Scrap Wars – An Intergalactic Holiday Special (rescheduled due to storm – now happening Dec 19)
Fredericton’s Hot Garbage Players are back this week with another performance. Over the past year the group have been delivering long-form improv comedy on the Wilser’s Room stage in front of near-capacity crowds. Drawing inspiration from just about everywhere including horror films, murder mysteries and even the popular TV series Game of Thrones, Hot Garbage Players have created an entertaining experience unlike anything else found in these parts.
“We’ve been really playing with genre and style over the last few shows,” said Hot Garbage’s Jean-Michel Cliche. “It’s been very fun and we’re getting great crowds, so we wanted to make sure we did something special for the holidays.”
This time around members of the group will deliver a performance based loosely around themes associated with Star Wars and the holiday season.
“With the new Star Wars movie coming out only a few days before Christmas, we thought it would be an exciting challenge to do a bit of a mashup – a Space Opera/Holiday special. Star Wars has obviously had such an impact on pop culture, and I think it will be an interesting experience housing those iconic moments and characters within the context of a Holiday story.”
For each Hot Garbage performance, the group’s members research topics and themes and plot out a loose interpretation of how their ideas can work together. But improvisation can often lead actors through unexpected territory, which is all part of the fun for both audience and performer.
“We research the topics, talk about how we want to format the show, but because it’s all improvised, we still have no idea how each style is going to manifest in front of an audience,” said Cliche. “Rehearsals are about keeping ourselves sharp, creating trust between the improvisers, and getting the basic vibe of the genre in our brains. We try not to rehearse too much in the actual style we are going to perform, because it doesn’t feel as fresh once we try it on stage. This makes every performance exciting for us and the audience.”
Performers for this show include Alexa Higgins, Jake Martin, Brett Loughery, Gordon Mihan and John Ball.
Hot Garbage Players present Scrap Wars – An Intergalactic Holiday Special | December 19, 2015 | Wilser’s Room | 8:30 p.m. | $5 (or $4 with a donation to the Fredericton Food Bank)
