I've written about Vancouver-based The Comic Strippers several times since the male-stripper parody first performed in 性视界传媒 last decade. This time, ahead of a Nov. 1 date at , I wanted to know more about how the improv-comedy troupe pulls together a show they're planning for an eighth time at the Sullivan-area theatre. So I called performer/co-founder Roman Danylo for details.

Are you pretty much the troupe manager?

"Yeah, I take care of pretty much everything. I was doing touring shows for years before this, then this idea came up and it was like, 'Oh, this works, I can just do most of this myself.' We work with promoters here and there, but we have the freedom to rent (venues) ourselves, then you can kind of put things together quicker and easier, you know."

Why are you always booked at the Bell? It's not a small venue, with close to 1,000 seats.

"That's a good question. I've done a bunch of shows in the (性视界传媒) arts centre, and then I played the Bell on the Just For Laughs tour, and I thought, 'Yeah, this works.' It's really about availability sometimes, and you know, once you've worked there so many times, you know the team there, so it's simple, easy. It's great when you go to a venue and it's the same ticketing person, the same manager, sound technician, it makes a huge difference. For us, we've been to theatres across Canada and those people become a bit like family over the years."

What's the most tickets you've sold for a Comic Strippers show at the Bell?

"I think we got around 800 a couple times there."

How far in advance do you book? 

"We usually hold venues pretty far in advance, which is usually free, just kind of holding the date. But then somebody else has the opportunity to challenge that date, then you have to kind of decide if you want to use it within, like, 24 hours. That's when it gets confirmed, but I try to really hold off until about six months in advance, because you just never know what's gonna happen. Tere's so many factors that could derail it, like a pandemic or, you know, airline strikes, that kind of stuff."

How long ago did you book this date? 

"Roughly six months ago. And then putting the tickets on sale, that depends on other stuff too, what else is going on. Like, you don't want to put tickets (on sale) in the summer, nobody's really focusing on buying tickets for shows during the summer. And you don't wanna put them on too far from show date, and not too close either. Usually five months from the show date is ideal."

What's the rental rate for a show like yours?

"Rental rates for theatres vary a little bit because some (managers) will charge for tech or include that in the rent, or have some kind of ticket sales as a part of the rent. It's anywhere from probably $2,000 on a real small theatre to around $7,000. The Bell is probably in the middle there somewhere."

How do you set ticket prices?

"It's usually just a base rate we start with, then there are fees on top of that, that's all in the equation. The group rate is interesting, and that's something I learned at the Adelaide Fringe Fest in our early days, where it was a group rate for six or more. That seemed perfect, you know, because it's not that much to get six people together for a show like ours, a little party. Our show is kind of made for groups of friends to see together."

You're coming here this time with four performers, correct? Is that standard now for you guys?

"We've done it in various different numbers, with like five or six on stage, but that kind of got crowded sometimes, when you're dancing around bumping into each other. I think four is kind of the perfect dynamic with this, and it also fits perfectly in, like, a car, for travelling."

How much rehearsal is involved, or writing sessions?

"There's a lot of sort of jamming on ideas for shows, for games, coming with a new game or ending for the show. A lot of that gets done in the car because we have so much time to talk, and ideas start to float around. The only place we really kind of ever get together to work on something is dance, which takes a good bit of practice. All the other dances we've done I pretty much choreographed myself, but we're working on a new one that we did with a choreographer. So we actually had to go to a proper dance studio. We laugh about it, but the thing is, we're professional dancers, technically. We're professional dancers without the training, I guess. But now we have training, I guess."

How often do you fly in to do a show?

"Flying in can be stressful, but we do it. I mean, sure, it can be great, an hour flight or whatever, but we've been burned by flight delays. There was one, and nobody else in the world seemed to know about this, but there was some volcanic ash floating right past our flight path, and we couldn't fly for, like, six hours, and we basically had to cancel the show that night. And that was a full show, there's no backup plan for that, and you don't get any money back for that. So there's risk. And now, a lot of the time we'll fly in the day before, and I love that, no stress, but there are hotel rooms added, but I guess that's a kind of insurance cost to get there in time. Now the ferries are getting like that, so getting to Nanaimo on a show day can be a problem."

So, at the end of the day, is it all worthwhile? How much are you putting in your pocket at the end of the night? 

"If a specific show makes a few thousand dollars profit it definitely feels worth it. If it only makes a few hundred (dollars), well, it was something fun to do and at least we didn't lose money. However, if a show loses money it suddenly feels like, 'What the hell did I do that for? Those ones are way more work too. So, it's possible to find yourself in a situation you created where you are working two or three times as hard only to lose money in the end. That's happened with other shows I've produced but thankfully The Comic Strippers usually sells quite well. Whew!"

Tickets for the Nov. 1 comedy show are sold on , starting at $56.25 each, or call 604-507-6355.