Elizabeth Parenteau and Nathan Lise will go on to Ottawa for the next round of competition
Julianna Perkins, RSJ
A team of two students from Toronto District Christian High School won the Canadian Improv Games’ Toronto finals Saturday night at the Al Green Theatre.
Elizabeth Parenteau, 18, and Nathan Lise, 19, beat four other Greater Toronto Area high school teams for first place, sending them and runners-up Ajax High School to Ottawa at the end of April for national finals.
The duo stood out onstage surrounded by other teams of six or seven students.
Parenteau said they formed the small group because their school “disallows couples on the team” in order to maintain a “good group mind and great teamwork.” Parenteau and Lise then decided to enter the competition as their own team of two.
“We decided that we love improv, we love each other, so why don’t we make a team?” said Parenteau.
The Canadian Improv Games is an improvisational theatre program for high school students that hosts regional tournaments across Canada. The winners of each regional tournament compete against each other in Ottawa at national finals.
Positivity at the heart of program
Daniel Gorodetsky, the artistic regional director for the program, said the Canadian Improv Games sees both students from theatrical backgrounds as well as those who are more shy and quiet. He said the program aims to “embrace that beautiful creativity that everybody has inside of them.”
The Canadian Improv Games’ biggest success is its positivity said Gorodetsky, who is also an alumnus of the program.
Gorodetsky, who did both football and improv in high school, said that between the two, “the way in which you interact with your opponents is not quite comparable.” Although it was disappointing when he lost in improv, he would “genuinely feel happy for the people I knew on those teams that were succeeding.” It wasn’t quite the same in football, he said.
“I love the connections you make with people” said Sarah Woodburn, 17, from the M.M. Robinson High School team. Though she’s only been competing for a year, she said she’s noticed that the community is very close-knit.
Parents say the program teaches important life skills
Monica Toffoli and Kiki Athanasellis, both mothers of students competing on the R.H. King Academy team, said that their kids had become more confident through improv. “This experience is priceless,” said Athanasellis about the kids having to think on their feet while onstage.
Toffoli said that many students from the school had come to cheer on the team. “Their principal is here and he’s their biggest supporter,” she said.
The teams are scored by a panel of seven judges on a total of four events. The Life and Theme events are mandatory for all teams, who then choose two of the remaining options; the Style event, the Story event, or the Character event.
Toronto District Christian High School finished in first place, while Ajax High School placed second, M.M. Robinson High School placed third, R.H. King Academy came fourth, and Innisdale Secondary School came fifth, respectively.
When asked about their success, Lise and Parenteau said that they came with no expectations, only to “support others and be role models.”
“It’s so easy to just get your head in the wrong space,” said Lise. “We tried to have fun, as much as we could.”
