A new chapter for local comedy
The Making-Box comedy theatre said goodbye to their 40 Baker Street home during one last night of stand-up comedy and improvisation.
After more than two years of occupying a small room on the building’s second floor, the company is making the move to a storefront location on Cork Street in what was formerly The Joint Café.
For Making-Box co-founder Jay Reid, the move is a dream come true and many months in the making.
“We moved into Baker Street [temporarily] on Oct. 3, 2014. There are even signs on the walls that say, ‘The Making-Box pop-up comedy theatre, Oct. 3-30, 2014,’” recalled Reid. “It was only supposed so last 27 days and it lasted 27 months.”The send-off, dubbed the “Bye Bye Baker Street” show on March 31 sold out quickly, so the comedy theatre added a second show that took place earlier in the evening.
The shows followed the standard Making-Box format, combining stand-up comedy with the Making-Box Brigade’s improvisation.
The early show boasted a line-up of Making-Box members Cas Knihnisky and Ric Mattingley and local comedians Zak McDonald, Emily Vance, and Mirali Almaula.
The late show’s line-up had some variation, with performers Vance, Mattingley, and Almaula returning to the stage with Suzie Taka and Daniel Birnberg.
Joke topics ranged from the Making-Box’s history and the Baker Street location, to vision boards, casual dating, and Google Incognito.It was a big evening for Vance, who performed stand-up comedy for her third and fourth times ever over the span of a couple hours.
Just after the late show’s intermission, Royal City Heroes poet Eitan Gallant performed a spoken word poem which served as the muse for the Brigade’s improvisation that followed.
The atmosphere was light and appreciative. More than a few happy tears were shed by both Making-Box members and the audience.
“There is a particular moment where all of the Brigade [warms] up together backstage, where group members will touch each other’s backs, and go, ‘I got your back, I got your back.’ And then [tonight] it was, ‘I got your Baker, I got your Baker,’” remembered Reid with a laugh.
Audience members were encouraged to write their favourite Making-Box memories on the walls during the intermission. Many of the messages were heartfelt thank-you’s.“There’s an adage that tragedy plus time equals comedy,” said Reid. “When we realize that there’s a world where tragedy can be celebrated, we all become more open, happy, and connected. I think that’s true about stand-up and I think that’s true about improv.”
The new Cork Street location offers more space and better accessibility, not to mention more effective ventilation, joked several Making-Box members over the course of the night.
The Making-Box’s first public show in their new home is set to take place by the end of April. The late spring months will be dedicated to renovating the space into a storefront theatre which will be fully functional by fall 2017.
[media-credit id=119 align=”aligncenter” width=”1020″]
Photo by Claire Wilcox