‘Much-Needed Laughter’ A conversation with Dad’s Garage Theatre’s new artistic director Jon Carr

By Matthew Terrell

Editor’s Note: Dad’s Garage Theatre Company’s communications director and former INtown intern Matthew Terrell talked to the improv group’s new artistic director, Jon Carr, about his vision for the future and how Dad’s has adjusted during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

You are brand new to the role of Artistic Director of Dad’s Garage, but you’ve been involved with the theatre for a long time. Tell us a bit about what your goals for the organization were when you stepped into your new job earlier this year.

I’ve been a part of Dad’s Garage for 15-plus years and I love this theatre. As I stepped into this role it was important to me that I not just bring new ideas but preserve what made me fall in love with Dad’s in the first place. So, it was not about coming in and changing everything but “Yes And-ing” the work that Kevin Gillese, former Artistic Director, had already done. Dad’s has always been an “artist first” theatre because we give people opportunities to work on and produce projects that they would never get to pursue at any other theatre. Because of this, there are tons of artists that got their start or really developed their craft at Dads. One of my big goals has been to take what we’ve already been doing over the past 25 years and become intentional about it. For example, Dads has always produced the majority of our plays in house giving a number of playwrights (including myself) a chance to have their work produced for the first time. Coming into the new job, one of the first things I did was create a structured development process for new work. Now our artists not only get a chance to have their work produced, but they also learn a process of creating new work that will allow them to continue to produce shows at any other theatre in the country. My goal is to give opportunities and use those opportunities to grow artists and eventually become a theatre that sends amazing artists into the world.

In March, things changed very quickly for all of us—including Dad’s Garage. Your theatre responded by quickly launching an online entertainment platform at Twitch.tv/dadsgarageatl … how did you pull that off so quickly? Why was it important for you to move to online entertainment?

Our theatre is truly a family. Our performers, crews, and staff literally see each other every week, because if they are not cast in a play then they are still doing improv shows. When we shut down, this was the first time we were not able to work together in years. Fortunately, our marketing director Chelsea Steverson had experience working with Twitch and was able to set us up very quickly. We all were looking to do something as a family, so when this opportunity came up our folks jumped on it. We were able to have the channel up and running in no time. It was important to move online because scripted plays and improv is what we do, but it is not who we are. Our mission is to transform people, communities,