About Garden City Improv
Garden City Improv is Victoria's professional improv comedy training center and performance company.
Founded in 2021 by Second City Toronto veteran Kevin Matviw, Garden City brings world-class improv training and live comedy shows to Victoria.
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With classes and shows running year-round, Garden City is Victoria's hub for improv comedy, hosting some of Canada's top talent.
Instructors
Kevin Matviw (he/him) is the Artistic Director and founder of Garden City Improv.
Kevin has been performing improv comedy for 30 years. Originally from Victoria BC, Kevin pursued his comedy training at Humber College's renowned Comedy Writing and Performance program before launching into 15 years in Toronto's competitive comedy scene where he became a three-time Theatresports™ champion.
For 12 years, Kevin performed and taught at the legendary Second City Toronto. He was a performing member of The Second City National Touring Company and performed with The Second City Mainstage cast in "The Best is Yet to Come Undone."
As an instructor with The Second City, Kevin taught hundreds of students from beginner through advanced levels, including the prestigious Longform Conservatory and Sketch Writing programs. Many of his former students now work successfully throughout the Canadian entertainment industry.
Kevin's musical improv duo Death Ray Cabaret headlined Toronto's Big City Improv Festival, performed sold-out shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for two consecutive years, and won Outstanding Performance, Outstanding Production, and Best of Fringe at the Toronto Fringe Festival. He served as assistant director for the Dora Award-winning fully improvised musical "One Night Only."
Kevin's work has been featured in the Canadian Comedy Award-winning sketch troupe The Sketchersons, Cracked.com, the National Post and various TV and radio commercials.
Claire Pollock (she/her) is a comedienne, emcee, and dancer from Vancouver, BC with a degree in Theatre and Dance from the University of Wales.
A former mainstage performer at the Improv Centre on Granville Island, Claire combines her expertise in comedy, theatre, and character-driven improv to captivate audiences across the West Coast and the UK with her unique blend of humour, creativity, and diverse storytelling.
Known for her warm and supportive teaching style, Claire is dedicated to uplifting her students, fostering confidence, and inspiring creativity in every class she leads. Claire is a guest performer with Garden City Improv and teaches introductory and intermediate classes.
Dan Bakkedahl spent 10 years in Chicago studying long form improvisation under Del Close, Miles Stroth, Mick Napier and dozens of others. His love for improv tore him away from his first love which was traditional theater. As a result, in 2005 Dan was selected to join The Daily Show with Jon Stewart in New York as a correspondent.
From there, the comedy gods sent him to Los Angeles where he starred in numerous comedies for TV and Film. Most notably, he had a brilliant four year run on CBS as Dr. Tim Hughes on Life In Pieces and was awarded a SAG Award along with the entire ensemble for HBO's groundbreaking comedy VEEP alongside Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
Dan comes to Victoria in search of better air and coffee.
Jen Yamasaki has more than 10 years of performance experience in theatre, dance, and improv.
Trained at Second City Chicago and Blind Tiger Comedy, she has performed at venues including the Vogue Theatre and Scotiabank Dance Centre, and appeared in the Vancouver Olympic Opening Ceremonies.
Jen leads communications workshops and has spoken at international conferences. She currently performs with Garden City's Theatresports cast and teaches foundational improv classes.
Andrew Gardner has been performing improv since 2000, starting with the Canadian Improv Games.
As a founding member of Toronto sketch troupe Elephant Empire, he performed for over 10 years including headlining the Guelph Comedy Festival, San Francisco Sketch Fest, and winning Best of the Fest three consecutive years at Montreal's Sketch Fest.
Andrew trained competitive improv students at the high school level and currently performs with Garden City's regular cast while teaching intermediate classes.
Praise for
Garden City Improv
"A perfect way to kick off the weekend"
Monday Magazine
"Improv shows to meet all of your comedy needs!"
Victoria Buzz
"Victoria's professional improv comedy"
Vic News
Critic's Pick
Times Colonist
Praise for Kevin Matviw's Past Work
"Our bellies hurt from laughing"
Comedy Central UK
"Saturday Night Live-worthy"
The Globe and Mail
"Comedy Gold"
NOW Magazine
"Hilarious... You just have to watch and see for yourself!"
The Insider - CBS Television
"[Kevin] manages to perform in three big, high-energy dimensions. The result is difficult to resist. "
BlogTO
"Melodic arrowheads fleck'd with the Flight of the Conchords"
Mumble Comedy UK
"Complex, crisp and clever"
Mooney on Theatre
