Elizabeth St. Improv is an exciting new name in the performing arts in the Foothills. Founded by Joseph Tubb and Brooke Ramsay, Elizabeth St. is bringing improv to the southern Alberta masses with their weekly Friday night jams and monthly shows.
With reviews on their Facebook page lauding Elizabeth St. as “[...] such a creative environment with a really wonderful group of people [...]” and “[...] You can’t fail and Joseph teaches you what, why and how the whole time [...]” it seems like they are on the right track.
In the non-profit, Joseph acts as Artistic Director and Lead Instructor as well as social media guru, bookkeeper and graphic designer. Brooke, a personal development coach and business consultant by trade, is happy to let Joseph handle the day-to-day as she puts her business development skills to work behind the scenes.
Joseph comes from, perhaps, an unexpected background in the applied sciences. With years in the oil and gas service industry under his belt, Joseph decided to turn his part-time passions into his full-time reality.
Joseph said, “I searched for a passion for a long time. I’ve done woodworking, fencing (the sword kind), taken Spanish and German classes, ran 10ks and gone to the gym 5 days a week. But I found something in improv that I didn’t find elsewhere. And our mission at Elizabeth St. reflects that.”
The mission, Joseph says, is reflected in the slogan to their social media campaign, Improv For Everyone.
“My favourite part is, this isn’t my improv community transplanted to Okotoks. We’ve developed a crew of Friday-night regulars who Brooke and I didn’t know. Many of whom aren’t performers. They come to blow off steam from their week, develop day-to-day skills and play!”
Elizabeth St. has drop-in classes and jams every Friday and an upcoming show on August 16, featuring the first performance by their regulars, dubbed the Street Team.
And what’s in store for Elizabeth St.? Joseph says their website launch will be this month while in September they’re launching their first intro class. Elizabeth St. is also bringing Improv For Everyone to life with Improv For Seniors, a program designed as an activity for seniors homes. https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethStImprov/