I performed standup comedy for the first time on October 6th 2010. It was a Wednesday night in Spirits Bar and Grill as part of Jo-Anna Downey’s Open Mic night. It went okay. Since then I’ve tried to get as much stage time as possible, because I’ve been told time and time again that the only way to get good at this comedy thing is through repetition and practice. It’s only through garnering the years of experience can you hope to progress through the ranks. It’s the only way you can turn pro. I’m nowhere near there yet.
In my time moving in comedy circles, I’ve met a bunch of funny people. I’ve also met a bunch of super nice people. Oftentimes those two groups intersect, and those are the folks that I particularly like. For the past few months I’ve been toying with the idea of producing my own comedy show, partly because I’m always looking for a new challenge, and partly because it’d allow me to get a little more stage time. Being an MC is very different from just doing straight standup comedy, so it’d allow me to work on a new skill set. I’m also very much in favour of getting a bunch of funny people in a room and putting them in front of an audience. There are a bunch of comedy shows in the city, but not that many in the east end. The demise of shows like Comedy Above the Pub at McVeighs and TKO’s Knockout Comedy mean that there are even fewer now than there were in 2010.
With that in mind, I’ve been looking for a venue in the east end for a little while now. Which is pretty hard, let me tell you. There are so many different things you have to look for, but the most important is this: having the management trust you. The one thing that people have told me over and over is that if you have the support of the management of the bar, if they really understand what you’re trying to achieve with a comedy show and are willing to stick by you if it isn’t crazy busy, then that’s more valuable than having a great stage or hi-tech PA system.
So, that’s how I came to ask Rachel from The Avro if she’d be interested in helping me put on a show. I’ve known Rachel ever since she opened the Avro (she’s a friend of my buddy Deron) and I’ve served her a bunch of times at Joy. She’s always been really cool. The Avro isn’t the ideal location for comedy, mostly because of the limited room available, but she’s got a lovely space, she’s great, and it’s an awesome little bar. Once I’d opened my mind to the possibility of putting on a show there, it became clear that I’d have to embrace the size, and turn it into a positive thing instead of a negative thing. That’s where the idea came: ‘The Little Comedy Show That Could’. We’re gonna be proud to put on the smallest comedy show in Toronto. We’re going to prove once and for all that size doesn’t matter. No matter what the ladies say.
Many of the other comedy shows around the city are in rooms that are ‘perfect’ for comedy, but are cavernous and quiet without 40-50 people in them (like the back room in the Imperial Pub and the basement in the Crown and Tiger). The simple economics of the thing mean that more often that not, the atmosphere in these places are far from ideal. You end up performing to a room full of other comics. My show at the Avro is going to be different because if we get 30 people in the place, it’ll be packed. Like, PACKED. That’s gonna create a great atmosphere which is going to push the comics to really bring their A-game. Hopefully that’ll create a positive cycle where we get people coming back month after month and we can start to garner an actual following where we can guarantee that we’ll sell out the space every month.
So once I’d gotten Rachel on board, my thoughts turned to getting a lineup together that would be suitably awesome for the launch of a new night. I skewed toward comics that were in the funny/super-nice demographic. I’m actually surprised that I managed to get all of these guys to perform all on one bill (particularly since I’m not actually able to pay them anything). I’m a relative nobody in the Toronto comedy scene, so all of these folks are awesome to be playing this show with me.
The first name that came to mind was Todd Van Allen. I’ve sat and talked football with TVA for hours before and after shows (he’s a big fan of Rangers, a Scottish football team that I dislike) and he’s a very astute and funny guy. He produces and stars in a podcast that is a must-listen to all Toronto/Canadian/Breathing fans of comedy. The dude has been there and got the t-shirt. And the t-shirt has a funny joke on it.
After Todd, I thought that I’d see if Chris Roberts was free. Chris is a graduate of the Humber Comedy Program, and I’d seen him perform all over the city. I haven’t really had a chance to get to know him, but he’s a very funny dude, and I was stoked when he agreed to get involved.
Next up was Joy Acharjee. Joy’s originally from England, so we both approach comedy here in Toronto from the same kind of viewpoint. I’ve had the pleasure of sharing a few beers with Joy before and after some shows and he remains a super nice dude. I dig his standup a lot, so he falls very firmly in the nice/funny camp. I get the feeling that his day job distracts him a bunch from getting to do shows as often as he’d like, so it’ll be cool to see him get some more stage time.
At this point I realised that the show was kind of dude-heavy. There are a ton of great female comics in Toronto, so to have no women on the show didn’t seem right. My ideal headliner was a lady, so I thought if booked one other lady it’d bring some nice balance to the bill. I realise that this is an incredibly sexist way of thinking (because funny is funny, regardless of gender, right?) but the simple fact is that a show with all guys has a certain rhythym to it. Shows with a mix of dudes and girls are just better. To be clear: I would never mix up the genders at the expense of neglecting the funny. Being funny comes first.
ANYWAY, this is all a pre-amble to the fact that I asked Diana Love if she’d want to get involved. I haven’t really talked to her that much (I think I’ve said hi to her once or twice, but I’ve never really sat down with her) but I remember seeing her all over the city and noting that she was very funny every time. So I sent her a message on Facebook and she was kind enough to say yes straight away. Awesome.
Then we came to the headliner. The way I’ve written this makes it sound like she was the last person that I asked, but in truth I asked her on day one. I’m a huge fan of Kathleen McGee, and she’s having a pretty great 2010. She performed at Just For Laughs this year (and killed) and she’s going on tour soon with Kenny Robinson and Darren Frost. Word on the street is that she’s actually heading to LA next year, which is great for her (and LA). I saw her perform at the Dominion on Queen a couple of months back, and she was kind enough to get me in for free via twitter. As soon as I decided I was doing the show, I wanted Kathleen for show number one. OF COURSE she said yes. OF COURSE she seems to be excited about the whole thing. OF COURSE she’s going to be telling dirty jokes and it’s going to be hilarious.
So there you have it. My dream bill. Two hilarious girls, three funny dudes, and me. We’ve got a rad bar, and we’re launching the whole thing on Monday 12th September. I’ll share more behind the scenes details as we get nearer the 12th, but that’s the basic story behind starting up a comedy show. All you gotta do is get a venue and ask a bunch of cool people if they want to put on a show. Easy, right?