February 19, 2009: Where the Laughs Abound
by: Alison Broverman // The Toronto Star
“Toronto is chock full of comedians who just make up their shows as they go along – and audiences love it. Here are a few places to check out Toronto’s funniest people thinking on their feet:
PROJECTproject A weekly improv party… …PROJECTproject was started in late 2007 by a core of hip, young Toronto comedians. The show involves a rotating lineup of a wide variety of improv styles. Some of the country’s most acclaimed improv troupes have been known to guest-host.”
March 29, 2009: PROJECTproject’s Weekly BYOB Improv Night
by: Roger Cullman // blogTO
“On Wednesday nights, some of the hottest improv comedy performers get liquored up with you and put on a show. It’s only five bucks and you get entertained for a few hours, making this possibly the best entertainment deal going in the city.
It all goes down at Unit 102 at 46 Noble Street in Parkdale. It’s spitting distance from the LCBO, so they encourage you to BYOB beforehand (must be 19+). There’s even a fridge in the studio/rehearsal space to keep the rest of your suds chilled while you enjoy your first drink as you watch the often laugh-out-loud antics on stage.”
May 21, 2008: PROJECTproject Combustion Festival at Comedy Bar
by: Sean Davidson // eye Weekly
“Take one of the biggest and most buzz-making comedy troupes on the local scene and cram them into a tiny and not-entirely-legal room somewhere in Parkdale and you’ll get a feel for how PROJECTproject has been living since last year.
The gang of improv-ers has since the fall put on weekly shows in a certain underground box of a room — picture the sort of place where the French Resistance would hide out…
…The [Combustion] festival is modeled after PROJECTproject itself, says organizer Julie Dumais, in that it brings performers together while forcing them to work outside their comfort zones.
“The goal of PROJECTproject is it’s never just about a good configuration of people, it’s about a good configuration of people trying something out,” she tells me, over raspberry smoothies on Queen Street West. PP is an extended family on par with those of certain cults and includes Dumais, Bob Banks, Adam Cawley and Mark Andrada in its core group, though they and the supporting cast overlap with acts like 10,000 to Flight, PB&J and The Sketchersons.
“The Combustion festival is mapping that on a larger scale. The idea is to present work… in a new context with new combinations and new chemistry with other artists.”
