Die-Nasty
Encyclopedia
Die-Nasty is a live improvised
soap opera
, running weekly in the city of Edmonton
, Alberta
, Canada
since 1991. Die-Nastys improv comedy format features a continuing storyline and recurring characters, live music, and a director who sets up scenes for the audience (and performers) in voiceover.
The cast of Die-Nasty features Dana Andersen
, Matt Alden, Leona Brausen, Belinda Cornish, Tom Edwards, Jeff Haslam
, Mark Meer
, Cathleen Rootsaert, Sheri Somerville, Davina Stewart, Stephanie Wolfe and Donovan Workun. Notable former cast members include Josh Dean
, Nathan Fillion
, Ron Pederson
and Patti Stiles
. In the course of its twenty-season run, Die-Nasty has welcomed many prominent guest stars, including Joe Flaherty
, Mump and Smoot
, Robin Duke
, Mark McKinney
, Alan Tudyk
and Mike Myers
.
Since 1993, Die-Nastys home has been the Varscona Theatre
, an improv comedy hotspot in Edmonton's historic Old Strathcona
district. The regular season show runs on Monday nights at 8pm, from mid-October until late May. The Die-Nasty company has also performed an annual mini-series at the world-renowned Edmonton International Fringe Festival
every August since 1997.
Every September, Die-Nasty hosts the annual Soap-A-Thon — 53 hours of continuous improv, which features many performers going the entire weekend without sleep. The first Soap-A-Thon was held in 1993, and was the company's first production in the Varscona. The current record holders for most performance hours at the Soap-A-Thon are core cast members Mark Meer
and Patti Stiles
. In 2005, director Dana Andersen
exported the company's annual Soap-A-Thon to England, working with legendary British theatre artist Ken Campbell
to produce a 36 hour-long soap opera in London. Several members of Campbell's company made the pilgrimage to Canada in the years 2006-2010 to take part in the original 53 hour long event. Andersen paid further visits to London (along with several members of the Die-Nasty troupe) to direct 50-hour Improvathons (in 2008 and 2009 at the People Show Studios in 2010 at Hoxton Hall).
The following February, Andersen and company returned for another 50 hour Improvathon in the same venue, produced by The Sticking Place in conjunction with Die-Nasty. In 2011, Mark Meer
, Belinda Cornish, and Donovan Workun appeared in the London Improvathon at Hoxton Hall, directed by Adam Meggido.
Die-Nasty has been honoured with a special Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award
for Excellence in Theatre, and has also been nominated for several Canadian Comedy Awards
. In 2006, Die-Nasty was the recipient of the Canadian Comedy Award for best improv troupe in the country. On February 12, 2007, the troupe received special recognition from the government of Alberta
upon reaching the milestone 500th episode of Die-Nasty.
Improvisational theatre
Improvisational theatre takes many forms. It is best known as improv or impro, which is often comedic, and sometimes poignant or dramatic. In this popular, often topical art form improvisational actors/improvisers use improvisational acting techniques to perform spontaneously...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
, running weekly in the city of Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
since 1991. Die-Nastys improv comedy format features a continuing storyline and recurring characters, live music, and a director who sets up scenes for the audience (and performers) in voiceover.
The cast of Die-Nasty features Dana Andersen
Dana Andersen
Dana Andersen is an Edmonton-based actor, improvisor, filmmaker, writer and director. He is an alumnus of The Second City, and has worked closely with Mike Myers, Ryan Stiles, and Joe Flaherty, among others. He currently serves as director of the live improvised soap opera Die-Nasty, and has been a...
, Matt Alden, Leona Brausen, Belinda Cornish, Tom Edwards, Jeff Haslam
Jeff Haslam
Jeff Haslam is a Edmonton, Alberta- based actor.Mr. Haslam is best known as a long time member of Edmonton's Teatro la Quindicina troupe, performing the works of playwright Stewart Lemoine, including Damp Fury, Pith!, Fever-Land, Evelyn Strange, Cocktails at Pam's, Connie in Egypt, The Margin of...
, Mark Meer
Mark Meer
Mark Meer is a Canadian actor, writer and improvisor, based in Edmonton, Alberta. He is a core company member of the Canadian Comedy Award-winning live improvised soap opera Die-Nasty, and was the first performer to complete the annual 53-hour long Die-Nasty Soap-A-Thon without sleep.He is also a...
, Cathleen Rootsaert, Sheri Somerville, Davina Stewart, Stephanie Wolfe and Donovan Workun. Notable former cast members include Josh Dean
Josh Dean
George Joshua Christian Dean is a Canadian actor and improvisor. He hails from Edmonton, Alberta, where he performed in the improvised soap opera Die-Nasty and toured with improv company Rapid Fire Theatre...
, Nathan Fillion
Nathan Fillion
Nathan Fillion is a Canadian actor, currently starring as Richard Castle on the ABC series Castle. He is also known for his portrayal of the lead role of Captain Malcolm Reynolds in the television series Firefly and its feature film continuation, Serenity.He has acted in traditionally distributed...
, Ron Pederson
Ron Pederson
Ronald "Ron" Pederson is a Canadian actor and comedian, who has performed extensively throughout Canada and in the United States....
and Patti Stiles
Patti Stiles
Patti Stiles is an actor and improvisation artist living in Australia.She received her training at Calgary, Alberta's world-renowned Loose Moose Theatre under Keith Johnstone. Stiles was the Artistic Director of Impro Melbourne from 2004 to 2009. She was formerly the Artistic Director of Rapid Fire...
. In the course of its twenty-season run, Die-Nasty has welcomed many prominent guest stars, including Joe Flaherty
Joe Flaherty
Joe Flaherty is an American-Canadian actor and comedian. He is best known for his work on the Canadian sketch comedy SCTV, from 1976 to 1984, and as Harold Weir on Freaks and Geeks...
, Mump and Smoot
Mump and Smoot
Mump & Smoot are a Canadian clown duo created by Michael Kennard and John Turner, directed by Karen Hines. Also referred to as 'clowns of horror' they've produced interactive, improvisational plays aimed squarely at adult audiences.-Background:...
, Robin Duke
Robin Duke
Robin Duke is a Canadian actress and comedian. Duke is most famous for her work on the NBC comedy series Saturday Night Live. In the 2000s, Women Fully Clothed, a sketch comedy troupe which she co-founded, toured Canada...
, Mark McKinney
Mark McKinney
Mark Douglas Brown McKinney is a Canadian comedian and actor, best known for his work in the sketch comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall. Following the run of their television series and feature film , he went on to star in Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 1997...
, Alan Tudyk
Alan Tudyk
Alan Wray Tudyk is an American actor known for his roles as Simon in the British comedy Death at a Funeral, as Steve the Pirate in DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story, as Sonny in the science fiction drama I, Robot, as Doc Potter in 3:10 to Yuma, as Tucker in the Tucker & Dale vs Evil and as Hoban...
and Mike Myers
Mike Myers (actor)
Michael John "Mike" Myers is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film producer of British parentage...
.
Since 1993, Die-Nastys home has been the Varscona Theatre
Varscona Theatre
The Varscona Theatre is a live performance venue in the Old Strathcona neighborhood of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. A former firehall, since 1994 the Varscona has been operated by a consortium of small theatre companies, including Rapid Fire Theatre, Shadow Theatre and Teatro la Quindicina...
, an improv comedy hotspot in Edmonton's historic Old Strathcona
Old Strathcona
Old Strathcona is an historic district located in south-central Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Once the commercial core of the separate city of Strathcona, the area is now Edmonton's main arts and entertainment district, and in 2007 was named Alberta's second "Provincial Historic Area"...
district. The regular season show runs on Monday nights at 8pm, from mid-October until late May. The Die-Nasty company has also performed an annual mini-series at the world-renowned Edmonton International Fringe Festival
Edmonton International Fringe Festival
The Edmonton International Fringe Festival produced by the Fringe Theatre Adventures is an annual event held every August in Edmonton, Alberta in Canada....
every August since 1997.
Every September, Die-Nasty hosts the annual Soap-A-Thon — 53 hours of continuous improv, which features many performers going the entire weekend without sleep. The first Soap-A-Thon was held in 1993, and was the company's first production in the Varscona. The current record holders for most performance hours at the Soap-A-Thon are core cast members Mark Meer
Mark Meer
Mark Meer is a Canadian actor, writer and improvisor, based in Edmonton, Alberta. He is a core company member of the Canadian Comedy Award-winning live improvised soap opera Die-Nasty, and was the first performer to complete the annual 53-hour long Die-Nasty Soap-A-Thon without sleep.He is also a...
and Patti Stiles
Patti Stiles
Patti Stiles is an actor and improvisation artist living in Australia.She received her training at Calgary, Alberta's world-renowned Loose Moose Theatre under Keith Johnstone. Stiles was the Artistic Director of Impro Melbourne from 2004 to 2009. She was formerly the Artistic Director of Rapid Fire...
. In 2005, director Dana Andersen
Dana Andersen
Dana Andersen is an Edmonton-based actor, improvisor, filmmaker, writer and director. He is an alumnus of The Second City, and has worked closely with Mike Myers, Ryan Stiles, and Joe Flaherty, among others. He currently serves as director of the live improvised soap opera Die-Nasty, and has been a...
exported the company's annual Soap-A-Thon to England, working with legendary British theatre artist Ken Campbell
Ken Campbell (actor)
Kenneth Victor Campbell was an English writer, actor, director and comedian known for his work in experimental theatre...
to produce a 36 hour-long soap opera in London. Several members of Campbell's company made the pilgrimage to Canada in the years 2006-2010 to take part in the original 53 hour long event. Andersen paid further visits to London (along with several members of the Die-Nasty troupe) to direct 50-hour Improvathons (in 2008 and 2009 at the People Show Studios in 2010 at Hoxton Hall).
The following February, Andersen and company returned for another 50 hour Improvathon in the same venue, produced by The Sticking Place in conjunction with Die-Nasty. In 2011, Mark Meer
Mark Meer
Mark Meer is a Canadian actor, writer and improvisor, based in Edmonton, Alberta. He is a core company member of the Canadian Comedy Award-winning live improvised soap opera Die-Nasty, and was the first performer to complete the annual 53-hour long Die-Nasty Soap-A-Thon without sleep.He is also a...
, Belinda Cornish, and Donovan Workun appeared in the London Improvathon at Hoxton Hall, directed by Adam Meggido.
Die-Nasty has been honoured with a special Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award
Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award
The Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award is a local Edmonton, Alberta award presented annually which honours excellence in theatre...
for Excellence in Theatre, and has also been nominated for several Canadian Comedy Awards
Canadian Comedy Awards
The Canadian Comedy Awards, founded by , are an annual awards ceremony celebrating notable English speaking Canadian comedians for achievements in Live, Radio, Film, Television and Internet media over the previous year...
. In 2006, Die-Nasty was the recipient of the Canadian Comedy Award for best improv troupe in the country. On February 12, 2007, the troupe received special recognition from the government of Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
upon reaching the milestone 500th episode of Die-Nasty.
Directors
- Cathleen Rootsaert 2010-Present
- Dana AndersenDana AndersenDana Andersen is an Edmonton-based actor, improvisor, filmmaker, writer and director. He is an alumnus of The Second City, and has worked closely with Mike Myers, Ryan Stiles, and Joe Flaherty, among others. He currently serves as director of the live improvised soap opera Die-Nasty, and has been a...
2001–2010 - Trevor Anderson 1998-2001
- Stewart LemoineStewart LemoineStewart Lemoine is a Canadian playwright, director, and producer. Lemoine is based in Edmonton, Alberta and from 1982-2007 was the Artistic Director of Teatro la Quindicina...
1996-1998 - Ian Ferguson 1991-1996
Musical Directors
- The Amazing Paul Morgan DonaldPaul Morgan Donaldis a Canadian musician, composer, and actor based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He is the musical director of Die-Nasty, Edmonton's long-running improvised soap opera. He has a long-running association with the River City Shakespeare Festival as both an actor and composer, and has worked at most of...
1992–present - Jan RandallJan RandallCanadian composer Jan Randall is known primarily for his work in television and theatre. A pianist and singer, he has composed chamber music and songs in a wide variety of contemporary styles.Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1952...
1991 2008–present
Technical Directors
- Brad Fischer 1997–present
- Brad Mitchell 1996-1997
- Jody Longworth 1991–1996
- Jason Golinsky (SM) 1995-1996