Personally, I was met by dim ambient lights punctuated by small chatter and the whoosh of drinks being poured when I walked into TSC this summer for my first shift as an intern. It was the second night of Montreal Sketchfest.

Montreal Sketchfest is a two-week-long run of sketch comedy troupes from all over the country, run by TSC’s in-house non-profit called Le Nouveau International. It features Francophone nights, afterparties, and a best-of-the-fest finale in which the funniest, most charming groups take home like the “Best Local Troupe.” 2027 will be the 20th year of Montreal Sketchfest, representing Montreal’s longstanding commitment to comedic innovation and indie theatre.

At my first shift working Montreal Sketchfest, I had no idea what was going on. There were people in funny costumes, dancing crotch-forward, infamous “your mom” jokes, and actors pretending to be weird bouncers — just about anything you could think of.

But it worked. From my seat at the back of the theatre, I was laughing. I was laughing at how ridiculous some of the scenes were but also, how true they rang.

Comedy offers a unique social critique. It humorizes real-life situations and reproduces them through a lens of joy while simultaneously calling attention to society’s flaws.

In one of Key & Peele’s most iconic sketches, Obama Presidential Handshake, Peele plays “Obama,” greeting a crowd of citizens. As he shakes the hands of white supporters, he maintains a rigid posture, a calm voice, and polite remarks. However, once a Black supporter steps in, his entire demeanour changes from one of polite formality to informal familiarity as “Obama” daps the supporter up. The changes become more absurd as he shifts among people of varying race and gender. In exaggerating the contrasts between “Obama”‘s different reactions, Key & Peele satirize the social dynamics and unique pressures faced by Black public figures to cater to all social demographics, drastically switching from persona to persona. They show codeswitching as the navigation between two worlds. Through sketch comedy, artists are able to call attention to and critique true issues they may face.

Cathy Hong Park, author of Minor Feelings, acknowledges this truth, writing in her essay “Stand-Up.” She notes that “[t]here was a transparency to comedy that [she] wasn’t finding in poetry.” Comedy is
blunt and refreshingly honest, which is exactly why it can be transformative.

Kristina Gueverra, creative director at TSC, says in an interview with the Daily, “Comedy is important because it is revolutionary. In order to integrate joy in your life amongst this capitalist, white-supremacist patriarchy, we need to make intentional and conscious efforts to be happy sometimes. Healing is laughing. Comedy is medicine.”

Zooming out of Montreal Sketchfest, TSC boasts the longest running improv show on Sundays with a free workshop and $10 show. As an intern, I created graphics highlighting the entourage of artists, which consisted of both emerging and established Montreal comedians, cast in the weekly show.

TSC as an organization is a bilingual theatre for plays, comedies, music, and films. It is a true representation of indie theatre: local and run by people, for the people. In addition to Sunday Night Improv, it also hosts a free French improv workshop and show on Mondays called “Les Lundis.” By day, TSC is also a cafe with an ever-expanding menu of pastries, and a new visual artist highlighted on its walls.

“I love that [the improv show] empowers not only people who are seasoned [professionals] but also emerging artists … We have people coming back all the time. There’s so much history in these walls, within these bricks,” says Gueverra.

In addition to hosting these open-to-all workshops and shows, TSC provides some of the cheapest rental prices among venues in Montreal, making its space easily accessible for artists to produce shows. There aren’t any “big barriers,” as Gueverra puts it. If you have an idea, you can see it through.

“TSC is such a good representation of Montreal. It’s not just one thing,” Gueverra says before describing the Theatre’s diverse set of programming. I saw first-hand exactly what she was talking about: booking requests from punk bands, small comedy troupes, international stand-up stars, and even a guy who wanted to do a live comedy talk show requiring lottery tickets to enter.

Within a narrow, three-floored building on Sainte-Catherine, TSC demonstrates how art isn’t simply about fancy exhibitions or a critical acclaim — but the act of creating from the ground up.

The post Theatre Sainte-Catherine: Improv, Workshops, and Comedy as Medicine appeared first on The McGill Daily.