Introducing React Theatre, Home of Dad’s Garage University
By Ames Doyle and Lily Stancill
We’ve been keeping a little secret—well, it’s more like three secrets rolled up into one big, juicy mega-secret! (Don’t worry, we’re not pregnant.) So what’s the big news?
Secret number one: The former home of Dynamic El Dorado on Edgewood Avenue is now officially under the Dad’s Garage umbrella with a brand new name: React Theatre.
But don’t worry! Dynamic El Dorado is not going away–it’s just going on the road as an independent, city-wide comedy incubator with no single address. Dynamic’s classes, partnership shows, and programs will continue to grow and be a pathway for the Atlanta comedy community to strengthen their craft.
“572 Edgewood has been our home for almost seven years, and we didn’t want to just close the door on it — we wanted to find a way to keep the laughs going. Dad’s Garage is going to keep the laughs going in this room, and Dynamic El Dorado is going on the road to keep the laughs going everywhere else.”
Don Miguel Figueroa, who founded Dynamic El Dorado in 2020, approached Dad’s near the start of the summer to steward the space into the future.
React will preserve its predecessor's reputation as a space for independent shows and rental programming for local improv troupes, but the space also gives the Dad's Garage's education program avenues to expand.
We were excited, and more than a little intimidated. With growth comes new challenges. No rain, no flowers, as they say.
“The goal of Dynamic El Dorado was to create a space accessible to any comedy performer looking to hone their craft or experiment, and I felt Dad’s Garage was the most appropriate organization to honor that legacy.”
React will serve as both a black box theatre for independent acts (secret number two) and as the new campus for our relaunched education program (secret number three!), Dad’s Garage University, which will now have ample room to grow and move comedy education beyond the classroom in new ways.
“Dad’s Garage is honored to be entrusted with this very special space that Miguel has curated. He’s built something that we are excited to continue growing, and we’re excited to be able to offer more classes and educational opportunities to the community alongside our established programming.”
Right now, we at Dad’s Garage expect to begin hosting classes at React in October. But before that, we plan to hold a public open house to follow later in the fall–just as soon as we can get our ducks in a row.
We told the press about all this stuff today (why do you think we have these fancy quotes?), but we wanted to make sure you heard it from us first. We have a lot of work to do, and we appreciate your support and patience as we work together towards the future of Atlanta comedy.
