''Rapid Fire Theatre'' (RFT) is an

improvisational theatre Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, a ...

company based in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

History

The origins of the company stretch to 1981, when Edmonton's Theatre Network became the third company in the world to regularly produce

Keith Johnstone Keith Johnstone (born February 21, 1933) is a British and Canadian pioneer of improvisational theatre, best known for inventing the ''Impro System'', part of which are the Theatresports. He is also an educator, playwright, actor and theatre direct ...

Theatresports Theatresports is a form of improvisational theatre, which uses the format of a competition for dramatic effect. Opposing teams can perform scenes based on audience suggestions, with ratings by the audience or by a panel of judges. Developed by di ...

. The Artistic Director of Theatre Network at the time, Stephen Heatley, brought the high-energy format to Edmonton, and eventually, performers from the show formed Rapid Fire Theatre, which officially became its own theatre company in 1988. Rapid Fire Theatre performed originally at the Phoenix Theatre in Downtown Edmonton until 1990 when it moved to The Chinook Theatre in

Old Strathcona Old Strathcona is a historic district in south-central Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Once the commercial core of the separate city of Strathcona, the area is now home to many of Edmonton's arts and entertainment facilities, as well as a local s ...

, which became the

Varscona Theatre The Varscona Theatre is a live performance venue in the Old Strathcona neighborhood of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Since 1994, the Varscona has been operated by a consortium of small theatre companies, including Teatro la Quindicina and Shadow Thea ...

in 1994. Rapid Fire Theatre performed there until 2012, and was part of the Varscona Theatre Alliance, along with

Teatro la Quindicina Teatro may refer to: * Theatre * Teatro (band) Teatro, Italian for "theatre", is a vocal group signed to the Sony BMG music label. The members of Teatro are Jeremiah James, Andrew Alexander, Simon Bailey and Stephen Rahman-Hughes. Band member ...

and

Shadow Theatre The Shadow Theatre is an Edmonton-based theatre company born of the Edmonton International Fringe Festival in 1990. History Shadow Theatre was incorporated in 1992, operating under the governance of a volunteer Board of Directors. Co founded by H ...

. In September 2012, Rapid Fire Theatre moved back north of the river to Zeidler Hall at the

Citadel Theatre The Citadel Theatre is the major venue for theatre arts in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, located in the city's downtown core on Churchill Square. It is the third largest regional theatre in Canada. History It began in a former Salvati ...

complex, as announced by

Maria Bamford Maria Bamford (born September 3, 1970) is an American actress and stand-up comedian. Her work has drawn critical acclaim and controversy because her humor often uses self-deprecating and dark topics, including her dysfunctional family, depression ...

. In 2013 Rapid Fire Theatre launched a capital campaign with the goal of building their own theatre.

Artistic Directors

* Stephen Heatley (Theatre Network) * Jack Smith 1988–1991 * Patti Stiles 1991–1995 * Jacob Banigan 1995–2004 * Chris Craddock 2005–2009 *

Kevin Gillese Kevin Gillese (born 24 December 1980) is a Canadian actor, writer and improvisor from Edmonton, Alberta. Career Gillese started as a performer with the improv company Rapid Fire Theatre and also works regularly with the Atomic Improv and per ...

2009–2010 * Amy Shostak 2010–2015 * Matt Schuurman 2015–Present

Shows

RFT currently produces two weekly shows:

and the long form improv show Chimprov. Some members of Rapid Fire Theatre have produced or performed in sketch comedy shows. Other shows previously produced by RFT over the years have included Gorilla Theatre, Catch 23 and The 11:02 Show, as well as main stage productions like "On Being a Peon" and "The Critic", penned by RFT member Chris Craddock, as well as collaborative projects like “Fairytales Scratched” (

& Arlen Konopaki), “A Watched Pot Never Boyles” (Amy Shostak & Arlen Konopaki), and “Kiss My Bus” (Amy Shostak, Kirsten Rasmussen, and Clarice Eckford). In 2011, Rapid Fire Theatre marked the 30th season of

in Edmonton with an Alumni Weekend.

Improvaganza

RFT also hosts an annual international improvisation festival, Improvaganza, which brings improv artists from across the world together every June. The festival is partially funded by the

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...

Guests

Past guest artists at Improvaganza have included The Sunday Service,

CRUMBS Crumb or Crumbs may refer to: Crumb * ''Crumb'' (film), a 1994 documentary about cartoonist Robert Crumb * Crumb (surname) * Crumb (unit), a unit of information consisting of two bits * Crumb (band), an American indie band Crumbs * ''Crumb ...

Picnicface Picnicface was a Canadian sketch comedy troupe based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, consisting of Mark Little, Andrew Bush, Kyle Dooley, Cheryl Hann, Brian MacQuarrie, Evany Rosen, Scott Vrooman and Bill Wood. Formed in 2006, the group were most note ...

The Pajama Men The Pajama Men are Shenoah Allen and Mark Chavez, an American comedy duo of character comics from Albuquerque, New Mexico. They have won awards including the Barry Award at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2009, and Best Newcomer ...

, Convoy (

Upright Citizens Brigade The Upright Citizens Brigade is an improvisational and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 1990. The original incarnation of the group consisted of Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, Matt Walsh, Adam McKay, Ri ...

Neil Hamburger Neil Hamburger is a fictional standup comedian and singer created by Australian-American entertainer Gregg Turkington. Distinguished for his misanthropic jokes and anti-comedy style, Turkington has released a number of albums as Hamburger and ...

, Standards and Practices,

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical ''Showstopper! The Improvised Musical'' is an improvised comedy, musical theatre show founded in London in 2008. It has toured the UK extensively, usually sells out at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe every year, had its own BBC Radio 4 series in ...

Moshe Kasher Mark Moshe Kasher (born July 6, 1979) is an American stand-up comedian, writer and actor based in the Los Angeles area. He is the author of the 2012 memoir ''Kasher in the Rye: The True Tale of a White Boy from Oakland Who Became a Drug Addict, C ...

, Doppelganger, La Gata,

The School of Night The School of Night is a modern name for a group of men centred on Sir Walter Raleigh that was once referred to in 1592 as the "School of Atheism". The group supposedly included poets and scientists Christopher Marlowe, George Chapman, Matthew ...

, Det Andre Teatret, Et Compagnie, Mantown,

Dad's Garage Theatre Company Dad's Garage Theatre Company, located at 569 Ezzard St. in the Old Fourth Ward in Atlanta, Georgia, was founded in 1995 by Chris Blair, Marc Cram, Sean Daniels, George Faughnan, John Gregorio, David Keeton, Joseph Limbaugh, Matt Stanton, and Matt Y ...

, Die Gorillas,

Iron Cobra Becky Johnson (born February 14, 1978) is a Canadian comedian, writer, actress, improviser, craftsperson and organizer. Early life Johnson was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, on February 14, 1978, she attended Queen Elisabeth Annex Primary ...

Loose Moose Theatre The Loose Moose Theatre Company (LMTC), is a theater company based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It was co-founded in 1977, by Keith Johnstone and Mel Tonken. LMTC has an international reputation for developing the theatrical style of improvisation ...

, Teater Narobov and

Unexpected Productions Unexpected Productions (UP) is an improvisational comedy company in Seattle, Washington, USA. From their home at the Market Theater in Seattle's historic Pike Place Market, in Post Alley, Unexpected Productions produces year-round shows, teaches im ...

Musical Guests

Musical guests have included The Magnificent Sevens, Gift of Gab, Mass Choir, Christian Hansen & The Autistics, The Famines, Doug Hoyer, Rah Rah, The Joe, Mikey Maybe, and Mitchmatic.

Awards

Rapid Fire Theatre has received several awards, including a special

Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award The Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award (also known as the Sterling Award) is a local Edmonton, Alberta award presented annually which honours excellence in theatre. The award covers a number of categories, including production, performance, direction ...

for excellence in theatre. Rapid Fire was named Best Theatre Company by VUE Weekly readers in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 as well as Edmonton's Favourite Live Theatre Company by the Edmonton Journal in 2014. In 2013, the company also won a Canadian Comedy Award for Best Comedy Short for Internet Search History Revealed.

Touring

Members of the company have performed across the world, including multiple appearances at the Berlin International Improv Festival, The Wurzburger Improtheaterfestival, The Chicago Improv Festival (CIF), The Vancouver International Improv Festival (VIIF), The Winnipeg International Improv Festival (IF), The Canadian Comedy Award Showcases (Toronto), The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre Theatresports Tournament hosted by

Vancouver Theatresports League Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

, and the World Domination Theatresports Tournament presented annually in Atlanta by

Performers

Current

Current performers at Rapid Fire Theatre include: * Joleen Ballendine * Paul Blinov * Chris Borger * Joey Lucius * Gordie Lucius * Kelly Turner * Joe Vanderhelm * Julian Faid * Todd Houseman * Kory Mathewson * Marg Lawler * Jessie McPhee *

Mark Meer Mark Meer is a Canadian actor, writer and improvisor, based in Edmonton, Alberta. He is known for his role in the ''Mass Effect'' trilogy, in which he stars as the voice of the player character, Commander Shepard. His voice is featured in a numbe ...

* Tim Mikula * Matt Schuurman * Syd Campbell * Sarah Ormandy

Notable alumni

Players and alumni of Rapid Fire Theatre include: * Dana Andersen * Jacob Banigan *

Wes Borg Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie (aka 'The Trolls') was a Canadian comedy group from Edmonton, Alberta formed in 1987. Their credits include numerous stage productions, a television show and five albums. The Trolls did sketch comedy, often on risqu� ...

* Marty Chan * Chris Craddock * Josh Dean *

Nathan Fillion Nathan Fillion (; born March 27, 1971) is a Canadian-American actor. He played the leading roles of Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds on '' Firefly'' and its film continuation '' Serenity'', and Richard Castle on '' Castle''. , he was starring as J ...

* Paul Mather *

Ron Pederson Ronald Pederson (born January 8, 1978) is a Canadian ( Métis) actor, comedian and theatre director who has worked extensively throughout Canada and in the United States. He has performed with most of Canada's major theatres including The Stratf ...

Jan Randall Jan Randall is a Canadian composer, singer songwriter and professional musician. He has had an extensive career composing sound tracks, performing original songs, and improvising music for comedy theatre. He currently plays regularly with his ba ...

* Cathleen Rootsaert * Patti Stiles * Neil Grahn * Donovan Workun * Kirsten Rasmussen

References

External links

Official Site
{{authority control Nightclubs in Alberta Improvisational theatre in Canada Theatre in Edmonton Theatre companies in Alberta Companies based in Edmonton Comedy clubs in Canada Canadian comedy troupes