FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What's with the no phones thing?

A: The invention of the telephone is commonly credited to Alexander Graham Bell, who built the first such device in 1876. Shortly thereafter, the action of communicating over telephones was referred to as placing a "call". To signify the opposite of such a call, or an "uncall", if you will, we have chosen to place a "no smoking" or "no parking" style circle and cross-bar over a telephone receiver. The resulting image is our logo. Hence you may derive it as an illustrated representation of the name Uncalled For. Did we really need to explain it to you?

Q: How much of the show is really improvised?

A: Well, when you think about it, all of the events of our lives may in fact have already been mapped out well before we were born. Perhaps there is no such thing as free will, and we are all merely pawns in an intergalactic game of chess. As far as we know, however, yeah, the whole thing is made up right there.

Q: Can I be on your team?

A: Probably not. Unless... no, probably not.

Q: How long have you been together?

A: Uncalled For is generally accepted to have gotten its start back in 1999 when Dan, Matt, Mike and Amanda first performed improv together along with a few other teammates. Of course it wasn't called Uncalled For back then. In fact, there have been many names associated with the team over time. For starters, 1999 saw us as "The First And Last Carbon Based Improv Team", which you can adorably abbreviate as TFALCBIT, if you like. In 2000, Anders joined, some other people left, some other people joined, and the sum total was named "8 People" in a fit of creative energy. Caitlin hopped on board in 2001 and 8 People suffered a numerical crisis, promptly and unofficially renaming themselves "The Improv Team Without a Name". In 2002, the team toyed with the idea of calling themselves "Akimbo Couch," and quickly saw the error of their ways. Finally, for the 2003 Montreal Fringe Festival, the name "Uncalled For" was settled upon, and there was peace in name-town.

Fringe Festivals, though, require you to also provide a production company name. In 2003, we narrowly escaped being called "The Production Company Without a Name" by making a drunken pact with Fringe producer Jeremy Hechtman to call ourselves "Upstart Firefly Productions". In 2004 we field-tested "Carpe Burn Productions", but in the end, as of 2005, our production company name is also, simply "Uncalled For". You were asking about names, right?

Q: Where's Amanda?

A: Amanda is dividing her time between Toronto and L.A., though she often hangs out on your TV or local indie cinema screen. Hey, why is Amanda so special that you can't just enjoy the improv that the less successful ones of us are making anyway?

Q: Are you single?

A: We just got out of a long-term relationship, so yes, but we're not really ready for commitment just yet. Right now we're just looking for something meaningless and physical.

Q: Can you come do a show in my town?

A: Yes, for real. Send a helicopter to contact@uncalledforimprov.com. We'll be there.

Q: Who is in charge?

A: Our artistic director, Yefgeny.

RAQs - Rarely Asked Questions

Q: If you were a rugby team, what positions would each of you play?

A: We'd most likely all be the hooker. Except for Mike. He'd be the ball.

Q: Do you know Jimmy Lariviere?

A: No.

Q: Why did your last show suck so much?

A: Sorry about that, we sometimes get anxious when performing in freefall.

Q: Who updates your website?

A: We're not really sure. Actually, hey, if you're reading this, Guy Who Updates Our Website, could you call Matt? We're pretty sure you owe him some money.

Q: Do you guys have any super powers?

A: We're glad you asked that. As a matter of fact, we do. Matt's super power is that he fills awkward silences. For instance, if the American president and the Soviet Premier are reaching an impasse in negotiations to prevent an imminent nuclear war and things get kinda tense and quiet, Matt's there like a flash to save us from an atomic apocalypse with a useful comment that puts all at ease.

Anders' super power is that he can reach anything, no matter what the distance. This he accomplishes not with super-stretchy arms, but rather with well-placed editing, so that we only ever see him reach out of frame from one point of view and just reach into frame from another.

Caitlin has the power of Enhanced Nudity, which means that she is capable of becoming so naked that people around her suddenly just get naked too, embarrassing evil-doers to no end.

Mike has a defensive super power, which is that he is more-or-less adaptable to any situation. For instance if he were suddenly stuck in a world made entirely of salt, he'd manage okay. It wouldn't be great but he'd get by.

Dan's super power is that he's always late. So whenever one of his arch-nemeses tries to destroy him by placing a bomb that will go off at exactly the time he's expected to show up for work, Dan escapes unharmed.

Amanda's super power is special. Although she's not currently performing with Uncalled For, we like to remenisce about the times when we worked together because Amanda has the ability to stop time. For real. The very FABRIC of time. How handy is that?

If you have a question you'd like Uncalled For to answer, send us an e-mail at contact@uncalledforimprov.com and we'll be glad to give you a really useful response. (Note: The relative frequency or rarity of any and all questions is at our discretion.)

SAQs - Sociétés des alcools du Québec

Here is a handy list of our favourite Quebec liquor stores:

• SAQ Classique, 5632 du Parc, Montreal

• SAQ Express, 55 Mont-Royal W., Montreal

• SAQ Classique, 301 St-Jean, Pointe-Claire

• SAQ Classique, 50 St-Charles, Beaconsfield

• SAQ Selection, 2295 St-Charles, Kirkland