Edmonton Comedy Festival laughs its way to the top

It’s the season of viruses more powerful than a cough, sniffle or sneeze. Yes, the 4th annual Edmonton Comedy Festival is here to share its infectious brand of humour and laughter.

It’s the little festival that was and has grown to the point it’s attracting attention from south of the border.

“We haven’t raised the bar. We’ve gotten a bigger bar. It’s a more powerful festival,” said festival producer Andrew Grose.

Throughout the festival’s run from Oct. 15 to Oct. 18, several of the brightest lights of Canadian and American standup canon, some with decades of experience, team up to share quirky anecdotes, life observations and punchy takedowns.

There are a half dozen major headliners scheduled to rotate their gigs at different venues. Ottawa based Mike MacDonald, considered the King of Canadian comedy, who by the way has a gig booked at Kinsmen Banquet Centre, has appeared on countless TV shows including Late Night with David Letterman, The Arsenio Hall Show and the Just for Laughs.

Los Angeles comedian Rondell Sheridan is perhaps the most established luminary on the bill and certainly one of the most sought after, says festival producer Andrew Grose.

A staple within the industry, Sheridan appeared on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and has been featured on Jay Leno and Late Night With Conan O’Brien. He’s performed in more than 200 half-hour television sitcoms and is probably best known as Chef Victor from Disney’s That’s So Raven.

“He has mastered comedy. He’s done it for so long he does it naturally. I’ve been at it a long time, but when I watch him, I always learn something,” said Grose, a CHED talk show host and veteran of the comedy circuit for more than 20 years.

Hailing from New York is Mitch Fatel, a respected comedian who found fame as Howard Stern’s sidekick. His third album, Public Display of Perversion, was released in 2013 debuting at number one on the iTunes comedy charts.

Another New Yorker, Maryellen Hooper, is an international veteran of standup having performed everywhere from clubs and colleges to theatres and television. She too has popped up on most late night TV shows, and in 1998 was dubbed Female Comedian of the Year at the American Comedy Awards. The avid blogger has just finished taping Stinky Flowers, a standup special adapted from her popular homespun blog of the same moniker.

The last big headliner is Alingon Mitra, winner of the 2013 Boston Comedy Festival. In an odd quirk of fate, Mitra’s generosity also nabbed headlines for their power to shine a light in dark times.

“Mitra has less experience than the others, but he’s well known in Boston. The year he won funniest comic was the year the bomb went off at the Boston Marathon. He took the money he won and donated it to the marathon,” Grose mentioned.

In total, the festival features 21 professional comedians, nine finalists competing at the Young Guns Challenge, and 15 media personalities drawing on the ridiculous for bragging rights as funniest comic.

Prepare for sketches that range from silly or surreal to sage or sarcastic. Opening the festival on Wednesday night is the high-energy Dynamite Dames, an all-woman show for an all-woman audience headlined by Maryellen Hooper. As a celebration for all women, the festival hosts women from the Empower U program as special guests.

“We wanted to do more than just have comedians. We wanted to empower a group of women that had financially stumbled in life and get them on their feet. We’re happy to do it for free and we’re doing it in a way that makes sense,” Grose said.

His baby is the #YEG Gala, a tribute to the guys who made the festival possible in the first place.

For comedy buffs who get offended easily, the Comedy Unleashed Gala may not be for you. As the name suggests, it’s raw, uncensored and anything goes.

The Cabaret Series delivers acts that were presented on national television and the international stage while Comedy on Whyte presents sharp political satire.

In addition, the slightly off-kilter Paul Sveen hosts a stand-up comedy seminar while the off-beat but always on point Donovan Workun delivers an improv workshop.

Children are never to young to get a handle on humour and on Saturday, the VIP Kids’ Show makes an appearance combining music, comedy and puppetry in a kid friendly production. All three above events are free.

For the most part all venues steer clear of traditional comedy clubs. Stages are set up in Edmonton at the ATB Financial Arts Barns, Ranch Roadhouse, Varscona Hotel and Four Points By Sheraton. The one exception is two shows mounted at St. Albert’s Kinsmen Banquet Centre on Riel Drive.

Returning to the festival, the Kinsmen host two shows on Friday and Saturday night. Mike MacDonald along with Atomic Improv and St. Albert’s Tyler Hawkins are billed on Friday. The evening’s host is CTV roving reporter Graham Neil and one of the festival’s driving forces.

With a slightly different lineup on Saturday night, host Paul Sveen introduces Alingon Mitra, Atomic Improv and Hawkins.

“We’ve signed a two-year deal and we are really excited about this. We’ve always wanted to use this facility for different types of events and now we have the manpower to run it,” voiced Kinsmen organizer Patrick Dower.

“They (festival organizers) they run a great show. They’re tight-knit group and it’s amazing the logistics they go through to get the musicians here.”

However, the Kinsmen aren’t the only game in town that enjoy the elasticity of comedy and are eager to promote its healing laughter.

Grant Fedoruk, owner of St. Albert’s Leading Edge Physiotherapy and close friend of Grose for two decades, has helped sell tickets since the inaugural year.

This year Fedoruk sponsored the sold-out Coast To Coast Gala that brings together the hottest comics from Los Angeles to Florida.

Basically he buys out the show and either sells or donates tickets to family, friends, patients and anyone interested in spending a night laughing. All proceeds go to a charity. This year the charity of choice is the Zebra Child Protection Centre.

The St. Albert Progress Club also jumped on board and successfully sold out Date Night Gala. One of the hottest shows this year, it features seven star acts including Rondell Sheridan, Mike MacDonald, Mitch Fatel, Kevin Stobo, Lars Callieou, Karen O’Keefe and Kerry Unger.

The club is the largest non-corporate sponsor of Special Olympics and helps fund Camp Warwa and Uncles and Aunts at Large.

Progress Club member Craig Sims said that he was at the Red Piano Bar several years ago and heard Grose asking the audience if they were interested in selling tickets as a fundraiser.

“Everything went from there,” Sims said adding this year the club generates about $5,000 from the festival.

“It’s a great event. It would be beautiful if it grew.”

Festival organizers perseverance in forging relationships with audiences, businesses and service organizations has paid off. The enthusiasm, stature of comedians and growing size is impressive when taking into account the festival’s young age.

When Fedoruk was asked what he gets from the festival, he replied, “A sore stomach. We laugh so hard and we leave with watery eyes. At the end of the day, we like to have a good time. I love to watch people’s faces as comedians come out with zingers. Sometimes that’s the best part of the entertainment.”

For detailed information visit www.atbcomedy.com.