The show goes on no matter what – snow, sleet, hail and assertive phone calls from Toronto mentioning trademark infringement.
Go 4 Broke, formerly known as Beerprov, had adopted the intoxicating name about four years ago for a Fringe act. The St. Albert improvisers knew there was a festival with the moniker “Beerprov,” but were unaware that another Beerprov troupe existed in Hogtown.
“It was like calling ourselves Saturday Night Live and trying to get away with it,” laughs Sean Bedard, captain of the zany theatre group.
The former St. Albert resident is zipping through social media advertising the improv troupe’s new name and fine-tuning Go 4 Broke’s improvisational games.
“For us making the transition from Beerprov to Go 4 Broke was a little bit of a panic. But we consider ourselves artists and an artist makes challenging work. Part of being an artist is evolving. With Go 4 Broke, the sky is the limit. It opens us up to a bigger audience and we now advertise on YouTube.”
More than a new name, the company will present a re-energized dynamic at their next improvaganza on Wednesday, June 19 at Alberta Avenue Theatre.
In addition to old-timers Sean Bedard, Josh Languedoc, Ali Yusuf, Scott Pedrick, Tyler Dettling, Michael Gordon and Jeremy Le Riche, four new faces unite to make their debut. Emily Burden, Meg Webster, Kercelyn Pasternak and Mazuri Walters add a collaborative texture that raises the bar a few notches.
Languedoc, one of the founding veterans and a teacher at the Citadel Theatre’s Foote Theatre School, believes the newbies convey an electric energy that has kindled a renewed passion in the veterans.
“They bring a different attitude, a different passion and training. Before we were going in different directions and we weren’t always communicating ideas. Now it’s more positive. There’s an open way of communicating and sharing ideas,” Languedoc explains.
Pasternak, a St. Albert resident, is a teacher with a side-passion for the stage. Both Webster and Burden have degrees in performance, and Walters is a carefree spirit that carries raw passion to the table.
Bedard and company realize that improv is different from other theatrical forms. It is an art form that exists solely in a spontaneous moment.
To create the right ambiance, the company specializes in interactive game playing without props or costumes. Just a full-scale impish irreverent humour that changes the evening’s structure and flow.
The troupe is premiering a new game titled Follow the Leaver. A scene is set up by a couple of comics. When one actor leaves, the game follows the person leaving the scene and the remaining improvisers must adapt to the circumstances. New actors can step in at any moment with unexpected twists and turns happening with lightening speed.
Doors open at 8 p.m. Showtime is 8:30 p.m. Alberta Avenue Theatre is located at 9030 – 118 Ave. Tickets are $10 at the door.
