The Second City Toronto Announces Cast and Crew for 90th Mainstage Revue

TORONTO – The world’s most influential name in live comedy, The Second City is thrilled to announce the cast and crew of The Second City Toronto’s 90th Mainstage Revue. Celebrated TV writer and Second City Alum Brandon Hackett directs returning ensemble members Tiyawnda, Conor Bradbury, Coko Galore, Devon Henderson, Christian Smith, and Scott Yamamura.  Matt Keevins returns as stage manager and lighting designer, and Elise Wattman joins as music director.  

Live Sketch Comedy! In the time-honoured tradition of The Second City, YOU are invited to become part of our creative process. For a few wild weeks, while the cast creates and hones a brand-new show, audiences have the chance to influence songs, sketches, and characters being developed in real time! Your reactions, ideas, and energy will directly impact the material in our milestone 90th revue. This limited time is a fun and exclusive glimpse into the artistry and improvisation that has defined The Second City’s legacy worldwide for 65 years.  

The producing team includes Jen Ellison (VP Head of Creative), Etan Muskat (Artistic Director, Toronto), Susan Waycik (Producer), Elizabeth Howard (Executive Producer), Parisa Jalili (COO/CRO), and Ed Wells (CEO). 

The Second City Mainstage Revue runs Tuesday through Thursday at 8pm, Friday and Sunday at 7pm and Saturdays at 7pm and 10pm. Performances take place at The Second City Comedy Theatre located at ONE YORK STREET.  Tickets start at $39 and can be purchased at The Second City Box Office, by phone at 416-343-0011, or online at www.secondcity.com.   An official press opening will be announced soon.  

Press contact: Hayley Graham (She/Her) | Sr. Publicist – Touchwood PR 

647.998.3783 | hayley@touchwoodpr.com

 

About the Artists:

TIYAWNDA (Ensemble) [she/her]
Tiyawnda is a Toronto-based writer and performer whose main focuses include playwriting; creative nonfiction; and performing sketch, stand-up, improv, and musical comedy. Tia is excited to be a member of Second City’s Mainstage, after being part of Second City’s Tourco, and being one of the 2019 Bob Curry Fellows. 

CONOR BRADBURY (Ensemble) [he/him]
Conor Bradbury is an actor and comedian who has been performing in Toronto for almost two decades. He is a founding member of multi-award-winning comedy troupe Sex T-Rex (Just For Laughs Best Comedy, Toronto Sketchfest: Best of Fest, Toronto Fringe: Best Comedy). He is a regular performer with Bad Dog Theatre (Hookup, D&D Live, Theatresports) and has recently appeared in The Howland Company’s Entrances and Exits. His film and TV credits include What We Do in the Shadows (FX), Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu) and Homeschooled (CBC). He was also once on an episode of Cash Cab.   Instagram: @conorbury 

NADINE DJOURY (Assistant Director) [she/her]
Nadine is beyond thrilled to be back at The Second City! Nadine is an alumna of the Mainstage where she wrote and performed in three critically acclaimed revues. She currently writes for CBC’s The Great Canadian Baking Show and co-created, wrote and starred in ABC.com/CBC Comedy’s web series, Newborn Moms, earning a CSA nomination for Best Performance. Recent television credits include What We Do in the Shadows (FX), Ghosts (CBS), Transplant (NBC) and Kim’s Convenience (CBC).  Instagram: @nadined 

COKO GALORE (Ensemble) [she/they]
Coko Galore is an actor, producer, host, comedian who performs across disciplines including live comedy shows, podcasts, panels, events, TV, and film. Her performance credits include The Accused (FOX), TallBoyz (CBC), Pretty Hard Cases (CBC) and Untitled Black Sketch Project. When she’s not performing, Coko Galore drinks lots of water, minds her business, and takes naps! Instagram: @cokogalore  

BRANDON HACKETT (Director) [he/him]
Brandon Hackett is a Toronto-based television writer and comedian.  His TV writing credits include Run the Burbs, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Tallboyz and Shelved. Brandon is an alumnus of Toronto’s Second City Mainstage, where he co-wrote and performed in four revues, including the Canadian Comedy Award-nominated Party Today (Panic Tomorrow) and The Best is Yet to Come Undone. He is one half of the duo Hackett & Langdon (NNNNN, Now Magazine). 

DEVON HENDERSON (Ensemble) [she/her]
Devon Henderson has been performing with The Second City since 2018, when she was a cast member of Improv Showdown. She has also performed with Second City’s Tourco and in the Patch Company shows The Second City Totally Likes You and Take Me Out to the Improv: Spooky Edition. She is also an instructor and performer at Bad Dog Theatre, where she was a member of the 2018 Featured Players. Her Bad Dog credits include Theatresports, Super Hot Date Night, The Rat King, and Toronto, I Love You. Her comedy duo, TwoSon, wrote and performed the critically acclaimed An Evening with Devon & Jackie at the 2022 Toronto Fringe. Select festival credits: Sketchfest Seattle, Toronto Sketchfest, Vancouver Sketchfest, Improvaganza, Montreal Sketchfest, The Detroit Improv Festival, District Improv, and the Del Close Marathon. Instagram: @devonhenderson 

MATT KEEVINS (Stage Manager & Lighting Designer) [he/him]
Matt Keevins is a stage manager, who specializes in improv and sketch comedy. Select credits include The Weight of it All (Toronto Fringe), An Evening with Devon and Jackie (Toronto Fringe), Something Small, Something Sweet (Hamilton Fringe), Come Here Often? (Buddies in Bad Times). He’s worked as a theatre tech at Comedy Bar, in The Second City Training Center and has understudied Mainstage and Tourco. He’s often shocked that he has made a whole career out of pushing buttons with great comedic timing!    

CHRISTIAN SMITH (Ensemble) [he/him]
Christian Smith is an actor, writer, director and improviser from Toronto. Co-Creator of the CBC Digital Comedy; Soul Decision Comedy and writer for new television series Made for TV. He is one half of YouTube darlings Christian & Nat and was co-founder of popular channel Pulp Comedy alongside notable Second City alumni. Christian is also a part of award-winning sketch comedy troupe Soul Decision whose performed all around North America and Europe including JFL, JFL42, Zoofest and more! Catch him on screen in the new series Abroad, or on Run The Burbs, Workin’ Moms or You’re My Hero. Christian is also a Dad. He saved it for last because it’s the coolest and best thing he’s ever done.   

ELISE WATTMAN (Music Director) [she/her]
Elise Wattman is a grammy-nominated composer and pianist who specializes in audio design for visual media. As Audio Lead for Jackbox Games, Elise created the music & sound for Let Me Finish, TimeJinx, Junktopia and Weapons Drawn. Elise has toured internationally on keyboards and her favourite venue is Preservation Hall in New Orleans. Elise served as Music Director for Second City Chicago e.t.c’s 44th revue, She the People San Diego, Deck the Hallmark Chicago, America It’s Complicated at the Kennedy Center, DC. For her work accompanying modern dance performance, Elise designed a patented digital module for live scoring. Follow her @soupysounds for kayaking and hockey fun. 

SCOTT YAMAMURA (Ensemble) [he/him]
Scott Yamamura has been performing on comedy stages for over 2 decades. His screen performance credits include Transplant, Orphan Black: Echoes, and Deep Six. He has also performed in various Second City ensembles including Tourco, The Education Company, as Mainstage Understudy and now as a Mainstage cast member. Despite all of this, Scott still can’t dunk a basketball and at this point everyone agrees, it’s highly unlikely.  

 

About The Second City:

The Second City first brought its iconic improv and sketch comedy to Toronto in 1963 for a week of performances at the Royal Alexandra Theatre. After a decade of sold out shows at the 1200-seat theatre, The Second City established a permanent home in the city with the opening of “The Old Firehall” on Lombard Street. In 1976, The Second City Toronto further solidified its place in comedy history by creating the groundbreaking television show SCTV. 

In December 2022, The Second City began an exciting new chapter by relocating to its state-of-the-art facility at One York Street. This move introduced three distinct theatres: The Mainstage, Theatre ’73, and The John Candy Box Theatre, each offering nightly performances that continue The Second City’s tradition of bringing laughter to audiences. 

Since making a home in Toronto over 50 years ago The Second City has grown to become the most influential name in comedy launching the careers of countless Canadian comedy legends. Our illustrious alumni list includes names such as Catherine O’Hara, Eugene Levy, Martin Short, Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Mike Myers, Colin Mochrie, Bob Martin, Jerry Minor, Gavin Crawford, Kevin Vidal, Darryl Hinds, Chris Wilson, Lauren Ash, Ann Pornel, Alan Shane Lewis and so many more. 

For more information on The Second City, visit www.secondcity.com and follow The Second City on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.