Let’s talk about the Oslo Improv Festival that ran Oct 18-25 this year. I was thrilled to be invited and to sum it up in a word: stupendous!

It was seven days, packed from top to bottom with S-tier workshops, shows, and social events. Got to hang out with so many improv nerds, making connections and re-connections. It was certainly the MOST global set of teachers and performers I’d ever seen at a festival. It hit the sweet spot of being both massive and personal at the same time, at the Goldilocks intersection of not-too-big and not-too-small. Congrats to Aree, Kristine, Anjitha, and the whole team for pulling it off (bonus thumbs up to Eva for hosting me).

I also went to Copenhagen (because Oslo is a long way to go to just turn back around) to do more improv stuff! Played with Inconspicuous Comedy (shoutout to Sarah and Eoin for taking good care of this scruffy improv nomad) and Box of Chocolates (shoutout to Michael for the invite).

A Variety of Things

[VIDEO ESSAY] Dear Gonti, Love Sophie

This is a video essay about a Magic: The Gathering deck. While it would certainly help to understand the game before watching the video, I’m not sure that it’s all that relevant.

The video embodies of one of my favourite quotes, one of those little aphorisms that capture an idea that is hard to put into words, until someone does:

“A ship in a harbour is safe, but that's not what ships are built for.” - John A. Shedd

(Sidenote: We were lucky enough to interview the creator of the deck, DJ, on our Magic podcast.)

[ESSAY] an account of space and meaning in dragon quest 1

I’m going to continue the pattern with another nerd-lit piece: a love letter to and about the 1986 Nintendo video game, Dragon Quest. While the subject of the essay is yet again incredibly niche, there’s something universal in reading an audience member’s experience of art.

Forty years ago is so ancient in terms of video games that it might as well be the start of the stellar fusion in the solar system. But there’s something present and vital (and often hilarious) in this dissection of a visit to a land that never existed.

[SONG] Cobra by Geese

And I’ll break the pattern with this totally unrelated recommendation. This song is an ambling junkyard of rock ‘n’ roll, an unruly gang of instruments that have sprouted arms and legs making music that would make even our ancestors tap their feet if they heard it. Geese’s album, Getting Killed, is worth a deep listen. (Follow me on da socials for my Best-of-2025 mixtape coming in the next week.)

IMPROV TIP

PROMOTING A WORKSHOP

I’m currently running an online class on how to teach improv and one of the topics I touch upon is writing a workshop description. I’ve seen a lot of descriptions, gotten lots of advice, and I’ve synthesized my process into a two-page Google Sheet that you can download and share freely. As always, take what you like and ditch the rest. And I’ll keep it updated as I learn new things!

EVENTS & THINGS

[CLASS] Out of the Ordinary: Unusual Characters in Unusual Locations

We’ve got a couple of new classes at Improv College that are launching in January. First up, we have Fiona K.T. Howat teaching a brand new class (one I requested!). Fiona is a long-time improviser with an expertise in tabletop roleplaying games, a breeding ground of both unusual characters and unusual locations. You couldn’t ask for a better teacher on this subject. It starts Sunday January 18 and you can get all the details and register on our site.

[CLASS] Intro to Dramatic Improv

Additionally, I’ll be teaching one of my faves. Sure, comedic improv is the default mode of improv and it’s a smash success worldwide. But what about its quieter but moody younger sibling: dramatic improv? What happens when you create stories that stay grounded, heighten, and resolve without going for the laughs? Let’s find out together! Deets and registration on the Improv College site.

[SHOW] Sunday Night Improv

Montrealers (and there seem to be many of you subscribed), I’ll be part of the cast at Sunday Night Improv on Sun Dec 7th. See you there?

[APP] Can-I-Get-A, now in Danish!

Our improv suggestion website, can-i-get-a.com, now supports a new language: Danish. That’s in addition to English, French, and Greek. Get a location, relationship, or word in your favourite Denmark-based language to inspire your scenes. Big thank you to Kasper Videbæk for the translations!! (If you’d like to help add a language, please let me know.)

[PRESENTATION] Who’s Not Here? : Welcoming Everyone Into Our Improv Spaces

Finally, I did a presentation for French improv collective, Latitudes, about creating welcoming spaces and communities.

I spoke about the challenges of creating a space that feel safe and welcoming to people from under-represented communities. I shared my perspectives as a POC who has run improv communities and dealt with lots of challenges (and failed plenty of times). I spoke for 60 minutes and followed it with 30 minutes of Q&A. It generated lots of great questions and comments. If you’d like to hire me to give this presentation to your community (English or French, in person or online), hit me up! I’ve got lots to say with lessons and tools to share.

An Interesting Wikipedia Page: Short snorter

L8r sk8rs,

Vinny