5 Tiny Tales from the North Australian Festival of the Arts
Improv Queensland travels northward to the North Ward for NAFA 2024
Seven improvisers were temporarily transplanted from Brisbane to Townsville on the very first weekend of the North Australian Festival of the Arts. After only a few days in paradise, they found it very difficult to leave - both spiritually and logistically. Flight delays were rampant, and Wade was impacted on both arrival and departure from Townsville. This had a positive impact on team morale*.
Here are five mini news stories from Improv Queensland’s trip to NAFA.
1. The people of Townsville are craving Kissing Point content.
Three nights of Theatresports ask-fors at the Festival gave us some unique insight into the personality of the city at that point in time, and one thing is clear: The people of Townsville want scenes set at Kissing Point Lookout. If you need a suggestion of a location, Townsville is the number one exporter of “Kissing Point”.
We really enjoyed all of our Kissing Point scenes and hope that our audiences’ cravings for the Point were at least temporarily satiated.
2. Townsville is covered in cash.
After an absolutely splendid morning at the Queensland Museum of the Tropics, the team strolled down toward the casino under the bright, tropical sun. There, in front of the casino, one of us straight-up found a fifty dollar note on the ground. We will not be publishing the identity of the improviser who found the fifty bucks, in order to protect their privacy at this unprecedented time of enrichment and surprise. They are yet to make an announcement about what they will do with the money, but have confirmed that they’ve not (yet) resigned from their current place of employment.
3. We could have prevented the Chernobyl Disaster
After taking part in Escape Room Townsville’s Chernobyl simulation, it is clear that the Improv Queensland team, when working together, can achieve the 800 points needed to unlock the thing that houses the button that turns off the Chernobyl Disaster.
4. The North Australian Festival of the Arts is great fun.
Sitting amongst the crowds and the food trucks on the main Festival grounds each evening was a real treat. Cold drinks, woodfired pizza and fresh donuts were all on the menu as we debriefed after each performance and kept an eye out for all of the cute dogs being walked around North Ward. The people of Townsville have the greatest dogs. Very good dogs.
5. In Theatresports, there are rules and there are no rules.
Everybody has their own style of Theatresports game that they’re compelled to perform, and a game or two that they avoid like the plague. It’s important to remember that if you or your team aren’t inspired by a particular game, you don’t have to play it during your show. It’s not a crime, and you can’t be arrested for it.
Love musical games? Do a whole set of musical games. Hate games where you can only speak a certain number of words? Cut it out of your game list and focus on what is most fun for you. That was an important message that set the tone for our series of rehearsals in the lead up to NAFA 2024. Angie and Wade focused our efforts on joy-filled fun and simplicity, and by the time we hit the stage-slash-circus-tent in late September, we had a custom set-list reflecting each team’s personality.
Thank you to our team captains Angie and Wade, and performers Scott, Liam, Liz, Jaz and Ben.