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Improv can really be a blast! And if you’re in Toronto, there are now several places offering courses.
I took improv and a couple of specialty writing courses at the Second City in Toronto, many years ago, when it was the only improv school in town. Back then, there was just the one program of (I think) 6 levels, of which, I took 4. (Nick Johne, who was on a couple of seasons of “Red Green”, was one of my teachers.) I remember that we could really tell the difference between the people who were there for “personal development” and the ones who were there with a view to an acting career. The former were often more timid, and couldn’t keep up with the faster thought processes and more aggressive technique of the latter. I suspect this was because so many performers have ADHD, which kind of makes us blow “normal” people out of the water in a setting like that. Still, sometimes, this clash led to some really interesting moments in our scenes.
About 15 years ago, the Second City decided to split its improv school into two streams: a regular stream for the “personal development” crowd, and a “conservatory” program for the thespian crowd. Logically, this makes a lot of sense—though, I haven’t taken any classes there since the split, so I don’t have any experience of it.
But I can tell you that, if you want to see some of the absolute best improv in town, you should go to the weekly “Carnegie Hall Show”, every Wednesday night, at Bread & Circus (299 Augusta Ave., Toronto). It’s hosted by the National Theatre of the World (which includes several Second City veterans), and it’s PWYC. Every week, they take audience suggestions and then improvise a salute to “the best improvised moments of all time”, followed by a completely improvised old-time radio show with sound effects and commercials. They also have a couple of guest variety acts each week. I’ve been one of those guest acts twice, and I hope they’ll let me come back again!
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