When a comedy club dies, so much more than a space to see shows is lost. Its performers lose a home base, a monument to memories and a sense of community. And while Cambridge and Somerville will soon be the home to two new clubs dedicated to stand-up, the promise of a return for sketch and improv has been harder to come by.
Enter the Nova Comedy Collective.
Describing itself as “rising from the ashes of spaces lost to the pandemic” – including ImprovBoston dissolving in December after letting its theater space go in 2021, during the Covid pandemic – Nova seeks to not only restore a sense of community to the Camberville improv and sketch scene (they also include and teach stand-up), but to change the face that’s so frequently associated with this sort of art.
“I want to see The Nova Comedy Collective meet its mission by bringing the comedy of diverse comedians to diverse audiences,” Nova team member Shiyanbade Animashaun says. “I’ve been in rooms where this wasn’t truly a goal, and I want to be a part of changing that for the better.” One action taken toward this goal was to reach out explicitly to female performers and performers of color, encouraging them to apply and take part. This strategy appealed to Latine sketch and stand-up comedian Kristina Feliciano, who was recently selected for the cast of The Nova Show. She also appreciates how Nova has embraced the synergy that can come from embracing all forms of comedy, something she hasn’t seen as much of in Boston’s comedy scene as she’d hoped to.
“As a New Yorker, coming from a melting pot of comedic endeavors, this disconnect felt strange and counterintuitive to the craft. I’ve taken stand-up, improv and sketch classes because I’m just a big nerd, trying to grow and meet other funny people,” Feliciano says. “I’ve been craving a place where funny people can just come together and play without the barrier to entry.”
Feliciano’s assessment of the collective was a delight to Kayleigh Kane, fellow multihyphenate performer and another member of Nova’s founding team. “Seeing this company come together has been invigorating. It’s been an act of radical hope. We have to be different [from] companies that have come before – and maybe that’s a good thing.”
Even as this sense of community comes together, Nova is operating without a major piece associated with a theater community: a permanent performance and rehearsal space. The Nova Show host and Nova Collective member David Thomas admits, “It’s been a bit of a bummer for a lot of us ImprovBoston alums to not have that home base anymore.” But, he continued, “I’m hoping that Nova can become that ‘third place’ for a lot of us that we lost when IB went under. A place to go where you know everyone, a safe place to be yourself and hang out and socialize, and do some fun comedy.”
Nova plans to stage shows across Cambridge and Somerville in venues including The Foundry, Mango Studios, The Rockwell (where it presents an all-ages Adventure Improv show this weekend) and The Green Room. While the team wants to embrace the agility this offers them, they also acknowledge it’s natural to feel a loss and a sense of challenge when that home base is a literal moving target. They’re reframing this lack of dedicated space into an opportunity.
“We’re leaning into the flexibility of not being tied to a single location by focusing on building relationships and performing at various locations. Not having a bricks-and-mortar location makes us really flexible. We can meet people where they are,” Animashaun points out. Kane agrees, noting that while this may not be a permanent arrangement (“We hope to have our own space someday soon”), there’s been a benefit. “Even when that time comes, we plan on continuing building relationships and reaching out to other areas and spaces. It will be nice to have a stage to call our own, but we also want to be out there connecting with our community,” she says.
Nova’s first house cast was just announced, and The Nova Show will debut this fall around the area. There’s a lot of excitement for the maiden voyage of this improv-sketch hybrid, with Kane calling it “unlike anything I’ve seen in Boston. It’s going to be high-energy, hilarious and extremely quirky. With this cast, how could it not be?” And as part of that cast, Feliciano is feeling similarly energized. “Get ready to party. These peeps are silly!!!” She added, in a sign that Nova’s charge for community in comedy is working, “Everyone passes the vibe check. We all seem hungry, nerdy and ready to play. I’m excited to see what we cook up together.”
Thomas puts it simply: “What drew me to Nova was getting to start something new with people I love and respect, and hopefully create an environment for some amazing new comedy. It’s been inspiring to start to see the seeds of community growth again.”
The Nova Show’s first edition is scheduled for Oct. 19. Information is at thenovacomedy.com.
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