Second City Toronto celebrates in a new home

The last few years for Second City Toronto have been difficult.

The improv and sketch company was evicted from his home in the heart of Toronto’s entertainment district in July 2019 to make way for a new high-rise residential building. This sent him to a temporary performance and training space west of downtown pending the construction of a new venue.

Then came the COVID-19 pandemic and public health measures that sent people home and closed live event spaces. With home streaming suddenly the main source of comedic entertainment for most, Second City alum, comedian and actor Colin Mochrie wondered how Second City would appeal to audiences.

That’s the challenge now, Mochrie says as Second City Toronto opened a sprawling new event space on Wednesday that takes up the entire third floor of a downtown tower.

“During the pandemic, we really realized what essential service comedy is,” says Mochrie, whose TV credits include “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”

“People, during lockdown, they were going back to their comfort sitcoms and their comedy specials.”

The new 2,600 square meter space includes a main theater that seats 244, a second space named Theater ’73 that seats 170, and a student stage named John Candy Box Theater that seats 70. The site also has a bar for guests and another bar for students, as well as nine studios for in-person classes and workshops.

While in their temporary space, Mochrie says the company continued to offer acting classes and some remote performances until restrictions were eased.

But the pandemic also forced a shift in the comedic material performed by actors, Mochrie says, noting that the writing began to lean more towards current events and politics, and he expected themes similar ones continue in their new space.

Second City creative director Carly Heffernan says the new location feels like coming home.

She says the downtown location puts the legendary comedy center deeper in the heart of the city, among the bank towers and office skyscrapers that define the Toronto skyline, and close to other entertainment venues including Scotiabank Arena and the CN Tower.

It is also now connected to the city’s underground PATH system with direct access to the subway system, GO Transit, VIA Rail, and the Union-Pearson Express, a rapid train to the airport.

“We love being back downtown,” says Heffernan, who joined Second City as a student when it was located on Blue Jays Way.

“We love being so close to the other iconic things that visitors to Toronto can enjoy.”

In 1988, Mochrie debuted at Second City’s first venue, The Old Fire Hall, where so many talented people performed from 1971 to 1997.

Mochrie remembers sharing that scene with Mike Myers, who later joined “Saturday Night Live” and launched a successful film career. But before Mochrie joined the cast, he remembers seeing Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara and Andrea Martin perform there, and says it was clear they had something special.

He says he had the pleasure of working with Levy, O’Hara, Martin and Martin Short in May 2008 at a fundraiser for Second City to help alumni experiencing health or financial difficulties.

“It was the SCTV cast and for me it was like getting the chance to perform with the Beatles,” he says. “Being able to work with them at Second City was definitely one of the highlights of my career.”

He says many of the greatest alumni have maintained their ties to the Toronto branch of the legendary comedy factory that started in Chicago in 1959.

“It’s a bit like the mafia, once you’re in Second City you never get out,” he says. “You never lose touch with these people because they are such an important part of your journey.”

The Second City Toronto moved to its second home in the Blue Jays Way entertainment district in 1997, and that home was demolished last year after being redeveloped.

Heffernan says the new venue pays homage to the old fire station by including part of the stage’s original floor. It was installed at the John Candy Box Theatre.

The new venue also bears the Second City sign from its home on Blue Jays Way.

“Even though this is a big and shiny new building, we still love our Second City roots,” she says.

When it comes to reviving Toronto’s live entertainment center after the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mochrie says he’s excited to see live shows in the new home.

Second City’s first public performance in the new venue will be on Thursday with the show “Home Sweet New Home,” an interactive mix of improv games, classic sketches and satire.

This report from The Canadian Press was first published on November 30, 2022.