Puppets, artists who've trained at Chicago's Second City and cheap tickets to not-so-cheap laughs should draw crowds to the 11th annual Vancouver International Improv Festival, says its founder Alistair Cook.

"It's $2 to see an hour-and-a-half performance of a wide-range of international performers and The Sunday Service. Really there is no reason, at all, to not come to that night," said Cook, referring to the festival's kick-off Toonie Tuesday showcase featuring the popular local comedy troupe.

The festival also sells $40 passes, "which means you can see 22 performances at a recession-busting average of $1.80 each," its press bumph states.

Cook was producing short-form Vancouver TheatreSports League-style improv in 1999 when he was invited to an improv festival in Seattle. There he discovered Chicago-style long-form improv, where performers take suggestions from the audience upfront, then weave 30, even 60 minutes pieces, instead of brief scenes. Dazzled by the array of talents and styles he encountered, Cook, who's also founder and director of !nstant Theatre Co., a professional improv theatre company, put together an international ensemble and showcases of short- and long-form improv in 2000.

For the first time, this year's comedy carnival features two ensembles. So many local talents auditioned for the International Ensemble, which includes performers from New York and Atlanta, Cook established a second troupe. The new Cascades Ensemble features performers from Vancouver, Victoria and Bellingham.

Cook, who also performs with Vancouver TheatreSports League, isn't surprised by the interest in improv.

"Vancouver's always had a steady interest in improvisation, especially with Vancouver TheatreSports having over 30 years of success," he said. "With their new venue, I think it shows even more."

The International Ensemble, which includes artists from TheatreSports, performs Oct. 6. The ensemble will also stage two 30-minute pieces Oct. 9, one using Shakespearean conventions and the other a Jane Austen-style piece, both developed in workshops over two days.

Other acts include Toronto's Standards & Practices, whose more alternative work verges on performance art according to Cook; Dave Morris, a storyteller, improviser and poet from Victoria; and Doppelganger, an all-female African-American trio from New York.

For a time, this year's festival looked like it might not materialize because of arts funding cuts said Cook. But festival organizers improvised, so to speak, taking inspiration from Toronto's Ghost Jail Theatre, and started a grassroots campaign to convince 200 people to donate $20 to support the event. Cook said the festival's halfway to meeting this goal with more donations expected to roll in at festival time.

The festival runs Oct. 5 to 9 at Performance Works on Granville Island. For more information about shows and workshops, see vancouverimprovfest.com.

crossi@vancourier.com