Organization\u2019s Northern Ontario regional tournament returns for first time since pandemic<\/p>\n
The Canadian Improv Games has announced the return of its Northern Ontario regional tournament for the first time since 2020.<\/p>\n
Scheduled for Valentine\u2019s Day 2026, the tournament takes place in Sudbury.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the first time since 2020, improv is back in Northern Ontario,\u201d said regional producer Billy Wray.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sense of family and support that CIG Sudbury and Northern Ontario has is by far the<\/p>\n
largest in an already very supportive organization. I\u2019m thrilled that other young performers get a<\/p>\n
chance to experience the games again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Founded in 1977, the Canadian Improv Games is a national charity that teaches youth social,<\/p>\n
emotional and leadership skills through the art of improvisational theatre.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What began in Ottawa nearly 50 years ago has since grown to include 14 regions across the country, including Sudbury and Northern Ontario.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe joined the Northern Ontario region in 2012, after my students saw what was going on at<\/p>\n
other schools and told me that we had to get involved,\u201d says Earl Sacrey, coach of the<\/p>\n
Gravenhurst High School improv team.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI did not feel like I had the skills or knowledge to coach a team, but the CIG was there with lesson plans, volunteer support, and anything I needed to get started. From that point forward, we were hooked, and within a few years, even our small rural school was able to field two full CIG teams.\u201d<\/p>\n
The region last competed in February 2020, when the Huntsville Bravo Squad were crowned<\/p>\n
champions and set to advance to the National Festival. Just weeks later, the event was<\/p>\n
cancelled as the COVID-19 pandemic brought live performances to a halt.<\/p>\n
CIG pivoted to online programming in 2021 and gradually returned to in-person events across<\/p>\n
Canada. Now Northern Ontario is officially back on the map.<\/p>\n
\u201cCIG Sudbury gave me a home, a family, and a purpose all at once. After a long hiatus, I am ecstatic to be back where I belong\u2014surrounded by friends, laughter, and unbridled joy,\u201d said Khris Finley, regional producer of the Northern Ontario tournament.<\/p>\n
Anticipation is already building among alumni and volunteers. \u201cIt\u2019s amazing that an organization that meant so much to me growing up is back at it. It\u2019s so exciting to be able to [instill] a love of improv in [the] next generation of Sudburians\/Northern Ontarians,\u201d says local volunteer Cora Eckert.<\/p>\n
The first events leading up to the regional tournament will take place this October in Sudbury<\/p>\n