Leading With Laughter
As artistic director of The Improv Centre in Vancouver, Jalen Saip strives for artistic excellence while also opening up new opportunities for performers.
Jalen Saip wears many hats, often literally.
Opening night of The Improv Centre’s latest production, Merry/Happy/Jolly, saw Saip donning a tweed flat cap, a Santa hat, and other bits and pieces of the costumes on hand—whatever made sense in the moment—while hosting the show, fielding and refining suggestions from the audience to create the show’s plot on the fly.
“Unprepared theatre,” Saip calls it.
“In the first half of the show, the audience gets to choose between two different settings, and they also get to choose our villain and choose the person who’s going to love and support our lead the most,” Saip says. “And then we go into the second half, and we get another suggestion from the audience that then drives the story.”
Theatregoers can expect to see comedic twists on “a lot of the holiday movie tropes that we all know and love.”
Each improvised show is filled with spontaneous spoofs and sustained silliness, but running a respected theatre institution isn’t all fun and games.
The Improv Centre started in 1981 as The Vancouver TheatreSports League, and over the years it has helped launch the careers of funny folks such as Colin Mochrie and Ryan Stiles, both of whom went on to find fame with Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Saip stepped into the artistic director role in June 2022, when the theatre industry worldwide was still feeling shockwaves from pandemic shutdowns.
She strove to maintain “artistic excellence, while also opening up doors to new performers, while also doing shows people want to see, while also convincing people it’s good to come back to the theatre.” Saip admits, “It was a lot to carry.”
In addition, she wanted “to change the culture of this place, to make it a welcoming environment and to make it a healthy place to perform. That’s a process that doesn’t happen overnight.”
Her own journey to becoming a performer began at the age of four when Saip started performing songs in church with her mother and siblings. Roles in Christmas pageants followed, then lead roles in high school musicals.
Though she auditioned for the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and was accepted, she ultimately turned it down, telling herself it wasn’t a practical career path. Years of studying to be a teacher and tamping down her creative side followed before Saip had what she describes as an existential crisis.
She asked herself, “Am I just doing the thing that I think I should do because I’m too afraid to try the thing that I want to do?” She added a minor in theatre to her studies at the University of the Fraser Valley.
After graduating, Saip worked as a teaching assistant to pay the bills. She accepted an apprentice role at Pacific Theatre—“That was me trying to slog my way into the Vancouver theatre scene”—and vowed to learn as much as possible from the year-long apprenticeship.
“I had never produced a show before that,” she says. “I was determined from the beginning that I was going to produce two shows, and I did.”
The experience was invaluable.
“I had that opportunity to see what it takes to put up a show, to find directors, to find designers, to audition people.”
All those skills now serve her well at The Improv Centre.
“It’s been fun to build up the cast and try to create an environment that is healthy and collaborative and joyful,” she says. “But it’s also a lot of managing schedules and managing the behind-the-scenes pieces that you don’t really realize need to be managed at an organization like this.”
Keeping an eye on ticket sales, she notes which shows generate an uptick in sales numbers.
Being located near the entrance to Granville Island means many visitors discover The Improv Centre simply by walking past: “Granville Island is such a great destination that we get people from anywhere and everywhere.”
Repeat customers and positive word of mouth also help a lot.
On top of all the budgeting, scheduling, and other office work, Saip usually hosts one show each week, performs in another two, and watches one.
“Because the cast fluctuates every week, I have to keep an eye on who is performing well together, who adds the right type of energy to a certain type of show based on availability, and keep people together who have good chemistry,” she says. “What is working, what isn’t working, what the dynamic is on stage, those kind of things.”
Tough conversations are an unfortunate but necessary part of her job.
“Actors are unique beasts,” she says. “Because improv is very subjective, it’s hard to explain sometimes why something works and something doesn’t.”
From flubbed lines to mistimed sound effects to unfunny jokes, unscripted live theatre definitely has its share of bloopers.
“I was dropped on stage in our last holiday show last year,” Saip says. “I fell right on my tailbone.” Despite the pain, “I got up very quickly, and we just kept going.”
In addition to The Improv Centre, Saip also picks up occasional parts in film, television, and commercials.
Saip and her husband, actor Matthew MacDonald-Bain, recently booked a commercial together after auditioning separately.
“We both love performing, and we both love the arts,” she says. “We support each other in pursuing the dream.”
Though, she says with a laugh, occasionally they do yearn for the financial stability “if one of us had chosen to be a doctor.”
Photo: Ashley Ross
Photo: Ashley Ross
Photo: Ashley Ross
Photo: Ashley Ross
On top of all the budgeting, scheduling, and other office work, Saip usually hosts one show each week, performs in another two, and watches one.
“Because the cast fluctuates every week, I have to keep an eye on who is performing well together, who adds the right type of energy to a certain type of show based on availability, and keep people together who have good chemistry,” she says. “What is working, what isn’t working, what the dynamic is on stage, those kind of things.”
Tough conversations are an unfortunate but necessary part of her job.
“Actors are unique beasts,” she says. “Because improv is very subjective, it’s hard to explain sometimes why something works and something doesn’t.”
From flubbed lines to mistimed sound effects to unfunny jokes, unscripted live theatre definitely has its share of bloopers.
“I was dropped on stage in our last holiday show last year,” Saip says. “I fell right on my tailbone.” Despite the pain, “I got up very quickly, and we just kept going.”
In addition to The Improv Centre, Saip also picks up occasional parts in film, television, and commercials.
Saip and her husband, actor Matthew MacDonald-Bain, recently booked a commercial together after auditioning separately.
“We both love performing, and we both love the arts,” she says. “We support each other in pursuing the dream.”
Though, she says with a laugh, occasionally they do yearn for the financial stability “if one of us had chosen to be a doctor.”
Photo: Ashley Ross
Photo: Ashley Ross
Even after many years of doing improv, Saip is still passionate about it.
“With improv, there’s a real need to be present. So you need to be very in the moment because you don’t get to know what’s coming,” she says.
“I like to think ahead, I like to know what’s happening, and improv makes me take that all away and just be confident in my ability to be right here right now, to listen and respond with whatever makes sense to me, and then to allow whatever makes sense to the next person to contribute to the story equally.”
Most of all, Saip enjoys how collaborative and egalitarian improvising is.
The Improv Centre now holds general auditions for shows, which didn’t happen before she took over as artistic director.
“We’ve changed the thinking to make it more accessible to anyone that’s interested,” she says. “The Vancouver theatre scene is so hard to break into.”
But anyone can sign up for improv classes.
Saip says, “They can’t keep you off the stage, because improv is for everyone.”
Photo: Ashley Ross
Photo: Ashley Ross
Even after many years of doing improv, Saip is still passionate about it.
“With improv, there’s a real need to be present. So you need to be very in the moment because you don’t get to know what’s coming,” she says.
“I like to think ahead, I like to know what’s happening, and improv makes me take that all away and just be confident in my ability to be right here right now, to listen and respond with whatever makes sense to me, and then to allow whatever makes sense to the next person to contribute to the story equally.”
Most of all, Saip enjoys how collaborative and egalitarian improvising is.
The Improv Centre now holds general auditions for shows, which didn’t happen before she took over as artistic director.
“We’ve changed the thinking to make it more accessible to anyone that’s interested,” she says. “The Vancouver theatre scene is so hard to break into.”
But anyone can sign up for improv classes.
Saip says, “They can’t keep you off the stage, because improv is for everyone.”
The Betrayers at The Improv Centre cast group photo
The Betrayers at The Improv Centre cast group photo
The Improv Centre is located at 1502 Duranleau Street in Vancouver.
Sheri Radford
Sheri Radford has been a writer and editor for many years, covering lifestyle, travel and sustainability topics for a variety of publications. She also writes extremely silly books for children. Her Vancouver household is ruled by the whims of a large and opinionated Norwegian forest cat. You can find Sheri on the web at www.sheriradford.com.
Embrace Canada with Landsby
Landsby creates unique and immersive experiences that not only provide travellers with purposeful and enriching trips but aim to positively impact the communities being explored.
