"Our financial situation in this space has been challenging for a long time—well before I was hired," says Julie Dumais, who's been the Artistic Producer at Bad Dog Theatre since September 2010. "One of the biggest aspects of my mandate was looking at this, and our most viable path forward."

What Dumais and the board of directors at Bad Dog have decided, and outlined in a email to friends and supporters on February 11, is that it's in the company's best interests to leave their current location on the Danforth, at Broadview, and produce their shows in temporary venues until a new, more affordable home can be found. "We're paying what's been described as 'top pop' for storefront space," says Dumais—not exactly ideal conditions for a comedy outfit offering budget-friendly entertainment and classes.

Lest anyone think that Bad Dog is hitting the road due to a decrease in audience, Dumais describes how the recent Globehead Tournament had standing-room-only crowds, and was turning people away. Most of their shows have been pulling in respectable houses, but other factors that kept Bad Dog housed since 2003 have changed considerably.

"Our workshop and corporate revenue has declined," says Dumais, revenue streams that kept their classes and shows affordable. "With the economic downturn, one of the first things a company is going to cut back on is bringing in improv team-building workshops." Factor in new HST costs and a rent increase, and it became clear to Bad Dog's board that the theatre could be nearly full most nights and still lose money.

Another problem with the location was the lack of an alcohol licence, a condition that wasn't going to change. "We have tiered seating in our theatre, and because of the gradation, there's no way—we weren't even able to get a special occasions permit." Bad Dog's future home won't be a bar, but the company wants the flexibility to serve alcohol, especially at its late-night shows.

This news is worse for the neighborhood than it is for Bad Dog, who have already found a home for some of their programming at Comedy Bar and plan to begin offering a full schedule of classes again in April. Bad Dog's departure leaves the Danforth with no dedicated live venues; the Music Hall, almost directly across the street from Bad Dog Theatre, has been shuttered for months now. In fact, while shows do happen on a semi-regular basis in some bars and studios in the east end, come March the only remaining dedicated performance venue between Parliament Street, Victoria Park Avenue, Danforth Avenue, and Lake Shore Boulevard East will be the Opera House.

Theatresports, the improv company that became Bad Dog, was a nomadic entity for much longer than it's been rooted, Kerry Griffin reminds us. As the Second City alumni and current Bad Dog instructor recalls, "myself, Marcel St. Pierre, and Ralph McLeod were involved in running Theatresports in the late '90s and 2000s, which had been around since 1982, jumping from space to space. It had a little money in the bank, and the board at the time found this location, and decided to establish a permanent home for Theatresports, and whatever else we wanted to do. Marcel and I had recently come back from visiting the Annoyance Theatre in Chicago, and were really inspired by what the guys down there were doing, in an 'underground' venue of their own."

Dumais also mentions Chicago as an inspiration when we ask what sort of new location and neighborhood Bad Dog is looking for. "We're really open—transit accessibility is a priority, of course—to anything between, say, High Park and Pape. But two neighborhoods we really like are Bloorcourt Village, and Kensington Market. My instinct is to take us to an area where there's already activity happening, where the community at large is supportive of an entertainment destination, where comedy and live performance is a focus... That's something that Chicago's done really well, with the Annoyance Theatre, and Improv Olympics."

Dumais lists Toronto's corridor of theatres along Bathurst Street and the Ossington strip's music scene as prime examples. "We're really keen on engaging with an audience, and the community at large, to get them to think of improv as a viable entertainment choice for their evening. I don't think we're even on most people's radar as an art form. For comedy, it goes: stand-up, followed by sketch—everyone knows Second City, they have wonderful brand recognition—and then improv."

Asked if the City of Toronto, which is currently consulting with the public and arts leaders for input on a new Culture Plan, could assist Bad Dog—perhaps offering subsidized space in an emerging destination, similar to the arts companies housed in the Distillery District, or helping the volunteer-based company with the byzantine venue licensing process—Dumais insists first that Bad Dog should be quite capable of operating as an efficient not-for-profit business. Still, "Toronto needs one-hundred-seat houses as much as it needs two-thousand-seat halls, so any assistance from the City would be extremely helpful," she admits, "especially when you consider we do a lot of work that's education-based, with youth as well as adults....We have classes for youth as young as ten years old."

Since the announcement, offers of support have been pouring in from fans and alumni. "The response has been wonderful," says Dumais, clearly touched. "We've had offers of help from realtors, urban planners, and many alumni." Bad Dog hasn't started any sort of fundraising campaign, but since it is a charitable organization, supporters can donate (and get a tax receipt in return) on their website.

"Our goal with Bad Dog has always been to appeal not just to the die-hard comedy crowd, but also to all sorts of people from the community, people who wouldn't normally see improv," says Kerry Griffin, as we chat in front of the new "For Lease" sign in Bad Dog's front window. He's referring in part to Bad Dog's popular spoof shows, like Dreadwood, Sass in the City, and A Twisted Christmas Carol. "We're hoping this move will be a rebirth of sorts for Bad Dog; we haven't outgrown the space, but it's no longer suitable for our needs."

Both Griffin and Dumais are enthused about the final few weeks of shows at the Danforth location, which will bring back old troupes like Slap Happy and Operation Burning Sky. Says Dumais: "Between all the farewell shows here in the next few weeks, the workshops and shows at Comedy Bar, and the classes resuming in April, we're almost not even taking a break between leaving here, and moving on."