The sensation of using your words to illicit laughter from another person is indescribable. It’s a feeling so good that I can’t believe it’s not illegal. If you could package and sell it to others, you’d be rich beyond your wildest dreams. That feeling moves comedians past industry politics, rejections and “off nights.” My latest project, as well as all my other endeavours in stand-up, was born out of the pursuit of it.

Anyone who dares to call him or herself a “comedian” needs to be constantly writing and creating. If you don’t, you’ll start to find that your ability to make strangers laugh at your thoughts steadily decreases. You’ll keep trying, fruitlessly, to track down that indescribable rush you once got from performing. We all try to find ways to keep from becoming irrelevant to our audiences while still advancing our own ability, and it is the combination of all of these things (plus many more) that has led to the creation of 260 Minutes.

Starting on May 21, 2012, my seven year anniversary in stand-up comedy, I’ll be writing five new minutes of material every single week for an entire year. Once they are written, they’ll be performed in front of a live audience and then posted on my YouTube channel. Come the end of the year, I’ll assemble all the highest-rated material (along with my favourites) into a yet-to-be-determined package (maybe a CD, DVD, etc.). If all goes according to plan, by May 21, 2013, I’ll have 260 minutes of jokes to sort through for the gold.

I’d love for you to follow along with me. In addition to the weekly five minute videos, there will be blog posts about my progress, bonus videos featuring the “behind the scenes” aspects and opportunities to help me decide which sets are worth keeping and which need to be thrown away. For me, the year is going to be filled with some great victories and spectacularly public failures (like most failures are in stand-up comedy) – both of which will, hopefully, be worth watching.

You can follow my progress and watch how the project unfolds in several ways:

• 260minutes.com – The online “home” of the project will showcase the videos and blog posts. (As of this posting, the site is a countdown to the launch on May 21, but it will soon be converted to have more content.)
• Facebook Page – “Like” my page to see the status updates as the project progresses.
• Twitter – Among my other random Tweets there will surely be updates made about 260 Minutes from there.
• YouTube Channel – This is where all the videos will be posted. You can subscribe to the channel to be notified about new uploads.

With 18 days left until I record my first 260 Minutes set, the pressure is on. I’m nervous and excited (mostly that first one). Like the first time I stepped on stage to perform stand-up, I don’t know what will happen. I have no other objectives than to “do it.” I just hope that, like seven years ago, there’s a table full of lifeguards in the front row.

I was reminded of how much fun the process of working with SHAW TV was (thanks to their producer, Robyn Gallant) and how proud I was/am of the finished product. Getting this nomination is quite the cherry on top! Congratulations also go to the other on-camera talent: Lori Gibbs, Jeff Kubik, Mario Lopez, Cris Nannarone and Karen O’Keefe.

We’re up in the “Best Musical or Variety Special” category against some other incredible shows. It will be a tight contest and, while it is a cliché, I’m honoured just to be nominated. Good luck to the other nominees and I hope to see/meet you all soon!

The Calgary Herald also did a write-up on the nominations – click here to read it.

On the second Thursday of the month from now until June 14, three of Calgary’s headlining comedians will be featured alongside each other in a “triple feature” format. To add variety to the evening, in between each stand-up there will be sketch comedy. On Thursday night, two sketches from Kaboom… Hooray! will be showcased.

For this premiere show my fellow comedians will be Lori Gibbs and Trent McClellan. I have worked with each of them individually and couldn’t be happier that we are joining forces onto one show.

Tickets are $15.00 and available online through the RCC ticketing system. The show kicks off right at 8:00PM and the doors will be open from 6:00PM onward for drinks, dinner and any last-minute door sales. Our venue is, of course, the same as for Red Carpet Comedy, Lolita’s Lounge.

If you’re not yet familiar with what Red Carpet Comedy is all about, I made a short promotional video for the show back in January. The Red Carpet Comedians are all featured talking about what they enjoy about it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIZhFpElqHc

Every week, from now until the festival begins, they are featuring a prominent local citizen sharing with viewers a simple way to have some fun. When I was a kid, the most fun I had was doing magic, so I shared a simple magic trick that almost anyone can do. All you need is a rubber band and a little practice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFm3SZ6CJYc

The associated blog post that they wrote about the video (and myself) is a fun read as well. (It is also quite flattering, so I am more than a little biased.)

Hopefully you can have some simple fun with the trick! Feel free to share it with those children (and adults) that you think may enjoy it.

After every play I’ve been a part of there has been a period of mild depression while life returns to normal. Granted, doing stand-up comedy in small towns isn’t most people’s idea of normal – but it certainly is for me. The “mourning period” for this show will most likely be slightly longer than usual. Getting to play and experiment every night for 17 shows (18 if you count our preview, which I do) was a true joy and will not soon be forgotten.

Special thanks go to Alice Nelson and Matt Dewald, our director and assistant director respectively, who did a tremendous job of creating an eccentric world fitting of Steve Martin (the play’s author). It was a delight to go to each and every rehearsal where we all not only created something great but, I think, learned a lot too.

This is my first ever full-out community theatre project (past plays I’ve been in have always lived in a gray area between community and professional) but it never felt that way during the rehearsal process. It is easy to say, “it’s just community theatre,” and lower your own expectations to match that of the audience’s. Ironically, only once you do that does the production truly become “community.” Not one of the directors or my fellow actors ever had this attitude. We all committed fully to the show and, I think, that was clear to each of our 17 audiences (really 18).

Here’s a photo (credit: Janet St. Germain) which I will cherish for months and years to come, along with a slough of memories and laughs (on stage and off):

In an attempt to get “back to normal” I’m starting to head back out on the road for comedy shows. Before I leave the city, however, I’m appearing on KABOOM! tomorrow night (February 1) at Yuk Yuk’s Calgary. I’ll be involved in one of the sketches and doing a bit of magic (as in the past they have introduced me as a magician and I’ve never done any magic on the show). After that, it’s off to Regina on February 18 then Saskatoon on February 24 and 25. Details on those shows can be found on the links on my “Upcoming” page.

The nature of the script and the abilities of the cast have allowed for a certain amount of play and discovery with each show – it has made going into the theatre every day even more delightful than it already is. Seeing what different audiences respond to and appreciate is always interesting as well; it changes every single night.

If you think that you’d like to see the show (remember, it’s written by Steve Martin, that’s all you really need to know) I would recommend confirming your tickets as soon as possible. Shows this week and next are already selling out and the whole run is over 70% sold (as of last week – that percentage is probably higher now). We perform until January 28 at the Pumphouse Theatre (the Joyce Doolittle to be precise). You can reserve your tickets online or by calling 403-246-2999.

Beyond the run of “Picasso” – I have stand-up comedy dates being confirmed, a new show that I’m excited to tell you about and I also really want to finish writing my 2011 “year in review” blog post. Details on all of that (and more) will be released soon… until then, I hope to see you at the Lapin Agile.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpXVwZcXiq8

I’m also closing out the KABOOM! show tomorrow evening at 8:00PM in Yuk Yuk’s Calgary (click here for the Facebook event).

This past weekend I traveled to Inuvik, Northwest Territories for a corporate show. It was a lot of fun and I did have the chance to take a few photos. They have been uploaded on my Facebook page and can been seen in this album.

Tickets for the show are already half sold and moving more and more quickly as the show date approaches. If you’d like to reserve your tickets you can do so through the CASS office by phoning 403-283-0611. More details are also online through the Facebook event page and on the Red Carpet Comedy website.

The following Wednesday night (December 7) I’ll be closing out the KABOOM! show at Yuk Yuk’s Calgary. If you haven’t yet been to a KABOOM!, you’re missing out. Each show contains some of the best stand-up and sketch comedy that this city has to offer. The group behind these shows is truly working hard to create fresh and exhilarating material that you are sure to love. More information is available through their website and Facebook page.

My final public show of 2011 will be on December 22 at a new comedy room in Calgary hosted at Melange Restaurant and Gastro Lounge. While my rehearsal schedule for “Picasso at the Lapin Agile” has kept me away from this room since it opened, I’m very much looking forward to seeing what all the local comedians are talking about. Show starts at 9:00PM and I’ll also be closing out this show. More details are available here.

The remainder of my shows in 2011 are private corporate functions in various places (including Inuvik, Northwest Territories!). As I have for the past several years, I’ll be posting a personal “year in review” up on my blog in a couple of weeks. In the mean time, I have some new material to write and lines to learn.

So I prepared an audition piece, auditioned and was cast in the play as one of the ensemble. I shall be appearing as the character “Freddy” (the bartender of the Lapin Agile) this coming January for a two and a half week run at The Pumphouse Theatre. We are a couple of weeks into the rehearsal process now and I couldn’t be having a better time. The ensemble is a treat to work with and finding all of the jokes/moments in the script is truly delightful.

I’ll be posting more about the play closer to the date; I do know that the run will be happening from January 13 to 28, 2012. I can already tell that the show will be most definitely be worth checking out (and I don’t just think that’s my bias talking).

On the stand-up comedy side of things: I’ve been touring around my latest Red Carpet Comedy set (from the September 28 show) at the various rooms here in Calgary and started to work on yet another all new set for the October 26 show (next Wednesday night). Also, holiday bookings have already begun to come in for this corporate season and I’m (surprisingly) looking forward to getting back on the snowy highway in a couple of months.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fob0AE6EOxU

This is just the first of several upcoming releases from the group. If you’d like to be updated as they come out, you can subscribe to their YouTube channel here: http://www.youtube.com/kaboomhooray