Petey Rascal looked unsure about his debut performance at Dad’s Garage. It was Friday night at the improv theater in Old Fourth Ward, and the crowd buzzed excitedly in the lobby. Petey Rascal took in the scene: Guests happily chatted and sipped preshow refreshments, while five dogs hung out with their caretakers, happy to receive pats on the head. Four of those dogs, of which Petey Rascal was one, were adoptable. They were at Dad’s Garage for “Puppy Prov!,” a five-week series running through May 9. Each week, adoptable pups and other four-legged friends of the theater are invited onstage to participate in sketches and hopefully charm onlookers into taking them home.
At the performance on April 11, Petey Rascal (a Chihuahua mix) was there with his foster mom, Robin Thornett, who also brought her dog Leroy Brown. “Leroy Brown is part Chihuahua, part potato. And then he’s got this tongue that hangs out 24/7, so that’s always a crowd pleaser,” said Thornett, who works part-time at the theater and brings Leroy Brown with her so often that he’s been dubbed its unofficial mascot.
Credit: Chelsea Patricia
Credit: Chelsea Patricia
As a rescue dog owner and foster parent for Angels Among Us, Thornett looked forward to showcasing Petey, who was saved from a hoarding situation in Macon. “We got to touch grass for the first time. We got to play with toys for the first time,” said Thornett. “He is just living his best life now. He is getting to learn all of the freedoms and fun of being a puppy.”
Dad’s Garage conceived of “Puppy Prov!” around 2017. “We often try to reach out to other nonprofits and figure out things we could do together,” said Ed Morgan, an improviser who’s been with Dad’s since 2007. “‘Puppy Prov!’ fell out of a meeting with Angels Among Us.”
The idea was to present a unique twist on an improv show that could sell tickets while also bringing awareness to both organizations. “We just sort of figured it out, and man, we got really lucky and rewarded by the fact that it went so well right off the bat that we have been doing it ever since,” said Morgan. “Puppy Prov!” began as a one-off event, but this year, Dad’s decided to run it as a multi-week series with Friday evening performances.
Credit: Chelsea Patricia
Credit: Chelsea Patricia
To describe the vibe of a puppy production, improviser Megan Leahy sums it up best: “Chaos, but in a wonderful way.” The actors perform sketches familiar to traditional improv performances but work around the dog’s personality. For example, Odin the gentle 18-month-old Great Dane was timid, so he sat by his foster mom onstage while the actors took turns toasting the pup on his (make believe) wedding night.
When Beatrice Beasley, a coon hound mix, went onstage, she was just happy to be up there. “They don’t always want to be onstage, so sometimes they pull us different places, or sometimes we have to use little treats to try to get them to act a certain way or move a certain way,” said Leahy. Sometimes it forces the actors to get creative, like when they had pre-vaccinated puppies whose paws couldn’t touch the stage (to shield them from diseases that other pets might carry). “We ended up making all the dogs different items in a Home Depot,” she said. “It’s just this element of the unknown and not aware.”
Credit: Chelsea Patricia
Credit: Chelsea Patricia
For Morgan, puppy improv speaks to Dad’s broader collaborative nature. “Over the years, we’ve embraced our nonprofit status as a way to not just do improv but do things with improv that people aren’t doing,” he said. “It opens up this wonderful world of being able to get grants for things that we want to try and also partner with other organizations.”
Other organizations the theater company has partnered with over the years include Decatur Makers, a nonprofit makers-space, and Improving Through Improv, which uses improv techniques in its education programs focused on topics like anxiety and dementia care. “These events that we do, whether it is the dementia program, over all the way to the other side of the spectrum, which is ‘Puppy Prov!,’ allows Dad’s Garage and an organization that is doing great work somewhere in Atlanta to go, ‘How can our extremely specific skill set help to bolster your organization while we do something really cool?’” said Morgan.
It’s easy to see how “Puppy Prov!” is such a success. It’s hard to beat silly puppy antics, even if the dog would rather get a belly rub. The point is that the show gets people thinking about adopting the dog. “Even if that audience member isn’t looking for a dog, they have a friend who’s looking for a dog or somebody they can sort of evangelize for us,” said Thornett. “Getting them out there, getting them in front of people, that’s what makes the connection, and that’s what gets dogs adopted.”
If you go
“Puppy Prov!”
8 p.m. every Friday through May 9. $29-plus. Dad’s Garage, 569 Ezzard St. SE, Atlanta, 404-523-3141. dadsgarage.com.
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