‘A theatrical miracle': Comedy guild lands new space in Steelton

The president of the Musical Comedy Guild is sleeping much better these days.

After Louise Stephens and her theatre company learned they could no longer use St. Ignatius church for rehearsal and storage space this past May, the group immediately began the stressful hunt for a new home.

Since COVID, the comedy guild had been struggling to find a long-term unit that would suit their unique requirements.

When the search was looking dire earlier this summer, Stephens discovered a real estate listing at 258 Wellington St. W. across from the Steelton Centre, which ended up being the perfect fit – both spatially and financially.

She recently signed a two-year lease with an option to renew.

“It was such a relief,” Stephens says.

But it wasn’t an easy road to land the new space.

“We had about eleven leads thanks to the SooToday article earlier this year,” she says. “The community really stepped up to try to help us. I followed through on every single lead, and it just came up dry.”

“One place was possibly okay, but we couldn’t store anything there. One place was out of our budget, and another location was up for sale. We just couldn’t make it work.”

To run their rehearsals, the comedy guild requires around 3,000 square feet of open space which would provide enough area to mimic a theatre centre stage and wings, plus additional room for the cast and crew to work and not interfere with what is happening on the stage. A bathroom and safe parking close by were also musts for Stephens.

Their new space in Steelton checks all the boxes.

“We have a 1,200 square foot rehearsal space, and the landlord is letting us use the basement for storage which is more than double the rehearsal space,” she says. “We now have room to store and build set pieces which is fantastic. And it’s within our budget.”

“It’s like some sort of theatrical miracle. Everything just seemed to work with this place, and the landlord is very accommodating.”

Currently celebrating their 60th anniversary season, the Musical Comedy Guild has two shows coming up, including Fiddler on the Roof in late November and Legally Blonde in the spring.

Stephens told SooToday earlier this year that they would have to find a new home by September to guarantee that a late-fall show would run.

“There was no way in our 60th season that I was going to let this company fall apart,” she says. “60 years is something to celebrate. I can't even explain the relief I feel. The process to find a new space felt like it took two years – not two months.”

“We’re ready to start rehearsals and can’t wait to bring these beautiful shows to the stage.”

Signing a two-year lease with an option to renew, the Sault’s second-longest running theatre group will move into their new home in Steelton on August 1.

Stephens says the process has truly come full circle for the comedy guild.

“The city had let us use the Steelton Centre at one point when we were desperate for a place to store our stuff,” she says. “Then we had to move out during COVID. Now we’re back in the same neighbourhood.”