''Die-Nasty'' is a live

improvised Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

, running weekly in the city of

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 ...

since 1991. ''Die-Nastys improv comedy format features a continuing storyline and recurring characters, live music, and a director who sets up scenes for the audience (and performers) in voiceover. The current core cast of ''Die-Nasty'' features Delia Barnett, Belinda Cornish, Tom Edwards, Vincent Forcier, Jesse Gervais, Kristi Hansen, Jason Hardwick, Wayne Jones,

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 numb ...

, and Stephanie Wolfe. Previous cast members include Matt Alden, Dana Andersen, Shannon Blanchet, Leona Brausen, Peter Brown, Chris Craddock, Jeff Haslam, Kory Mathewson, Chantal Perron, Cathleen Rootsaert, Sheri Somerville, Davina Stewart and Donovan Workun. Notable former cast members include 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 ...

, Ron Pederson and Patti Stiles. In the course of its thirty-season run, ''Die-Nasty'' has welcomed many prominent guest stars, including Joe Flaherty,

Mump and Smoot Mump and Smoot are a Canadian clown duo created by Michael Kennard and John Turner, and directed by Karen Hines. Also referred to as 'clowns of horror', they've produced interactive, improvisational plays aimed squarely at adult audiences."After an ...

Robin Duke Robin Duke (born March 13, 1954) is a Canadian actress, comedian, and voice actress. Duke may be best known for her work on the television comedy series '' SCTV'' and, later, ''Saturday Night Live''. She co-founded ''Women Fully Clothed'', a ske ...

Mark McKinney Mark Douglas Brown McKinney (born June 26, 1959) is a Canadian actor and comedian. He is best known as a member of the sketch comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall, which includes starring in the 1989 to 1995 TV series ''The Kids in the Hall'' and 1 ...

Alan Tudyk Alan Wray Tudyk ( ;; born March 16, 1971) is an American actor. His film work includes roles in '' 28 Days'' with Sandra Bullock (2000), ''A Knight's Tale'' with Heath Ledger (2001), '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'' with Vince Vaughn (2004 ...

and

Mike Myers Michael John Myers OC (born May 25, 1963) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. His accolades include seven MTV Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2002, he was awarded a star on the Hollywoo ...

. Since 1993, ''Die-Nastys home has been 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 ...

, a busy live theatre and improv comedy hotspot in Edmonton's historic

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 ...

district. The regular season show runs on Monday nights at 7:30pm, from mid-October until late May. The ''Die-Nasty'' company have also performed an annual mini-series at the world-renowned

Edmonton International Fringe Festival The Edmonton International Fringe Festival is an annual arts festival held every August in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Produced by the Fringe Theatre Adventures (FTA), it is the oldest and largest fringe theatre festival in North America (based on ...

every August since 1997. Every September, ''Die-Nasty'' hosts the annual Soap-A-Thon — currently a 50-hour marathon of continuous improv, which features many performers, technical crew and volunteers going the entire weekend without sleep. The first Soap-A-Thon was held in 1993, originally at 48-hours, and was the company's first production in the Varscona. Each subsequent year, the running time increased until it topped out at 53-hours where it stayed for several years until the decision in 2010 to round the event to 50-hours. The current record holders for most performance hours at the Soap-A-Thon are core cast members

and Patti Stiles. In 2005, then-director Dana Andersen exported the company's annual Soap-A-Thon to England, working with legendary British theatre artist

Ken Campbell Kenneth Victor Campbell (10 December 1941 – 31 August 2008) was an English actor, writer and director known for his work in experimental theatre. He has been called "a one-man dynamo of British theatre". Campbell achieved notoriety in the 1 ...

to produce a 36-hour-long soap opera in London. Several members of Campbell's company made the pilgrimage to Canada in the years 2006-2010 to take part in the original 53-hour-long event. Andersen paid further visits to London (along with several members of the Die-Nasty troupe) to direct 50-hour Improvathons (in 2008 and 2009 at the People Show Studios in 2010 at Hoxton Hall). The following February, Andersen and company returned for another 50 hour Improvathon in the same venue, produced by The Sticking Place in conjunction with Die-Nasty. In 2011,

, Belinda Cornish, and Donovan Workun appeared in the London Improvathon at Hoxton Hall, directed by Adam Meggido. ''Die-Nasty'' has been honoured with a special Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award for Excellence in Theatre, and has also been nominated for several

Canadian Comedy Awards The Canadian Comedy Awards (CCA) is an annual ceremony that awards the Beaver for achievements in Canadian comedy in live performance, radio, film, television, and Internet media. The awards were founded and produced by Tim Progosh in 2000. T ...

. Their nomination in 2006 won ''Die-Nasty'' the Canadian Comedy Award for best improv troupe in the country. On February 12, 2007, the troupe received special recognition from the government of

upon reaching the milestone 500th episode of ''Die-Nasty''.

Directors

* Janice MacDonald, Jason Hardwick 2021/22 * Vincent Forcier, Belinda Cornish, Peter Brown 2018/19 * Jeff Haslam 2012/13, 2016/17 * Cathleen Rootsaert 2010/11-2011/12, 2013/14-2015 * Dana Andersen 2001/02–2009/10, 2015/16 *

Trevor Anderson Trevor Anderson (born 3 March 1951) is a Northern Irish former footballer and manager. He played as a forward. Playing career Born in Belfast, Anderson began his playing career at Portadown before signing for Manchester United in October 197 ...

1996-2001 * Stewart Lemoine 1996-1998, 2021 * Ian Ferguson 1991-1996

Musical directors

* Paul Morgan Donald 1992–present *

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 ...

1991, recurring 2008–2014

Technical directors

* Brad "Five Arms" Fischer 1997–2020 * Brad Mitchell 1996-1997 * Jason Golinsky (SM) 1995-1996 * Jody Longworth 1991–1996 * Gorett V. 1991 * Terry Freestone 1991 * Chris Taylor 1991

Producers

* Nicole Thibault 2009–present * Chloe Chalmers 2001-2009 * Stewart Lemoine 1998-2001 * Tanya Hemmings 1991 * Ian Ferguson

References

External links