Edmonton Comedy History

  Like many of Edmonton comics, JAMES WYNTERS entered the scene through PAUL SVEEN's comedy class (one of his classmates was MARK SALAMANDICK).  His first set was at Yuk Yuks Londonderry Mall location in the early 2000s. Touring headliners performed seminars before amateur night shows; James remembers RUSSELL PETERS giving five minutes of advice, saying "That's all I got," and spending the rest of the hour taking questions. James shared a stage with BOBCAT GOLDTHWAIT at The Comic Strip, but he remembers many less glamorous nights at open mics like the BRIAN HEGGE-run Livewire and an open stage at a biker hangout on Calgary Trail that lasted one night. "We were forced to do the show outside on the patio," James remembers. "A small group of unenthusiastic patrons barely paid attention until the host started singing Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler" and tried to get them to sing along." Says Wynters, "I'm surprised we made it out of t...

A cultural artifact from the past, the Andrew Iwanyk fan club Facebook page! https://m.facebook.com/groups/2318687871/?tsid=0.1290761970498142&source=result

I asked Vancouver comic KEVIN FOX to contribute an Edmonton memory. A nationally touring headliner, Kevin has done almost everything there is to do in Canadian comedy including his own one-hour special for CTV and The Comedy Network and performances performances for Madly Off in All Directions on CBC Radio, the Halifax Comedy Festival, Comedy at Club 54, Just for Laughs and the Global Comedy Festival. This is his story, which BILL COWEN remembers as taking place in June or July of 1999.   " I was headlining Yuks on Bourbon St at West Ed Mall. I was about 25 minutes into my hour set when, reason unbeknownst to me, I felt like I had immediately lost like half the audience. What I didn't know is a gentleman had fallen backwards in his chair and was suffering a major cardiac event. He was having a major heart attack. Right there. Right now. Of course I didn't realize this in the moment, I was just curious how I went from crushing to indifference in a matter of seconds? The man...

 A review of a Hydeaway show from the  I Heart Edmonton Blog , published June 9, 2010 I don't know what I love more: the writer's attempt to describe the MAX MAULT experience or the broken link to KELLY SOLODUKA's MySpace page. Enjoy: http://www.iheartedmonton.ca/2010/06/edvent-fk-you-comedy-show.html?m=1