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...
There weren't a lot of women doing comedy when I started. I believe Krissy Stark and the infamous Barbara May were on the pro am scene as well as Angie Ismond, whose writing and laconic stage demeanor was a huge influence on me. Angie stopped doing comedy in 2005. As for professionals, I remember Dana Alexander was starting to make her mark, though I can't recall if she was based in Edmonton. Calgary's Lori Ferguson-Ford was headlining and would do the Londonderry Yuks from time to time. Kathleen McGee started shortly after I did, and was one of the hardest working comics on the scene. She started the Blue Chicago after just a few months in comedy to get more stage time. She won the Conic Strip's Funniest Person With A Day Job in 2008. She spent some time in Los Angeles honing her craft before returning to Edmonton. She was nominated for a Canadian Comedy Award in 2019. Dawn Dumont seemed to perennially fly under the radar despite her accomplishments as a writer and ...
KEVIN MCGRATH was active in comedy from 1984 until his death, June 28, 2021. He played every major comedy club in Canada as well as colleges and universities. He appeared on CBC, CTV, and The Comedy Network. TRENT MCLELLAN shared some heartfelt thoughts on Kevin's passing here . I am very fond of this clip, which Kevin posted in 2009 of himself performing at Yuk Yuks. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kxB0aUGTIM0
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