Staircase Improv

Founding (1996)

Hugh MacLeod and Kathy Garneau moved from Vancouver to Hamilton in 1994, having both worked in the improv scene at the Vancouver TheatreSports League. Finding no improv community in Hamilton, they began building one. In 1996 MacLeod and Garneau established Staircase Improv, taking their name from the cast iron spiral staircase inside the building they had purchased and renovated for the purpose: Dundurn Station, a former 1914 beaux-arts power substation operated by Hamilton Hydro and decommissioned in 1996.

Venue and Community

The renovation of Dundurn Station required MacLeod to navigate city zoning challenges, rallying improv contacts from across Canada to advocate to Hamilton city councillors. MacLeod's mother provided seed funding for renovations, and a performance room in the building was named the Elaine May Theatre in her honour. The venue was built small by design: 67 seats, with the audience elevated above the performers. Staircase Improv has been entirely self-funded through workshop fees and ticket revenue since its founding, accepting no government, corporate, or religious funding.

Programming

Staircase Improv runs classes, workshops, stand-up, sketch comedy, improv jams, and regular comedy shows. The venue also hosts the Hamilton Fringe Festival and serves as an arts incubator for a range of Hamilton organizations.

Staircase Improv is Hamilton's long-running community improv company and arts venue, operating from a repurposed 1914 power substation and sustaining itself entirely through ticket and workshop revenue since 1996.