(April 26, 2023) - The Laurentian Improv Association took home the win at the Brock Improv Summit: “Brock From The Dead” in St. Catharines, Ontario. The competition took place in late March and featured students from universities across the province.
The Laurentian Improv Association is a student-run club founded in 2022 by Grace Bellmore, a third-year Equity, Diversity, and International Human Rights student and President of the association. Bellmore is from Sudbury, Ontario and is an alum from Lasalle Secondary School.
Bellmore has a strong passion for improv that inspired her to found the association. “Improv is so fulfilling in the sense that you really get to connect with people in a safe space where your ideas are never wrong. That environment is so innately welcoming. In doing wacky and silly things, you push yourself out of your comfort zone. Improv is really freeing from the stressful environment of school where you are trying to be right all the time.”
The goal of the Laurentian Improv Association is to help establish and build an improv community in the North. Bellmore and a small executive team run weekly closed meetings with a core improv team of nine students as well as open drop-in improv classes on Friday evenings for all Laurentian students.
Less than a year since its inauguration, the Laurentian Improv Association did not expect to come out on top at the Brock Improv Summit. “We attended the event for fun and to have a good time. It felt genuinely insane and totally unexpected to win,” described Bellmore.
The association makes use of the variety of performance spaces on campus and within the Sudbury community. Bellmore and the core improv team have hosted two murder mystery nights at the Pub Downunder on campus, three improv shows at the Sudbury Indie Cinemas with Oddbox, and other shows on and off campus.
On April 29th, 2023, the association will be performing a comedy show entitled “Cheap Therapy” at the Coulson from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Tickets are 10$ and audience members must be 19+.
Those interested in learning more about the Laurentian Improv Association are encouraged to reach out through Instagram or email at laurentianimprov@gmail.com. The association will be holding auditions and accepting new members in September 2023.
“Improv is a really great way to find your voice and develop confidence. Those who are interested shouldn’t hesitate to attend tryouts or reach out,” said Bellmore.