The Ligue nationale d'improvisation (LNI) (French for "National Improvisation League") is an

improvisational comedy 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 ...

theatre company Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

created in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

. Most of the participants are thespians, comedians or humorists. The Improvisation League format has spread to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

, Switzerland,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

Description

Although the format has evolved over the years, it has always included humor,

improvisation 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 ...

, and certain characteristics inspired by

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

: hockey jerseys, referees, and an audience that surrounds the performance area, which looks like a hockey rink. Teams in the league are made up of six members: three men and three women. A referee chooses at random a topic that the participants must act out. The teams are given 20 seconds for a preparatory "

caucus A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...

" to decide how to play the scene. After the scene, the audience votes for the winner by holding up cardboard signs displaying the color of the team they like. Each scene or round is worth one point. The team with the most points at the end of the match wins. A referee can also subtract points from a team's score if members break the

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, ...

rules. If a team protests a judge's decision, the judge must justify his or her decision. The audience can also boo decisions they don't like. Each round lasts from thirty seconds to twenty minutes.

History

The Improvisational League was created by Robert Gravel and Yvon Leduc in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

in 1977. It became very popular in the 1980s and many cities organized improvisation competitions. In December 1982 the final of the sixth season of the LNI was broadcast by

Télé-Québec The Société de télédiffusion du Québec (; en, Quebec Television Broadcasting Corporation), branded as Télé-Québec (), is a Canadian French-language public educational television network in the province of Quebec. It is a provincial Crow ...

, which led to even greater popularity. Teams and leagues sprouted up all over Quebec. From then on and until 1988, LNI matches were broadcast on TV by Télé-Québec. During the 1980s, the LNI traveled to face the best improv teams of France, which led to the formation of the ''Ligue d'improvisation française'' ( French Improvisation League). They also played matches in Belgium and Switzerland, which led to national improvisation leagues being formed in those countries. In 1985, the first Improvisation World Cup brought together teams from

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 tota ...

, France, Belgium, and Switzerland in Montreal,

References

External links

LNI - Ligue Nationale d'Improvisation
{{authority control Theatre companies in Quebec Improvisational theatre in Canada