Dad's Garage gets new leader

Dad's Garage, the 15-year-old Inman Park comedy troupe known for an anarchic spirit and late-night improv, has a new leader. Kevin Gillese, artistic director of Rapid Fire Theatre in Edmonton, Alberta, will take the same title over the Atlanta company in January.

Though Dad's said it selected Gillese after an international search that followed a year-long strategic planning process, he's hardly a stranger. His first international performance was at the Atlanta theater's annual World Domination TheatreSports Tournament a decade ago, and he's returned often.

Speaking before he hopped a plane to Berlin on Tuesday, Gillese, 28, said, "I feel like taking over as artistic director of Dad's Garage is kind of like saddling up a bull and riding in a race.You'd be crazy to think you can get true control, but it's going to be a fun ride no matter what direction we go."

Dad's considers Rapid Fire, where Gillese broke into acting at age 15, a Canadian sister troupe.

"In a time when we are presenting all new and original work, we'll benefit from having a fresh perspective from someone who's already in the Dad's family, even if he's been a distant cousin north of the border," managing director Lena Carstens said in a statement.

"We've got such a similar aesthetic," Gillese says of Dad's and Rapid Fire. "The only difference is that I'm from Canada and have done things a little differently. The worst thing I could do is try to change Dad's. The best I can do is offer opportunities to change."