Catch23 Improv Retrospective
The Death of Catch23
By Sam Linton
Posted January 14th, 2007
2006 has drawn to a close, yet it’s still always important to look back and reflect on the events of the past year as we stare into the vast unknown of the future. 2006 marked a lot of changes to the cityscape of Toronto, but for me, one of the most meaningful and overlooked changes happened as far back as July 31st, with the finish of Catch23 Improv, which had taken place in the back room at Clinton’s Tavern every Monday since I could legally drink. For four years, Catch23 had served as an excellent venue for comedy, drinks and, dare I say it, camaraderie. At 9 PM of July 31st, 2006, Catch23 kicked off its last show, featuring the talents of 10,000 to Flight (Julie Dumais and Mark Andrada), A Gun (Kurt Smeaton, Graham Wagner and Andrew Love) and Neat² (Peter Oldring and Pat Kelly). MONDO, the only Toronto paper present, was there for this momentous, sad, and very funny night of mournful comedy. As the show came to a close, I asked many of the comedians and assorted crew to memorialize their thoughts and feelings on the venue’s closing, starting with Catch23 founder Julie Dumais on the “why” of the venue’s demise.
“When we started, there were very few venues [for improv] in the city. I would say over the past five years definitely the improv scene in Toronto has exploded. It’s just a lot of serendipitous things that have happened simultaneously; I certainly take no responsibility for it, I think that it’s something that, in a lot of different corners, emerged at the same time. I think everything sort of has its ebb and flow, and we got to a place where we were like, “all right, it’s been a really wonderful run, we’ve really enjoyed it. Let’s stop while we’re still loving it as opposed to letting it die a painful death.
“Catch23 as a format is not dying, though. There’s an incarnation of it happening in Australia now, one about to begin in Vancouver. The format itself has started to spread like rapid-fire, but this will always be the anchor point.”
Julie Dumais, Improviser/administrator/founder
Performers’ Eulogies:
“It was a comedy icon in Toronto that very few people knew about or wrote about or cared about, but I cared about it and now it’s dead.”
Kurt Smeaton, Improviser/Co-Founder
“I’ve done about 15 to 20 comedy shows consistently here in town for about 8 to 10 years and this is by far the best and it’s a real shame to see it go. There’s some really sad people in here tonight, because if you weren’t here, you missed it.”
Brendan Bane, Sound/Tech/Lights
“I think it was a show that needed to die, and one that would have killed itself. Any good bunch of satirists are out to destroy things that are lame, so the show was perhaps just getting the slightest bit lame, and responsible people went out and killed it. Any sign of weakness in comedy deserves to be destroyed, I guess is the idea.”
Graham Wagner, Improviser
“I think it’s sad that it’s over, but it died before it died.”
Rebecca Kohler, Improviser.
“When I first started doing this, it was terrifying. I was terrified for a month before every single show, butterflies in my stomach, I was very consciously thinking, ‘what are they going to do next?’, but with every single scene, it just got easier and easier and better and better and these guys have really had a lot of fun. It’ll continue; the cool thing about it ending is that all of the performers involved are all doing other stuff, you can go see them in Toronto and other cities. The show’s really been a breeding ground for a lot of really cool talent, and I really look forward to being involved in all of the new projects and seeing the new shows as they come up.”
Chris Tindal, Musical Accompaniment
“My only thoughts would be that it was one of the best shows in town, because there’s rarely a show that combines the structure of good improv but also that game-y kind of aspect, and also a good crowd. It’s a shame that they’re shuttin’ it down, but I always had fun because it reminded me of Calgary, doin’ improv down at Loose Moose [theatre].”
Pat Kelly, Improviser/Final Champion/Former YTV Personality
“One of the things with Catch23 is that my cousin is one of the people who organizes it, Kurt Smeaton. So for me, one of the things that stands out obviously about working at Catch23 is the idea of working with a family member. We didn’t necessarily grow up together, because I grew up on the West, he grew up on the East, and so it’s one of things where having Catch23 has been something where I’ve gone to perform with my cousin, see him perform while I’m workin’ with other people, so in a very odd way it’s a family-based experience for me, personally. I’ve had nothing but a great time working in that capacity to have anywhere where you can go improvise, and you can play improvisational games if you want or you can leave it very open and the structure is left up to the individual teams to decide for the night, and that’s kind of a gift. Some nights it works and some nights it’s a disaster, but in any case, it’s one of the few formats of a show that allow improvisers to do that. I guess I’m sad that I don’t know when I’ll see my cousin again, though. That’s the big thing.”
Peter Oldring, Improviser/Final Champion.
So, as we march ever onward into a bold new year, it is important to take stock both of what we have lost, and what we have gained. Goodbye, Catch23. You will be missed.
R.I.P. Catch23 Improv (2002-2006)
Many of the improvisers featured in this article can be found performing at various other venues throughout the city (The Bad Dog Theatre Co., Sunday Night Live, etc.) Pat Kelly and Peter Oldring can be found on the web.
Julie Dumais plans to hold a Catch23 reunion at an unspecified point in the New Year.