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Featured Category
Improv Night in Canada
Amanda Cupido
It’s exactly like Hockey Night in Canada. Except there’s laughter instead of chants, a stage rather than ice and comedians in place of hockey players.
Starting in September 2009, Improv Night in Canada was launched by Todd Charron and Paul Shoebridge, two improv instructors at Second City comedy club in Toronto. Currently, the show is held every Tuesday at 8:45 p.m. at the John Candy Box Theatre.
Improv Night has two teams that perform three times (once in each period of the game). At every break throughout the show, there are “injuries” that take place and allow a new comedian to be drafted to the team.
At the end of each period, the point is awarded to the team that the audience cheers the loudest for. Charron was the one who originally came up with the idea for the show to mimic Hockey Night in Canada.
“Way back, Paul and I were…looking for a format where a bunch of people could play in,” he said. “We wanted to get teams of people playing together as a team even if they didn’t know each other.”
It started with only four comedians showing up to play. Now there are about 50 people who come out on a weekly basis.
Shoebridge said that many famous comedic actors such as Tiny Fey and Mike Myers started off as improv students with Second City, just like the comedians that perform each week at Improv Night in Canada. “I think they will be the future stars of this world,” he said.
Ben Ball is a comedy student in Toronto who attends the event almost every week.
“I like performing in front of people and this gives me an opportunity to do that,” he said. “It’s really cool and I like it.”
Ball thinks the format is fun and hopes that the experience will lead to other comedy gigs. “I just want to make people smile,” he said.
John Candy Box Theatre is located at 70 Peter Street and admission is pay-what-you-can at the door. For more information, you can call 416-340-7270.
