“There’s never enough time to do all the nothing you want.”  – Bill Watterson

Another successful year has come and gone, and with brand new year just around the corner, we would like to take a moment to be thankful for all our amazing experiences and who we experienced it with. In no particular order, here are our Top 13 Things we were thankful for in 2013!

1) Please welcome to the stage… This year saw The Fictionals roster expand to include more of our favourite funny people: Sarah Dawn Pledge, Brad Rossington, Jamie Chrest, Josh Ssettuba and Graeme Duffy. Each bring their own comic sensibilities to the stage and invigorate us as a troupe – we’re glad to play with them!

2) Make yourself at home. Many thanks to Cafe Deux Soleils and The Rio Theatre for being great venues for our regular comedy escapades this past year. We’ve enjoyed your friendly staff, your comfy seats, your tasty food and drinks, and most of all the wonderful audiences that turn out to catch HIT Comedy and Improv Against Humanity (and soon to be Throne And Games)!

3) We Are Family! As well as performing our own improv shows, members of The Fictionals also belong to other great troupes around town: Vancouver TheatreSports League, The Bobbers, Second Storey Theatre, and Improv Mondays & Comedy Thursdays. Shoutout to all those fantastic people bringing the funny to the people!

4) So long for now. 2013 marked the end of a few long-running Fictionals shows: Pop-Up Comedy Jam, Vancouver Improv Fight Club and Show Us Your Wits. Thanks to everyone who made these shows so successful and fun to plan in. You may see these brought back for one-off events in the future, but for now…

5) Let’s ring in the new! This past year saw the debut of Minus World Improv – The Video Game Comedy show, and Hot Improv Tuesdays at Cafe Deux Soleils. Alongside those two shows, we look forward to our Spring 2014 epic Throne And Games, our Cut-Throat Comedy show based on Game of Thrones. We’ll also be appearing at NorthWest Fan Fest, Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo, and Terminal City Tabletop hope you’re excited too!

6) #StayConnected We are also thankful for social media for allowing us to stay in touch with those that matter most: our amazing fans. What did you find funny? What made you groan? Comments on Facebook, Retweets on Twitter and <3 on Instagram let us know! Join the conversation and make your voice and laughter heard!

7) We got to meet Colin Mochrie!

8) Time for a Team-Up! One of our artistic mandates is to push the boundaries and the forms of Improv Comedy, and one of the ways we did so in 2013 was through artistic collaborations with different artistic and performing groups in Vancouver. Whether it be Pro-Wrestling (The Comedy Slam with ECCW), Comic Book Art (Quick On The Draw with Cloudscape Comics), or Large-Scale Conventions (Vancouver Retro Gaming Expo, Fan Expo Vancouver), we enjoyed all the many opportunities to work with different artists to create something brand new. And next year will see more inspiring projects (Hint: Vancouver Poetry Slam, Monday May 5th).

9) Cards Against Humanity, for creating the Party Game for Horrible People that in turn allowed us to create the original Interactive Comedy Show for Horrible People – Improv Against Humanity! And for being awesome people too.

10) Helping Hands. Special thanks to all of our generous prize sponsors of Improv Against Humanity and Minus World Improv this year: Gamedeals Video Games, EXP Bar, Arcana Comics, Toy Traders, StormCrow Tavern, Moksha Yoga East Vancouver, C&C Cakery, Big Pete’s Collectibles, Famoso Pizzeria, Admiral Snackbar, Connection Cards and Comics, and Metropolis Comics.

Also thanks to all of the great media coverage we received in 2013: The Georgia Straight, Vancouver Sun, VanCity Buzz, Vancouver Courier, The Now Newspaper, Living Myth Media, Vancouver Gamers Forum, The Lonely Dragon Talk Show, Whistler Pique, Whistler Question, Inside Vancouver, Vancouver Weekly and The Comedy Killers!

11) Quiche, for stopping that orgy before it got out of control.

12) Super Special Guests! Many thanks to all the talented guest improvisers that joined us for shows this past year. Way too many to list, and way too much fun every single time. It was a great honour to have you all on our stage, and look forward to performing with you again soon!

13) The best fans and audience in the world! We are truly blown away every single time that we step out onto the stage at The Rio Theatre or Cafe Deux Soleils and see a packed house. The words of encouragement before curtain rises, your laughs during scenes, the hugs and handshakes afterwards – all gifts we cherish long after a show is done.

And when we see familiar faces come back again and again, sitting with new people in the crowd, that’s when we know how lucky we are. Word of mouth is the best gift anyone can give a live performing arts troupe, so keep up the great work! Come on out, have some fun and tell your friends! The Fictionals are ready to rock!

From all of us to you, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and #StayHorrible!