Centre for the Arts

John Boylan is laughing. Hard. In fact, so is the entire audience. Laughter was the main course on Thursday, June 9th at the Centre for the Arts first comedy benefit. The evening mixed together members of Toronto’s arts community, students and friends of the Centre, headline comics from Toronto’s premiere clubs and served them hot and happy on a humid June evening. Comedians included host Perry Perlmutar, who peppered his introductions with his own material as well as praise for his fellow humourists. Stewart Silver performed first, having cancelled emceeing at Yuk Yuk’s Comedy Club to entertain the Centre audience. Lone female comedienne Martha Chaves’ past credits include performing at Montreal’s Just For Laughs Festival a whopping ten times and entertaining the Canadian troops in the Middle East. Frank Spadone and Alex Nussbaum, topped off a fantastic lineup that had the audience in hysterics.

The comics gave one overwhelming reason for donating their time to the benefit: John Boylan. Perlmutar, Silver and Spadone have taken classes with Boylan and said that his overwhelming support and generosity inspired them to give back. Perlmutar remembered a particular audition where he couldn’t make it in to see John for some feedback before he read for the part. Instead, John stayed on the phone with Perlmutar for the better part of an hour, going over the young actor’s lines and providing guidance. Chaves said she had met Boylan many years ago and his enthusiasm made such an impression that despite sporadic contact over the last six years, when John asked her to perform at the benefit, she jumped at the chance.

John was thrilled with the evening’s turnout, both for its hilarity and because the full house helped raise funds for the Centre. “It was a pure, old-fashioned comedy night and people laughed their heads off- including me.” The Centre has slated another evening of talented comedians for the third weekend of November, with bi-annual events to continue running every spring and fall.

The Centre’s mantra focuses on the belief that the Centre space belongs to everyone. Last Thursday night, a group of comics shared that space with close to 100 people and their collective laughter served as a vocal reminder that support for the arts is alive and well in Toronto.