When Dave Morris was looking for source material for a new Victoria Fringe Festival improv show, the early films of Quentin Tarantino were one of the first things that came to mind. An Improvised Quentin Tarantino, directed by Morris and featuring an ensemble cast from Victoria’s Paper Street Theatre, attempts to recreate the feel of Tarantino’s works with the twists and turns of improvisational theatre.
“I can probably quote you Pulp Fiction from start to finish,” says Morris. “I’m a huge Tarantino fan, always have been since I was a teenager, and I always thought it would be fun to improvise in the style of Tarantino, just to be tough motherfuckers and stuff.”
To prepare for the show, cast members have been busily re-watching early Tarantino films such as Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, which has been way more enjoyable than the research needed for previous Paper Street Theatre productions.
“When we did the Jane Austen improv we all had to read Pride and Prejudice and everybody hated it. They were like, ‘Ah, it’s sooo boring,’ but with Tarantino we just had to watch his films,” says Morris, “and I think all of the cast had just watched them recently so it wasn’t out of anyone’s mind yet. So re-watching Tarantino was fun for everyone and they all knew it still.”
As the show’s director, it was important to Morris that he accurately captured that distinct Tarantino feel: the combination of ultra-real violence and intentionally clever dialogue that’s made him one of our generation’s most acclaimed filmmakers. Cast member Missie Peters says the strength of the source material made the cast strive even harder to get it right.
“A lot of people think of highly choreographed violence when they think Tarantino, but I’m really drawn to his writing,” says Peters. “His ability to capture the rhythm of how these tough guys speak is just brilliant. His choice of words is very specific: his characters don’t say, ‘I gotta take a leak,’ they say, ‘I need to use the commode.’ They are very articulate and precise and it’s a really fun challenge to try to improvise this style of dialogue.”
The nine-person cast, which also includes Fringe Festival favourite Christina Patterson and local sketch comedy vets Chris Gabel and Byron Kjeldsen, has been busy watching Tarantino clips together and having a lot of fun recreating them, like the diner scene from Pulp Fiction or the warehouse torture scene from Reservoir Dogs. Oh, and let’s not forget the time they’ve spent trying to decide which of the Tarantino films they like the best.
“We’ve had an ongoing debate within the cast over whether we prefer Reservoir Dogs or Pulp Fiction. They’re both such great films in slightly different ways,” says Morris. “Personally, I tend to lean a little more towards Pulp Fiction, just for the beautiful dialogue and choreographed scenes.”
An Improvised Quentin Tarantino
August 23-September 1
Victoria Event Centre (1415 Broad St.), $11
paperstreettheatre.com