Summer lovin'? More like summer laughin'! (Nice try Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta.)
Canada's only exclusive stand-up and sketch comedy label, Comedy Records, and Exclaim! present the Comedy Records Showcase, which takes place on the first Thursday of every month at Wenona Lodge (1069 Bloor St. W) in Toronto. Show times are at 9 pm sharp!
Our June 1 edition features hilarious standup comedians Jennifer McAuliffe, Paul Thompson and Mike Rita.
Jennifer McAuliffe is technically from Toronto but tours so much, she basically calls a bunch of motels home.
"I've always loved Keith Haring and I think that I'm trying to do something similar in my own way with Twitter," she explains. "He was prolific, eking out little blank canvases on the subway for his chalk drawings, painting on truck tarps. He wasn't precious, or self-conscious. He has his voice and didn't worry about money or accolades — he just released it, and people took what they might.
"In my small way I'm taking that attitude to joke writing. I'm not Chekov, I'm not going to be lauded. I don't care. I want to make jokes — my jokes. And I don't want to be limited to perfect time and place. I want to get out there and rattle cages, show people what I think.
"But if you're going to cause chaos in a teapot, you are bound by some limits. I try to keep Rumi's 'Is it kind, is it true, is it necessary' in mind for my jokes. I'm not out here trying to be edgy or ruin someone's night."
Paul Thompson is from Toronto and hosts a weekly show every Monday night at Vape on the Lake. Like a lot comedians, he has been contemplating Donald Trump's reign as President and, if given the opportunity, imagined what he might talk to him about.
"I would ask him if he thinks the world has the wrong impression of him," he says. "I can tell a lot about someone from looking in their eyes and feeling the energy they give off. I would be interested to see if he has the vibes of an evil person.
"I'd also like to ask him how large his penis is and how often he jerks off. Just to see his reaction but also out of personal curiosity."
"I'd ask him what the craziest billionaire crap he's ever done was," Mike Rita says, daydreaming about his own Trump encounter. "Imagine the people this guy's literally probably peed on or like, he's probably dropped some serious cash on some crazy shit like skydiving into someone's butthole. Who knows? But that's what I'd be there to find out."
When not on such fact-finding missions, Rita can be found doing lots of standup. He'll be part of Just for Laughs' Ethnic Show, hosted by Maz Jobrani, in Montreal in July and he'll also be performing at JFL42 in Toronto this fall.
"I like that I'm compassionate and understanding more now than I've ever been," he says. "Life's hooks can make you a humble person real quick. I don't have many traits I don't like because over the years I've done a ton of mushrooms and LSD that have let me look at myself and change what I didn't like being. They allow you to be honest with yourself if you're willing to dive deep into your soul."
Do some soul diving yourself by coming out to our funny comedy show.
A ten-dollar ticket includes one pint of Steamwhistle; you can buy tickets in advance here.
Canada's only exclusive stand-up and sketch comedy label, Comedy Records, and Exclaim! present the Comedy Records Showcase, which takes place on the first Thursday of every month at Wenona Lodge (1069 Bloor St. W) in Toronto. Show times are at 9 pm sharp!
Our June 1 edition features hilarious standup comedians Jennifer McAuliffe, Paul Thompson and Mike Rita.
Jennifer McAuliffe is technically from Toronto but tours so much, she basically calls a bunch of motels home.
"I've always loved Keith Haring and I think that I'm trying to do something similar in my own way with Twitter," she explains. "He was prolific, eking out little blank canvases on the subway for his chalk drawings, painting on truck tarps. He wasn't precious, or self-conscious. He has his voice and didn't worry about money or accolades — he just released it, and people took what they might.
"In my small way I'm taking that attitude to joke writing. I'm not Chekov, I'm not going to be lauded. I don't care. I want to make jokes — my jokes. And I don't want to be limited to perfect time and place. I want to get out there and rattle cages, show people what I think.
"But if you're going to cause chaos in a teapot, you are bound by some limits. I try to keep Rumi's 'Is it kind, is it true, is it necessary' in mind for my jokes. I'm not out here trying to be edgy or ruin someone's night."
Paul Thompson is from Toronto and hosts a weekly show every Monday night at Vape on the Lake. Like a lot comedians, he has been contemplating Donald Trump's reign as President and, if given the opportunity, imagined what he might talk to him about.
"I would ask him if he thinks the world has the wrong impression of him," he says. "I can tell a lot about someone from looking in their eyes and feeling the energy they give off. I would be interested to see if he has the vibes of an evil person.
"I'd also like to ask him how large his penis is and how often he jerks off. Just to see his reaction but also out of personal curiosity."
"I'd ask him what the craziest billionaire crap he's ever done was," Mike Rita says, daydreaming about his own Trump encounter. "Imagine the people this guy's literally probably peed on or like, he's probably dropped some serious cash on some crazy shit like skydiving into someone's butthole. Who knows? But that's what I'd be there to find out."
When not on such fact-finding missions, Rita can be found doing lots of standup. He'll be part of Just for Laughs' Ethnic Show, hosted by Maz Jobrani, in Montreal in July and he'll also be performing at JFL42 in Toronto this fall.
"I like that I'm compassionate and understanding more now than I've ever been," he says. "Life's hooks can make you a humble person real quick. I don't have many traits I don't like because over the years I've done a ton of mushrooms and LSD that have let me look at myself and change what I didn't like being. They allow you to be honest with yourself if you're willing to dive deep into your soul."
Do some soul diving yourself by coming out to our funny comedy show.
A ten-dollar ticket includes one pint of Steamwhistle; you can buy tickets in advance here.
