After almost a year of “wandering in the wilderness” since Bad Dog Theatre's departure from its Danforth location, the improv comedy company has a new home. An exclusive partnership with Comedy Bar has been announced, with Bad Dog providing in-house classes, and anchoring several weekly nights of shows at the venue.
When we asked Bad Dog's artistic producer Julie Dumais last year about her criteria for a new home for the company, her wish list included transit accessibility and a location in an area already supportive of live performance. “Bloorcourt was definitely on our radar, though being neighbours with Comedy Bar was the ideal scenario,” she admits.
But recent upgrades at the comedy hotspot sold Dumais on the partnership. “The new Cabaret space is wonderful for improv—its construction was a massive selling point. We were looking for a space that allows an intimate connection between performers and the audience—it has that. Also, with the Cabaret, we're able to run shows without interruption when headliners have the Theatre.” Bad Dog's Saturday flagship show Theatresports, for instance, won't be bumped when guests such as Andy Kindler or Chris Hardwick (who's booked for February 9th–11th) appear.
“We launched our Monday night Cabaret series in November, which returns January 30th,” continues Dumais. “It explores formats outside of Theatresports.” Tuesday nights will become Bad Dog's student nights; “They won't be marathon experiences, “ promises Dumais, “but short showcases for our newer performers, who'll mix it up with established talent.” Those marquee Bad Dog performers will anchor a series of shows on Wednesday nights. These shows replace those by longform improv company Impatient Theatre, who've announced intentions to establish their own venue soon.
Comedy Bar isn't a perfect home for Bad Dog—with shows every night (and no available training studio space), its evening classes will continue at Fraser Studios, across the street from its old Danforth location. But Dumais and Bad Dog are clearly happy with the long-term arrangement. “Comedy Bar was looking for a long term partner to offer improv training and shows—and we were ready to stop being nomadic. We didn't want to end up in the same situation, on a financial hamster wheel of paying rent and facility upkeep. We want to focus on creating work that's accessible to the general public, and investing in our perfromers—this partnering with Comedy Bar is great for that.”
