Around 75 per cent of the population has a fear of public speaking. Somehow, that particular phobia missed me completely — which is probably why I ended up a comedian. I was a bit shaky the first time I stepped onstage at the Underdog Comedy Show, but after the first laugh, that nervous feeling evaporated, and I was hooked.
OK, it still gets a little stressful onstage. Sometimes you get an angry heckler, or the crowd just doesn’t want to listen. But the beauty of the art form is that while I try to get onstage with a plan, comedy is created in the room, with the audience. Stand-up becomes stale or rote without leaving space for improvisation. I’ve learned to be open enough to respond to the energy in the room or riff on a memorable moment from earlier in the show.
So while my insatiable thirst for attention might have led me to the stage, performing four or five nights a week has taught me a lot about what I didn’t know I needed. Like how to let criticism roll off my back, relinquish some control and realize that every awkward moment eventually passes, even if bombing can make five minutes feel like five hours.
Whether I bomb or kill (why is the vernacular of comedians so violent?), the Underdog has become my comedy home. I spend almost every Thursday night in the basement of the Black Dog, performing on the tiny, creaky platform of a stage, dropping loonies in the sticker-covered tip jar and drinking cheap beer in the back hallway with the other comics. Secretly, that’s my favourite part of the show. I love being onstage, but I live for the community I found at Underdog — the regulars who’ve become familiar faces in the crowd, the bartender who knows my drink, the friends who can make a cold weeknight in the basement of a bar feel like the best house party ever.
I love the restaurants, festivals and access to nature that so many people cite as their favourite parts of Edmonton, and I always have — but finding the comedy community made me fall deeper in love with this town.
Underdog
Queen Alexandra | 10425 82 Ave NW, Edmonton | Facebook: @TheBlackDogUnderdog
