Foothills performers with a dream of pursuing stand-up can test their chops at the microphone in three workshops offered by a national comedy club chain. Yuk Yuk’s on Tour is looking beyond the big city by bringing Western Canada’s general manager, Kelly D’Amour, and award-winning comedian, Winston Spear, to teach those considering stand-up comedy how to write material while giving them experience at the microphone. “This is for green people where it’s a dream of theirs but they haven’t had the nerve,” said D’Amour. “This is as safe space where no one is going to mock them. We’re not going to laugh at them, we’re going to support them.” D’Amour approached Okotoks Culture and Heritage, which hosts regular Yuk Yuk’s on Tour shows, with the idea in hopes of reaching talent outside of the city. “It’s to engage the smaller communities that don’t necessarily have access to this kind of workshop,” she said. “Most times comics that have been in the industry for a while will charge for workshops. Not everybody has that money.” In previous years, Yuk Yuk’s offered workshops prior to open mics where professional comedians offered their expertise in the field to help those up and coming by providing road stories, advice on self promotion and writing exercises, said D’Amour. The hour-long workshops in Okotoks will offer a similar format on Sept. 18, Oct. 16 and Nov. 13 at 6 p.m., followed by an open mic for participants and the general public at 7:30 p.m. in the Rotary Performing Arts Centre. “We do a lot of open mics in Calgary and other big centres - it’s the primary tool that comics use to try new material whether they are pro or amateur,” said D’Amour. “That’s primarily where they get stage time.” Getting microphone time is not easy for amateur comics, said D’Amour. “Amateur night was the only night they had and there was so many people they were lucky to be on once a month,” she said. “For a struggling young comic, in order to develop you need several nights as week. It’s about practice.” D’Amour said the open mic isn’t just limited to potential comedians, but various talents in the community. “I want more of a variety show like The Carol Burnett Show and The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour with songs and sketches,” she said. “I’m hoping they will come with an original funny song or parody. I would like it to be all things comedic —slam poets, spoken-word artists and regular musicians.” Katrina Lougheed, who works for Okotoks Culture and Heritage, said it’s important to expand the viewership when it comes to providing entertainment to the public. “We’ve been doing a lot of music and theatre, which is great and very popular, but there are people with varied interests and these open mics can apply to people doing stand up comedy or jugglers or fire breathers or anyone who wants to increase their stage presence and their stage ability and know how,” she said. Following each open mic show, the audience will be invited to vote for their favourite. The winner from each month will perform at a professional show on Nov. 23. To sign up for the workshops or open mic events, state your interest on the Yuk Yuk’s on Tour page on Facebook.
