At the Improv Centre on Thursday, April 24

TheatreSports is improv, but not all improv is TheatreSports. Keith Johnstone invented the traditional improvisational show that pits two teams of actors competing against each other. That format is, naturally, a staple at the Vancouver TheatreSports League on Granville Island. But the company has six other shows on their weekly schedule, the latest being another Johnstone creation, Gorilla Theatre.

To the casual observer, there’s not a heckuva lot of difference between the two. What you’re going to see on any given night in either format are fast-paced comedic scenes with winners determined by the audience. Only in Gorilla Theatre, the points are bananas handed out by—you guessed it—a gorilla. (Note for the timid and/or PETA members: not a real gorilla.)

Here’s how it works: five actors take turns directing scenes featuring whomever they choose from the remaining ones, giving directions along the way. I guess this ostensibly removes the possibility of one performer taking the scene to some unwanted destination but it ultimately plays out the same way. Instead of the actor driving the scene, it’s the director and his or her vision.

At the end of each scene, it’s mob rule. The audience shouts out whether they think it was a forfeit or a banana. Of course, when 186 people yell in unison, you can’t always tell what the majority vote is. Doesn’t matter. It’s all for shits and giggles anyway.

At the opening gala on Thursday, there were some bugs that will surely be ironed out. For example, the bananas didn’t stick to the board, although that in itself provided ongoing laughs. Also the penalties to the directors whose scenes were forfeited by the crowd weren’t always practical. Taz VanRassel, for instance, had to run backstage to retrieve his phone to call a loved one and tell them he was a bad actor. But it took time to power the device up, only to get an outgoing message, which left no time for his forced confession. And after intermission, host Michael Teigen asked an audience member (full disclosure: it was me) to choose between pirates and ninjas, but nothing was done with the suggestion. Or maybe it was and I was still shaking from the pressure to notice.

But the actors, as usual, were all fantastic. Along with the reliably hilarious VanRassel and Teigen was a top-notch cast made up of the phlegmatic Nathan Clark, the dancing wonder Denise Jones, Graeme Duffy channeling his inner Lev Kuleshov, and the hysterical (in both senses of the word) Margret Nyfors. Throw in a gorilla (on this night played by Brian Anderson) and it ups the zaniness level.

You’re not going to go ape over the format, but you’ll laugh and be a part of the show just like TheatreSports. Orange you glad I didn’t say banana again?

Gorilla Theatre continues at the Improv Centre on Granville Island Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.