Dan Redican

Dan Redican (born 1956) is a Canadian comedy writer, performer and puppeteer, best known for his work with the comedy troupe the Frantics. As a founding member of the troupe, he has worked since 1979 on numerous stage shows, the Frantic Times radio show, and the Four on the Floor TV show, which aired in England and the United States under the name The Frantics. The troupe has also written and performed albums that remain available through the website Frantics.com.

Career

Puppetry and early performance Redican started his career as a puppeteer, performing with various partners at birthday parties and church functions before joining Tom Vandenburg to perform two family shows at the Toronto Centre for the Arts on Dupont Street: The Old Fisherman and A Day At Rotten Cheese Gulch. After this, Redican focussed on solo performances in London, Ontario, at Smale's Pace, later renamed the Change of Pace.

Redican entered television puppetry on CHCH's Adventures of Snelgrove Snail, in which he played Conrad Crepidula. He left puppetry to focus on comedy when the Frantics formed in 1979, but returned briefly in the late 1980s as a featured actor and puppeteer for the Jim Henson Company on NBC's The Jim Henson Hour.

The Frantics The Frantics were formed in 1979 by Redican, Paul Chato, Rick Green and Peter Wildman.

Stage work Redican has performed a number of times in Toronto as a comic monologist, including small shows at the Rivoli and performances of The Cheese Stands Alone and My Private Hell On Ten Dollars a Day at the Factory Theatre. His show Stop Being Stupid ran at the Tim Sim's Theatre and received favourable reviews. The Devil's Progress Report enjoyed a short run in a Vancouver theatre. His monology drew the attention of Lorne Michaels and led to Redican becoming a producer and story editor for The Kids in the Hall.

Awards and nominations Redican received several award nominations for his television work. According to Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television, he shared a Gemini Award nomination for Four on the Floor in 1986, received a Gemini Award nomination for The Dan Redican Comedy Hour in 1995, received Canadian Comedy Award nominations for Puppets Who Kill in 2003 and 2004, shared a Gemini Award nomination for Puppets Who Kill in 2005, and received a Gemini Award nomination for writing on Burnt Toast in 2006.

Personal life Redican is married to television writer and producer Caroline A. Commisso. He has two children, Madi and Joey.