#FIRSTLOOK: THE SECOND CITY ANNOUNCE NEW MAINSTAGE ENSEMBLE 2026

The world’s most influential name in live comedy, The Second City is proud to announce the new Mainstage ensemble and creative team for their 91st revue. This dynamic brand-new cast making their Mainstage debut at The Second City Toronto includes Gillian Bartolucci, Tim Blair, Monica Garrido Huerta, Antony Hall, Chelsea Larkin, and Gavin Pounds.

Returning to the Mainstage to direct his second Second City Mainstage production is Kyle Dooley, Matt Keevins returns as Stage Manager/Lighting Designer and Elise Wattman returns as Music Director. Jillian Welsh joins the creative team as Associate Director.

In the time-honoured tradition of The Second City, audiences are invited inside, out of the cold, and into the creative process. Beginning on January 13, 2026, for a limited run, audiences have a rare glimpse into the creative heartbeat of The Second City Toronto. A new revue is created live onstage, with audience input and energy helping shape the scenes, songs, and characters of the 91st Mainstage Revue. It’s an inside look at how comedy has always been created on the same Toronto stage that has launched generations of iconic performers.

The Second City Mainstage Comedy runs Tuesday – Thursday 8pm, Friday – Saturday at 7pm and 10pm, and Sundays at 7pm. The Second City Comedy Theatre is located at 110 Harbour St.. Tickets start at $19.59 and can be purchased at The Second City Box Office, by phone at 416-343-0011, or online at www.secondcity.com.

Meet The Artists

GILLIAN BARTOLUCCI (Cast) she/her – Gillian Bartolucci is a comedian, actor, and CSA-nominated writer. She has written for CBC’s This Hour Has 22 Minutes, showcased for JFL42 New Faces: Characters, and currently performs with the Second City Toronto. Her past solo revues have received critical acclaim, including Best in Venue at the 2022 Hamilton Fringe Festival for Something Small, Something Sweet, and she was nominated for Best Solo Performance by My Entertainment World for The Weight of It All.

TIM BLAIR (Cast) he/him – Tim Blair is a comedian and founding member of the acclaimed comedy troupe, TallBoyz II Men. Together with Bruce McCulloch from Kids In The Hall, they created the multiple Canadian Screen Award-winning sketch show, TallBoyz. A seasoned live performer, Tim excels in stand-up, sketch, and improv. He’s an alumnus of Second City’s House Co. and has showcased his talent at festivals like Just for Laughs Toronto and the NBC Breakout Festival in Chicago.

MONICA GARRIDO HUERTA (Cast) she/her – Monica Garrido Huerta is a Dora-nominated bilingual Artist, and new Canadian from Monterrey, Nuevo Leõn, based in Toronto. Her short films premiered at the InsideOut LGBT Film Festival. Her solo show The Cunning Linguist was created at Emerging Creator Unit at Buddies In Bad Times Theatre and won the 2016 Queer Acts Audience Award. It was adapted as an Audio Show for Aluna Theatre’s Studio Series and is currently in development. Monica has appeared in commercials, music videos, and TV shows such as Baroness Von Sketch Show and The Horror of Dolores Roach. She’s part of the ensemble of the Canadian Comedy Award-winning show Sketch Comedy Extravaganza Eleganza. Monica is the 2018 recipient of the Queer Emerging Artist Award at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. Her stage work includes: Private Eyes (lemonTree Creations), Youth/Elder project (Buddies in Bad Times), The Second City’s Guide to Surviving the Holidays (Second City Toronto), Universal Child Care (Quote Unquote Collective), El Terremoto (Tarragon Theatre). She is one-third of the Latine Drag King boy band Boyband the Boyband.

ANTONY HALL (Cast) he/him – Antony Hall is a Toronto-based Chinese-Canadian improviser/actor who originally hails from Lethbridge, Alberta. He is a graduate of The Second City Conservatory and Theatre Arts Program at MacEwan University. He can be seen performing on various improv shows in the city and is a member of the Sketch Comedy team $20Sandwich, which has amassed millions of views on Instagram and TikTok. As an actor, Antony has appeared in many national commercial campaigns and on shows like Run the Burbs and Law & Order: Toronto. Antony is also a writer and co-creator of the short-form digital series Ming’s Dynasty, which is inspired by his life growing up in small-town Alberta and incorporates his comedy-rap persona, Young Riesling. Follow his work on Instagram @hallandjokes and @20dollarsandwich

CHELSEA LARKIN (Cast) she/her – Chelsea Larkin is an actress, comedian, writer and singer. Some of Chelsea’s favourite comedy credits include Just For Laughs- New Faces: Characters, her multi-award-winning solo show at the Toronto Fringe Fest, The Chels Stands Alone, CTV’s Children Ruin Everything, and OMNI TV’s Abroad.

GAVIN POUNDS (Cast) he/him – Gavin Pounds is a comedian and actor originally from Barrie, Ontario. Gavin has appeared in tv shows The Boys and The Umbrella Academy and the 2024 film The Apprentice. He can be found performing improv & sketch comedy in Toronto.

KYLE DOOLEY (Director) he/him – Kyle Dooley is an actor and writer who got his start with the multiple Canadian Comedy Award winning sketch troupe Picnicface. After millions of YouTube hits, touring the country with live shows and festivals like Just for Laughs and getting praise from the likes of Will Ferrell and Adam McKay on Funnyordie.com, Picnicface got its own TV show on the Comedy Network. As a writer, Kyle has contributed sketch comedy to TripTank (Comedy Central), The Irrelevant Show (CBC Radio), and he was a cast member of four Mainstage Revues at The Second City Toronto. Kyle also writes and acts for children’s and adult animation, including Gary and His Demons (Amazon Prime, Comedy Central UK), Cupcake & Dino: General Services (Netflix) and Ollie’s Pack (Nickelodeon). Kyle also wrote and acted on the hit preschool show Miss Persona (Treehouse), which was nominated for a daytime Emmy. You can hear him playing a goofy robot on the upcoming season of Paw Patrol.

MATT KEEVINS (Stage Manager) 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, The Second City Training Centre, and has understudied Mainstage and Tourco.

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.

JILLIAN WELSH (Assistant Director) she/her – Jillian Welsh is a Canadian Comedy Award winning writer/performer, a Dora nominated actor and an expert at setting microwaves on fire. TV credits include Run The Burbs, Abroad, Working Moms, TallBoyz and Baroness Von Sketch Show. Her real-life stories can be found on This American Life, RISK! and CBC’s Love Me. She was also a writer for Backyard Beats on TVO Kids. Follow her @jillianLwelsh across all platforms.

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, and Facebook.