From The Boston Globe, September 19, 2022, 6:20 p.m.
When Norm Laviolette cofounded the Improv Asylum comedy troupe in 1998, he had no idea he would still be in this zany profession 25 years later.
Even more unexpected: He’s now branching into the co-working business, with the opening of the Asylum CoLab in what used to be an American Eagle store in downtown Boston.
The idea came about after Laviolette started looking to replace Improv Asylum’s old offices in the North End, across from Improv Asylum’s theater. Laviolette didn’t want to wander too far from the theater, which is staying put on Hanover Street. So when he saw the American Eagle space available at the nearby Faneuil Hall Marketplace, he figured he should take a look.
Improv Asylum, which employs about 60 in Boston and New York, moved to the former clothing store in February, and soon began testing the idea of sharing it with other performers and like-minded businesses.
“I have all this space,” said Laviolette, who is also a co-owner of the Brockton Rox baseball team. “We don’t use it all the time. What if we make this available to other artists?”
Improv Asylum recently started actively marketing it as a co-working space — the company calls it a “co-creating space.” Early tenants included Paradice Casting, led by Melissa Paradice, and Urbanity Dance.
The idea of a shared workspace in the creative arts is not new, of course. But Laviolette said many rehearsal spaces are in rundown buildings in outlying corners of the city. This one is professional looking, clean, and in the heart of downtown. Plus, Improv Asylum provides free snacks — Laviolette’s favorites are Doritos and Starbursts. The free food has a side benefit of helping to encourage Improv Asylum’s students to keep returning.
The COVID-19 pandemic was not easy on Improv Asylum, which gets most of its revenue from improv performances at its Boston and New York theaters and stand up comedy shows at its Laugh Boston venue in the Seaport, as well from improv classes and corporate retreats. Nearly all of that ended when the pandemic hit. Improv Asylum was able to reopen its locations once city and state health restrictions were lifted on indoor performances in 2021. In the meantime, Laviolette vowed to jump in the ocean, usually near his South Shore home, every day until the reopening occurred. That started as a lark with his daughters Chloe and Lucy in May 2020 but continued far longer than he expected, essentially a full year. He used the often-chilly dips as a way to solicit donations for fellow performers who were struggling financially.
Now, the Improv Asylum chief executive is thinking about the future, and how the CoLab idea might play in New York, or maybe even in other cities where Improv Asylum doesn’t yet have a presence.
“I don’t consider myself the next Adam Neumann,” Laviolette said, referring to the WeWork cofounder. “I’m just trying to make some good, well-lit rehearsal spaces for artists who wouldn’t otherwise have access to them. I’m not trying to raise the world’s consciousness . . . Me, I’ll just provide the snacks.”
Find out more about the Asylum CoLab at AsylumCoLab.com.
