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The Second City Training Centre is on the move, bringing with it a piece of Canadian comedy past. On July 30, the dedication for the new John Candy Box Theatre will take place in Toronto, where a second downtown training facility – one floor above Second City’s mainstage theatre – will have its ribbon cut. Two curved pieces of wood from a Second City stage dating to the 1970s will be inlaid into the new stage for student productions and smaller professional shows. About 1,200 students go through the doors of Second City’s nearby Peter Street training facility weekly; with the addition of the new Mercer Street “campus,” that number will be bumped to 2,000. No doubt, Candy’s titular Uncle Buck character, who praised young dreamers and “silly-heart” students, would approve of the expansion.

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“It’s a piece of our history,” says Kevin Frank, artistic director of training and education. “Emerging stars will be standing on that same piece of wood John Candy started on.”Kevin Van Paassen/The Globe and Mail

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Instructor Chris Earle and Victoria Murdoch improvise a scene during a Second City class.Galit Rodan/The Globe and Mail

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Tyler Morgan, left, and Jason Ochs improvise a scene.Galit Rodan/The Globe and Mail

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From left: Terris Taylor, Victoria Murdoch and instructor Chris Earle do a warm up exercise.Galit Rodan/The Globe and Mail

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