Laugh about it! Theatresports, Bad Dog Theater mark major anniversaries
Ten years ago, Alia Ceniza Rasul had a 9 to 5 job and was planning to climb the proverbial corporate ladder. The only thing holding her back was her fear of public speaking.
She tried Toastmasters, which she found way too intense. She then enrolled in an improv theater class at the Bad Dog Theater. She loved it and soon, encouraged by someone at Bad Dog, she was on stage doing a 10-minute improv scene with improv star Lisa Merchant.
“I still remember that feeling of saying my first catchphrase,” says Rasul, referring to the impromptu line that evokes a big laugh that ends a scene.
“Whenever I think, ‘Ah, art is hard,’ I remember that moment and realize that this is where I need to be.”
In the end, Rasul gave up the job at the company and joined Bad Dog. She has been artistic director of the company for almost a year now.
She is not alone in her love of art. This year Bad Dog Theater celebrates its 20th year of making people laugh with games, scenes and full shows made up on the spot. Bad Dog evolved from Theatresports Toronto, which is also celebrating its 40th year and is named after its classic competition-style shows.
To mark the occasion, Bad Dog presents theater sports competitions for 40 consecutive weeks, all leading up to a major gala show and fundraiser at Comedy Bar on July 7 featuring an all-star cast of alumni including Colin Mochrie, Andrew Phung and Ann Pornel.
“Improvising is the most dangerous thing I will ever do without endangering my life,” Mochrie wrote in an email. Mochrie, of course, helped popularize improv on the long-running TV series “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”
“To be in front of a paying audience expecting a show you don’t have at the time is exciting,” he continued. “Watching some sitcoms is like watching a mathematical formula come to life – you can almost say the punch line with the actors. With improvisation, no one knows where the funny comes from.”
Theatresports was founded in Calgary in 1977 by Keith Johnstone, the influential British-Canadian teacher, director and co-founder of the Loose Moose Theater who recently passed away. Legend has it that he came up with the format after watching professional wrestlers incite the crowd. It was soon adopted by teams across the country and its alumni include Mike Myers, several members of the Kids in the Hall sketch group, storyteller Sandra Shamas, and Mochrie, who first performed it in Vancouver in the early 1980s.
Theatresports Toronto regular Marcel St. Pierre co-founded Bad Dog with Kerry Griffin and Ralph MacLeod in 2003 because, as he says, he wanted to give people more stage time.
“Unless you were self-producing, there were two places you could go to improvise,” says St. Pierre. “There was Theatresports, which was once a week and was for the cast and the students, and then there was Second City, which included a post-show improv jam for the cast and students in addition to the skit. We wanted to grow the community and create more opportunities.”
And they did. Popular early Bad Dog shows included weekly impromptu parodies of hit shows and movies such as “Battlestar Galactica” (the Bad Dog version was called “Battleawesome Awesomestar”) and “Harry Potter” (“Hairy Patter”). Some audience members became so addicted to the art form that they took classes and tried it out for themselves.
When a Bad Dog show called “Throne of Games” debuted (I think you can guess what it’s based on), Stephanie Malek, now Bad Dog’s corporate director and production manager for its Theatresports nights, was in the audience.
“When I saw my brain explode and I suddenly realized what improvisation could be,” said Malek. “I had seen ‘Who’s Line’ before, but this was the first time I saw a narrative long show.”
The basic techniques of a game like Theatersport can also give artists ideas for other shows and formats.
Theater sports alum Tom Hearn, who is performing at the July 7 gala, came up with the idea for “Lipsynced” — a lip-synching show featuring popular songs, games, drag, and audience votes.
And improvisation can also help writers generate ideas in a fun, approachable way.
Jan Caruana, an alumnus of Theatresports, Bad Dog and Second City, also performs at the gala and is a writer for shows such as ‘Because News’ and ‘The Next Step’.
“Improv is useful when you’re stuck for ideas,” said Caruana. “You just go, ‘How about this?’ It teaches you not to be precious – just throw away all your ideas and someone will shine on something.
As with any performing art, improvisation has undergone some major social changes over the past decade. Rasul was originally hired by Julie Dumais Osborne, former artistic director of Bad Dog, as recording director. During her first year in the role, she recalls finding certain long-standing games—especially those centered around accents and cultural stereotypes—problematic.
“We held workshops on how not to be harmful improvisers,” Rasul said. “That includes things like accents. What do you focus on? With improvisation it is better to hit than to knock down.
There is also an increased sensitivity around physical touch and intimacy. Who knows what can happen when people make things up on the spot?
Rasul now lets people check in at the start of rehearsals, shows and even auditions. Everyone reveals their name, their pronouns and what their entry needs might be for the day.
One of Bad Dog’s current challenges is the lack of a permanent play area. After starting on the Danforth and then moving west to Bloor Street W. and Ossington Avenue, it has temporary administrative and educational quarters on Spadina Avenue. But following the spirit of improvisation, Bad Dog adapts. Their shows often take place on Comedy bar, but they are open to go anywhere. This fall, for example, they’re hosting a pirate-themed show on a ship at the Harbourfront.
Improv has changed thousands of lives.
“It’s magical to watch something come out of nothing,” said Malek. “Once it touches your heart, it changes you as a person. I met my partner, I met my best friends through improvisation.”
But someone she would still like to meet? Theater sports alumnus Keanu Reeves. This year, Bad Dog inaugurated the Keanu Reeves Alumni Award to an artist who has used improvisation as a springboard to advance his artistic practice.
“The prize is a John Wick action figure of Keanu holding a dog over his head, as if standing up for Bad Dog.”
The Theatresports40 Grand Finale & Fundraiser will take place July 7 at 8pm at Comedy Bar (945 Bloor West).
