With expansion in mind, the Canadian Improv Games has been eyeing the area of Ontario south of Toronto for a number of years. After all, it is a part of the world replete with theatrical energy and talent; the Stratford Festival, the Shaw Festival, and countless smaller theatre companies are all part of a strong web of dramatic expression stretching to the four corners of the Southwestern Ontario peninsula. 

For years, however, high school students in southern Ontario were not being offered the same opportunities that were already developing budding actors in Vancouver, Manitoba, Sudbury, or St. John’s, to name a few. Because of the already established wealth of dramatic talent, the Waterloo Region was identified as a perfect centre for a new Regional Tournament - and so the local competition was born.

With the assistance of a very strong, experienced, and enthusiastic volunteer base, Regional Director Jeremy Taylor started establishing the necessary contacts in the area. Golden Triangle Online, the region’s internet providers, agreed to provide the brand new Waterloo Regional Improv Games with a website, so becoming the first sponsors of the event. Soon thereafter, the Drama department of the University of Waterloo got involved by providing the Games with a place to hold their event - the beautiful Theatre of the Arts. Tournament dates were quickly established, other local organizations offered support and encouragement, and schools all across the region have begun to catch the improv bug . . . teams are popping up everywhere.

The first ever Waterloo Regional Improv Games will take place from April 4^th until April 6^th, with a final night of play for the top five area teams on the 7^th. Schools from Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph, London, and Hamilton, and everywhere in between, will converge in "loving competition" on the stage of the Theatre of the Arts. The winning team will represent our competition at the national level in late April at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.

This tournament is a perfect addition to an already strong theatrical community in our area of southern Ontario, and it offers students an early opportunity to build confidence, spontaneity, and other important skills on their way to careers in, for example, technology, advertising, law, or theatre, of course.

Due to the influential theatrical community and the enormous number of high-quality high school drama programs southwest of Toronto, we predict that the Waterloo Regional Tournament will quickly grow, over the course of the next few years, to be included amongst Canada’s largest and strongest regional improv tournaments. And we welcome such a future with open arms.

-- Waterloo, 2001.

Click here for the official history of the Canadian Improv Games, or visit the CIG website.