High school improv students bring laughs to Sudbury

If Rosalie Lacroix could turn back the clock she would have joined her school's improv team when she started high school four years ago.

The Grade 12 student at l'École secondaire catholique l'Escale, in Rockland, is an improv rookie.

She was always involved in theatre, and admired many of members of the school's improv team for their ability to think fast on the spot, and make an audience laugh without any prior preparation.

When most of those students graduated last year, it left a lot of openings on the team.
Lacroix decided to take the plunge.

“I figured it's my last year of high school, so why not?” she said.

Saturday morning, her team, Les cougars, walked away with the trophy in the C division of the AFOLIE Provincial Improv Tournament, which took place at Collège Boréal over three days.

The Association franco-ontarienne des ligues d'improvisation étudiantes (AFOLIE) has organized the provincial tournament for 27 years. It was hosted by École secondaire catholique Jeunesse-Nord.

Each year, a different French-language school board in the province gets to host hundreds of students as they compete to win over an enthusiastic audience with laughter. This year's tournament included more than 400 students divided in 36 teams from across the province.

Teams wear hockey jerseys and compete on a stage made to look like a miniature hockey rink – complete with boards that advertise tournament sponsors.

Each round a referee gives them a randomly chosen theme for a skit, and a set a parameters. In some cases they may be limited to a certain number of players, or may have to perform the scene in a certain style – such as a western or horror movie.

In some rounds the teams take turns performing their skits, while in others they work together to make the audience laugh.

That collaborative approach sets improv apart from a lot of other competitions.

“It's rare in hockey that you'll make a pass to the other team,” Lacroix said. “But in improv you need to speak with the other team and build a rapport with them.”

It is the audience that chooses the winning team after each round by a show of hands.
Judges can hand team penalties – which dock them points after the collect enough – if they don't adhere to the theme or break other rules.

Martin Laporte, the tournament's head referee, said he has been involved with improv for more than 15 years.

“I find it fun that young people throw themselves out there, to take risks and make the public laugh,” he said.

Many of the students end up building lifelong friendships with their teammates, and learn to build their confidence, public speaking abilities, and how to think quickly on the spot.