April 3, 2017

Meet Kevin Gillese of Dad’s Garage in Old Fourth Ward

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin Gillese.

Kevin, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was first introduced to improv comedy as a teenager in my hometown of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. A group of performers, improvisers from Rapid Fire Theatre, came to my high school to do a show and I was instantly hooked. I started studying the craft and performing as often as I could, meanwhile getting as involved as I could in every element of that company. By the time I was in my late 20s I was the Artistic Director of Rapid Fire Theatre and was known for creating shows and touring them around the world. This is what led to me being offered the job of Artistic Director of Dad’s Garage Theatre in 2010. Since then I’ve been lucky to work with many incredible staff members and an entire company of talented performers & dedicated volunteers to elevate this company to another level. Our annual budget has nearly doubled, as has our ensemble of artists and nearly every other metric of growth. The diversity within our organization is now much more reflective of the community and we have built strong, supportive relationships with many other non-profit organizations in Atlanta, in short as our business has grown so too has our mindfulness towards our mission. All of this growth has culminated in the purchase of a brand new building, a church turned theatre for Dad’s Garage in the heart of the Old Fourth Ward, and a place of joy and laughter for many years to come.

Has it been a smooth road?
The biggest struggle is always a matter of resources, non-profit arts organizations aren’t exactly a cash cow, but we’ve found ways to keep moving in the right direction through a combination of community support, smart governance and high quality programming.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Dad’s Garage transforms people, communities and perspectives through laughter. We are a scrappy bunch known for our outrageous antics onstage and off but without sacrificing professionalism. One thing that makes us unique in the world of comedy is that while most groups would focus on one approach (eg: improv comedy or sketch comedy or online videos, etc.) we have embraced all of these forms with the belief that excellence in one helps develop excellence in another. So if you come to Dad’s Garage on any given night you might see an improv show, a sketch show, a night of parody songs, a night of storytelling, an original comedic play that we’ve written, a screening of our latest web series, an evening with a celebrity guest from television, or something brand new that we’ve thought of that defies categorization.

This diversification is also a defining characteristic of our business operations. We do shows every weekend, but we also offer public classes, corporate workshops, our services as a video production company, lectures on creativity, training for high school students, and the list goes on. By engaging in so many initiatives we create more freedom for any given one to fail which in turn spurns more creativity.

Also our artistic company is built on the ensemble model which is a fancy way of saying that we use the same performers for everything. To be an artist at Dad’s Garage is to be an improviser, a comedian, a writer, an actor, and everything else in between. We feel that by working together with the same group year after year we are building artistic relationships that simply can’t be replicated.

We are the gateway drug to the arts in Atlanta. And we’re hoping one day we can claim that title for the entire south-eastern United States.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Comedy is always a tough business, so is the non-profit arts game. When you put them together it’s a real uphill battle no matter where you are. That being said, Atlanta is fertile ground for this type of work because there is such a strong sense of community. With so many theatres, indie events, etc. always happening, it’s easy to see how hungry ATL is for great locally produced work.

Pricing: