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NEWS VICTORIA
AR YE
2014
th
20
A celebration
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Students ham it up at improv
Help pick the Best of the City
Vic High students make name for themselves at Berlin festival Daniel Palmer News staff
Acting the fool usually leads to trouble, but for 12 Victoria High school students, their class clowning landed them on a plane to Germany. Vic High’s Improv Club recently returned from the Die Gorillas festival in Berlin, a worldrenowned improvisation event that attracts Europe’s best spontaneous acts. “It was a dream come true,” said drama teacher Alan Penty, who organized the March 21 to 31 trip for the extracurricular group. “I’d heard of Die Gorillas for years, I just never assumed we’d be invited.” Penty’s colleague, Jonathan Argue, reached out to festival organizers, who had previously never considered inviting high school students to the event. But once approved, students put in hours of fundraising efforts – from tree chipping to metal drives to countless live shows – to offset travel costs. “We raised about $10,000 over the past year and a half,” Penty said. Once in Berlin, the students were exposed to
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French, German, Russian and African improv troupes, where they quickly discovered European improv has a much greater focus on physical humour and creating deeper characters. “With improv, we’re always doing acting without any scripts or any plan before we go onstage,” said Emily Fraser, a Grade 10 Vic High student who travelled to Berlin. PLEASE SEE: Students perform, Page A6
Vic High drama teacher Alan Penty and his Improv Club students, from left, front row, Breyn Banks, Joe Traill, Nick Harrison and Cole Duthler, from left, second row, Eva Kyne, Aidan Lee Smith, Emily Fraser, Mia Kachman, Serenity Marsh, and Alan Penty, from left top row, Conall Argue, Gemma Tarling and Jacob D. Flower recently returned from the Die Gorillas improv festival in Berlin. Don Denton/News staff
The Victoria News is asking you, our readers, to tell us where to find the region’s best pubs, restaurants, art galleries, sports activities, festivals and much more. Today marks the start of balloting in our 20th annual Best of the City awards. In today’s newspaper – and online at vicnews. com – there are two full pages of ballots, featuring such subjects as shopping, entertainment, restaurants and recreation. The printed ballot is in today’s paper only, but online balloting will continue through to May 9. Look for the survey link at the top of our home page. Enter your ballot and be eligible to win $100 cash. You must vote in a minimum of 30 categories for your vote to count. The results of the reader survey will be compiled by our staff and published in a special magazine publication on June 27. Be sure to check out the ballot for entry rules. editor@vicnews.com
Help Esquimalt shine for your chance to WIN! Prizes for top 3 in each of the six categories including “People’s Choice”. Draw prize entry for all participants.
Contest details and to enter: www.esquimalt.ca/blooming