The foyer of École secondaire Sieur de Coulonge (ESSC) turned into a theatrical battleground on Wednesday evening for a spirited student versus staff improv showdown.
The event featured five teams of five participants each, with 15 students from grades 7 and 8 competing alongside and against 10 staff members. Around 50 friends and family of the students and staff gathered to witness the unscripted skits unfold.
Teams were called down to the floor and had one minute to come up with a plan for their performance depending on the specific prompt and rules for the round. Some matches required different numbers of players, some included props, some mixed teams for a one-on-one challenge, and some matches were completely wordless performances.
Despite the variations, one element remained consistent: the voting process. At the end of each round, referee Isabelle Nadeau would raise a palm toward one team and a closed fist toward the other. The crowd then raised their hand in accordance with who they believed deserved the point, and the majority would always win.
The tournament was organized by Nadeau, who teaches French at the school and who brought the initiative back for a second year.
She said students originally expressed hesitation about participating when she asked if they wanted to have the tournament again.
“Oh no, we’re too shy,” Nadeau said, recalling their initial responses.
“My grade ones (grade 7s) were too new, but then by March, they said, ‘We’re ready, we would like to do it again.’”
Throughout the year, students practiced improv techniques during class with Nadeau, preparing them for the event.
“It’s really amateur, I’m not a professional. I just like them to speak French, and express themselves in French,” she said, adding the goal of the night is to promote and give value to the French language, and of course, have fun.
Throughout the showdown, teams were penalized for using English words or expressions during performances.
Common phrases such as ‘oh my God’ or ‘hold on’ were frequently flagged. Team captains were given the opportunity to justify the use of any questionable vocabulary to the referees, teachers Nadeau and Michel Labine, both dressed in referee uniforms and armed with a French dictionary.
This happened to be the case for the blue team, who, before winning the evening, had to defend their use of the word ‘so’ in a skit about fishing. Team members argued the word they used was not the English ‘so’ but the French ‘seau,’ which translates to bucket. The defence was accepted, earning applause from the audience and a point from the refs.
