Keywords Theatrical Companies & Festivals

Improvisational evenings were broadcast on Québec television for several seasons. The model itself was widely copied, and improvisation leagues appeared in secondary schools, Cégeps, universities, business, bars, and vacation communities. Their success transcended borders, and leagues appeared in Europe, the Antilles and French-speaking Africa. National teams gathered at world cup events. The phenomenon began to run out of steam in the late eighties, when paradoxically, a certain conventionalism in the improvisation seems to have hit the experimental troupe. Télé-Québec ceased broadcasting the matches in 1988. However, after trailing off for a few years, the phenomenon experienced some revival and derivative forms appeared. The Ligue d'improvisation montréalaise (LIM), founded in 1991, eliminated the referee and introduced music and previously unused methods of improvisation into the play. In 1995, the Fédération québécoise d'improvisation was formed in an attempt to regulate the sector. Two years later, improvisation again found its place on the small screen (on Télé-Québec) and the Just for Laughs Festival took the organisation of the Mondial de l'impro under its wing. In October 2007, the Théâtre de la Ligue nationale de l'impro highlighted its 30th anniversary by presenting the Tournoi des étoiles and honouring Patrick L'Écuyer, Raymond Legault, les Bâtisseurs and Hélène Mercier who were figureheads for thirty years.

Author STÉPHANE BAILLARGEON