​This past weekend may have been frigid, but the Holy Cross Catholic School turned up the heat during an improv competition in Kingston.

The Green Beans Improv Team were announced as the first-place winners at the Canadian Improv Games (CIG) that took place from Thursday, February 2 until Saturday, February 4 at the Loyalist Collegiate & Vocational Institute in Kingston.

Improv, short for improvisation, is a form of live theatre where individuals perform scenes or sketches without a script, and while using real-life skills, such as communication, creativity, and collaboration skills.

The team's coach, Stacy Check-Drumm, says she is incredibly proud of the arts students for scoring the most points on their Thursday and Saturday performances.

“We went into the competition not really knowing what to expect, and the kids discovered it's such an amazing, supportive, and fun environment that "win" was just the icing on the cake!" explained Ms. Check-Drumm.

This is the first time in four years that the HC team has competed, and eight years since they last moved on to Nationals in 2015.

Grade 12 improv team member, Ethan Crosby, expresses how great it is to be part of the team and his experience at the competition.

"I love performing so I joined the improv team at Holy Cross not knowing that I would get to be on stage! Being at the competition was such an amazing opportunity to meet people from others in the drama community who love improv as much as I do!" says Crosby.

Tryouts were held just before Christmas, and the students practiced for only three weeks before the competition.

The “Green Beans" nickname came from an improv rehearsal back in January when one of the objects during improv ended up being a can of beans. A student yelled "That should be our name!"

The Green Beans Improv Team will be competing at the CIG National Festival in Ottawa on Thursday, April 6.

​In the photo: Front Row L to R: Samara, Ethan, Quinn
Back Row L to R: Co-Coach Amy Wilding, Edithe, Claire, Annabelle, Maddy and Co-Coach Stacy Check-Drumm​

 
https://improv.ca/about/
The Canadian Improv Games (CIG) is a national charity dedicated to enriching the lives of youth through improvisational theatre programs that promotes invaluable skills including Positivity, Communication, Leadership, Commitment and Teamwork through a variety of annually programmed workshops, training sessions and performance opportunities.