improvised soap opera format that evolved from an earlier show called Soap on the Rocks.
YTV Begins National Television Coverage of the Canadian Improv Games
During the 1990s, YTV, a Canadian cable television network, began providing hour-long live coverage of the Canadian Improv Games national tournament. The broadcasts transformed a regionally distributed theatre festival into a nationally visible program, allowing students across the country to see peers competing at the National Arts Centre. The television presence established improvisation as a recognized youth performing arts activity in Canada and drove significant growth in regional participation.
Instant Theatre Company Founded in Vancouver
Instant Theatre Company was founded in Vancouver in 1993 or 1994, beginning in Gastown and establishing long-form improv as a complement to the city's existing Theatresports tradition.
Staircase Improv Founded in Hamilton, Ontario
Hugh MacLeod and Kathy Garneau founded Staircase Improv in Hamilton, Ontario in 1996, renovating the former 1914 Dundurn Station power substation into a community improv venue without government or corporate support.
Robert Gravel, Co-Founder of the Ligue Nationale d'Improvisation, Dies
Robert Gravel, who co-founded the Ligue Nationale d'Improvisation with Yvon Leduc in 1977, died in 1996. Gravel was an actor, director, and playwright associated with the Nouveau Theatre Experimental in Montreal who brought to the LNI a commitment to the format as genuine theatrical investigation. His death removed the co-founder most closely associated with the organization's theatrical ambitions and posed the institutional challenge of sustaining a format so deeply shaped by its founding personalities.
Ligue Nationale d'Improvisation Partners with the Festival Just for Laughs
In 1998, the Ligue Nationale d'Improvisation entered a partnership with the Festival Just for Laughs in Montreal and returned to television through associated broadcasting arrangements. The Just for Laughs partnership brought the LNI's format before international comedy industry audiences and connected the French-language competitive improv tradition to the English-language comedy festival circuit operating out of the same city. The partnership represented the LNI's first sustained engagement with the English-language comedy industry.
International Theatresports Institute Founded by Keith Johnstone
Keith Johnstone founded the International Theatresports Institute on May 23, 1998 in Calgary, creating the worldwide licensing and community organization for his Theatresports, Maestro Impro, and Gorilla Theatre formats.
Keith Johnstone Establishes the International Theatresports Institute
On May 23, 1998, Keith Johnstone formalized the international licensing of his competitive formats by establishing the International Theatresports Institute. The ITI grants performance rights for Theatresports, Maestro Impro (also known as Micetro), and Gorilla Theatre, and distributes official format guides co-authored by Johnstone with Patti Stiles and Shawn Kinley. The institute provided a legal and pedagogical framework for the hundreds of organisations worldwide that perform Theatresports under licence.
Vancouver International Improv Festival Launches
Instant Theatre Company launched the Vancouver International Improv Festival in 1999, establishing one of North America's longest-running dedicated improv festivals.
Tickle Me Pickle Founded in Richmond, BC
Jon Lee-Son founded Tickle Me Pickle Theatre Sports Improv Society in Richmond, British Columbia in 1999, creating the first organized improv troupe in the city and the predecessor organization to Richmond Improv Theatre Society.
Tatiana Maslany Performs with General Fools
Tatiana Maslany performed and toured with General Fools Improvisational Theatre for approximately seven years in her early career, becoming a certified improv instructor through the company before her screen career began.
Kevin Patrick Robbins Founds the Impatients in Toronto
In June 2001, Kevin Patrick Robbins founded The Impatients, a longform improv ensemble of twelve performers, in Toronto. The company introduced the Harold to Toronto audiences through its weekly show The Impatients: Uncaged and launched the Toronto version of the Cage Match that October.
Impatient Theatre Co. Produces the Inaugural Toronto International Improv Festival
In 2001, Impatient Productions produced the first Toronto Improv Festival, establishing what would become an annual gathering that brought guest performers from television and film to the city's long-form improv community. The festival continued every August for the duration of the company's operation and was one of the few recurring international improv festivals in Canada.
Company Renamed Bad Dog Theatre Company
On May 1, 2003, the company was renamed Bad Dog Theatre Company under co-artistic directors Kerry Griffin, Marcel St. Pierre, and workshop director Ralph MacLeod, opening its first dedicated space at 138 Danforth Avenue.
The Impatients rebrands as the Impatient Theatre Co.
In June 2003, after the original ensemble dissolved due to artistic differences, the company was rebranded as the Impatient Theatre Co. and launched a formal six-level training curriculum in longform improv and the Harold. Several founding members continued with the company, including Sean Tabares, Ted Hallett, and Rebecca Dreiling.
Kevin Patrick Robbins Serves as the First Artistic Director of Improvisation at Staircase Theatre
During 2004 Kevin Patrick Robbins briefly served as the first Artistic Director of Improvisation at Hamilton's Staircase Theatre. The short appointment extended his teaching and directing work into another Southern Ontario venue during the period when ITC was consolidating its Toronto base.
Loose Moose Moves to Crossroads Market
Loose Moose Theatre moved to its current home at 1235 26th Avenue Southeast in Calgary's Crossroads Market in 2005.
Jackrabbit Slim becomes the Impatient Theatre Co.'s first Harold team
In June 2005, students from the Impatient Theatre Co.'s inaugural class cohort formed Jackrabbit Slim, the company's first Harold team. The team had learned and performed the Harold format without having seen a live professional performance of the form, marking the success of the Impatient Theatre Co.'s approach to curriculum-based Harold training in Toronto.
Impatient Theatre Co. opens its first dedicated training centre
On November 1, 2005, the Impatient Theatre Co. opened its first dedicated training centre at Wellington Street West and Spadina Avenue in Toronto. The studio established the Impatient Theatre Co. as a fixed institution in the city's improv community and initiated a period of rapid enrolment growth that led the company to relocate to a larger space at Queen Street West and Roncesvalles within two years.
Die-Nasty Reaches 500th Episode
On February 12, 2007, the Government of Alberta recognized Die-Nasty as the company performed its 500th episode, marking one of the longest-running improvised serial works in North American comedy.
Impro Montréal Founded in Montreal
Vinny François founded Impro Montréal in Montreal in 2008, creating a bilingual improv school and performance venue on boulevard Saint-Laurent in the Plateau neighbourhood.
Paper Street Theatre Founded in Victoria, BC
Dave Morris founded Paper Street Theatre in Victoria, British Columbia in 2011, creating a company focused on theatrical long-form improvisation that embodies specific playwright styles and theatrical genres.
Vancouver TheatreSports Opens Dedicated Granville Island Theatre
Vancouver TheatreSports League opened its purpose-built 186-seat theatre at 1502 Duranleau Street on Granville Island in 2011, naming it The Improv Centre and expanding to 12 shows per week.
The Improv Centre Opens on Granville Island
Vancouver TheatreSports League opened its purpose-built 186-seat theatre at 1502 Duranleau Street on Granville Island in 2011, naming it The Improv Centre and expanding to 12 shows per week.
Big City Improv Festival Founded in Toronto
Adrianne Gagnon founded the Big City Improv Festival in Toronto in 2011, creating Canada's largest annual improv gathering and a multi-venue showcase for national and international companies.
Hitchhikers Improv Company Founded in Regina
Andy Parry, Cameron Chomyn, Danny Murphy, and Samantha Gross founded Hitchhikers Improv Company in Regina, Saskatchewan in 2013, beginning in a space above a shoe store and growing into the anchor of the city's improv scene.
Impatient Theatre Co. closes in July 2013
The Impatient Theatre Co. closed in July 2013 after a twelve-year run under Kevin Patrick Robbins. The closure marked the end of one of Toronto's most visible long-form institutions, ended the company's role as Toronto's primary Harold-based training centre, and forced the cancellation of the planned 2013 Toronto International Improv Festival.
Sour Dog Theatre Founded in Calgary
Ali Froggatt, Sarah Ferguson, and Quinn Contini founded Sour Dog Theatre in Calgary, Alberta in 2014, the company that would later become Tightrope Theatre in Vancouver.
Social Capital Theatre Founded in Toronto
Ralph MacLeod, Carmine Lucarelli, and Kerri Griffin founded Social Capital Theatre at 154 Danforth Avenue in Toronto around 2014, creating a multi-form independent performing arts venue above the Black Swan Tavern.
Experimental Farm Theatre Founded in Ottawa
Dani Alon and Chris Hannay began producing shows in Ottawa in summer 2014 under the name Experimental Farm Theatre, the organization that would become The Improv Embassy.
Jamie Wyllie, Co-Founder of the Canadian Improv Games, Dies at Age Fifty-Six
Jamie Wyllie, who co-founded the Canadian Improv Games in 1977 alongside Howard Jerome and devoted thirty-seven years to building the organization, died in October 2014 at age 56 after complications from leukemia. Wyllie served as primary organizer and board chair through stretches when institutional support was uncertain, personally securing sponsors and managing matters that sustained the organization’s growth from eight Ottawa high school teams to a national program with fourteen regional chapters.
Paper Street Theatre Opens Victoria Studio
Paper Street Theatre opened a dedicated studio space in Victoria, BC in March 2015, providing a permanent home for rehearsals, classes, and performances.
Haroldfest Launches in Toronto
Martha Stortz founded Haroldfest, Toronto's long-form improv festival, in 2016, preceding the opening of The Assembly Theatre's physical home and signaling the collective's mission to establish a dedicated long-form improv space in the city.
Organization Renamed The Improv Embassy and Incorporated as Nonprofit
In 2016 Dani Alon and Chris Hannay renamed the organization The Improv Embassy and incorporated it as a nonprofit, establishing it as Ottawa's dedicated improv school and festival producer.
The Assembly Theatre Opens at 1479 Queen Street West
Geoffrey Cork, Martha Stortz, and Spencer Thompson opened The Assembly Theatre at 1479 Queen Street West, Toronto in September 2017 in partnership with Leroy Street Theatre, establishing Toronto's dedicated long-form improv home.
Sour Dog Theatre Rebrands as Tightrope Theatre
In 2020 the company rebranded from Sour Dog Theatre to Tightrope Theatre, completing its transition to its Vancouver Mount Pleasant identity.
Impro Montréal Announces Closure Due to COVID-19
Vinny François announced the permanent closure of Impro Montréal in July 2020, citing the COVID-19 pandemic as the cause. The organization was subsequently revived under new leadership and relocated to Saint-Henri.
Vancouver TheatreSports League Rebrands as The Improv Centre
In 2021 the organization officially changed its name from Vancouver TheatreSports League to The Improv Centre, reflecting its evolution into a multi-format improv training and performance organization.
Vancouver TheatreSports League Renamed The Improv Centre
In 2021 the organization formally adopted The Improv Centre as its official registered name, completing the transition from its founding identity as Vancouver TheatreSports League.
Garden City Improv Founded in Victoria, BC
Kevin Matviw and Nash Park founded Garden City Improv in Victoria, BC in September 2021, establishing the city's first professional improv training centre with Second City-trained instruction.
Handsome Bevel Improv Founded in Regina
Stenberg, Vince Good, and Linden Kohut founded Handsome Bevel Improv in Regina, Saskatchewan in late 2022, establishing an independent improv company in a city with an already active improv scene.
Kevin Patrick Robbins Begins Coaching the McMaster Improv Team at McMaster University
Kevin Patrick Robbins began coaching the McMaster Improv Team at McMaster University in Hamilton in September 2022. The move extended his long-form teaching into a new university setting and helped grow the student club from a small group into a larger active ensemble during the 2022-23 school year.
Second City Toronto Opens at One York Street
The Second City Toronto opened its current home at One York Street in November 2022, its third major venue after the Old Firehall and the 1997 theatre district location.
Keith Johnstone Dies in Calgary at Age Ninety
Keith Johnstone died on March 11, 2023, at Rockyview General Hospital in Calgary, Alberta, at the age of ninety. Johnstone created the Theatresports competitive format in the late 1970s and authored Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre (1979) and Impro for Storytellers (1998), two of the most widely read books in improvisational performance. His emphasis on status, spontaneity, and acceptance shaped the pedagogy of improvisation schools across North America, Europe, and Australia.
Wayward Improvised Theatre Founded in Ottawa
Wayward Improvised Theatre was founded in Ottawa, Ontario in 2024 by an experienced leadership group, presenting short-form, long-form, narrative, and Maestro improv formats at Arts Court.
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How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Canada. Retrieved March 17, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/locales/north-america/canada
The Improv Archive. "Canada." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/locales/north-america/canada.
The Improv Archive. "Canada." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/locales/north-america/canada. Accessed March 17, 2026.
The Improv Archive is a systemically maintained repository. The archive itself acts as the corporate author.