February 9 through 14, VTSL welcomes top notch international teams from as far afield as Oslo, Norway and Mumbai, India in a series of hilarious matches and showcases designed to banish even the gloomiest of times.

VANCOUVER – This is often the time of year when the winter blues set in – the holidays are over, the weather is bleak, and you’ve received your credit card bill from December.

The best antidote? A good dose of laughter.

February 1 through 14, Vancouver TheatreSports League (VTSL) rocks the laughs with its annual festival, Throwdown International TheatreSports Festival (formerly called The Massacre), welcoming TheatreSports teams from around the world who bring their A-Game to head-to head matches with each other and local teams comprised of some of VTSL’s top improvisers.

February 1 through 4, sees local teams play in a classic TheatreSports round robin competition. The laughs start to flow based on suggestions from the audience and things can quickly become quite partisan as audience members root for their favourite performers. As in all classic TheatreSports matches, the final outcome is determined by audience judges scoring each of the ‘games’ within a match. The team with the most points wins.

February 9 through 14, VTSL welcomes top notch international teams from as far afield as Oslo, Norway and Mumbai, India in a series of hilarious matches and showcases designed to banish even the gloomiest of times. This year’s international line-up features:

Sak Comedy Lab, Orlando, USA (returning champions)

Det Andre Teatret, Oslo, Norway

Improv Mumbai, Mumbai, India

Jet City, Seattle, USA

Montreal Improv, Montreal, Canada

The last evening, February 14, sees the winners of the international competitions play with the local victors from the previous week in a winner-takes-all laugh fest.

“There’s nothing like a little healthy competition to bring out the best in improv comedy and the winner gets bragging rights for a year plus an invitation to return next year to defend their crown,” comments VTSL Executive Director, Jay Ono.

While no one can predict the outcome, one thing is for certain – you’ll leave in a happier mood from having laughed so much. It all adds up to more than enough fun to chase away the winter blues.

Perk up your psyche with a good dose of laughter at the funniest improv comedy event of the year, VTSL’s Throwdown – International TheatreSports Festival, February 1 through 14, 2017, at The Improv Centre on Granville Island. Tickets, starting as low as $10/student and senior or $15/adult, are on sale now at vtsl.com.

About Vancouver TheatreSports League

Voted Vancouver’s #1 Improv Comedy Company (2016 Best of Vancouver Awards); Vancouver TheatreSports League (VTSL) is a well-respected international leader in the art form. VTSL entertains more than 60,000 people per year through 11 shows a week, 52 weeks a year at its own theatre, The Improv Centre, located on Granville Island. The Improv Centre is a fully-licensed facility and patrons are welcome to take their beverages into the theatre to enjoy during the show. In addition, VTSL owns and operates The Improv Comedy Institute – an improv school offering classes from beginner through professional level and a corporate training division, Improv for Business. Vancouver TheatreSports appreciates the support of season sponsors: City of Vancouver, CMHC Granville Island, The Georgia Straight, and The Granville Island Hotel.