Comedy Country

Comedy boot camp kicks off season of laughs

For the past eight weeks a group of aspiring comedians have been honing their skills under the tutelage of Gavin North and Lenny Epstein, the duo that make up Short Attention Spa. Every Thursday evening they would meet at The Baxter Arts Centre to learn the elements of how to make people laugh, whether through stand-up comedy or improv. There were sessions on writing and editing, joke telling and tips and tricks to boost creativity. The culminating event takes place this Thursday with the County Comedy Project Showcase when the participants perform in public for the very first time, as a kickoff to the eleventh season of Comedy Country.

Comedy Country was created in 2015 by Paul and Julianne Snepsts, who are also the founders of the Toronto Comedy Sketch Festival. When the couple moved to the County in 2012, they wanted to build up the local comedy scene by bringing in big city talents to pair up with the base of comics here. The first few festivals were weekend events held wherever the Snepsts could find suitable space—in barns or sometimes even outdoors. They began to offer improv classes from their home and soon created a local comedy nexus that resulted in the comedy troupe Taste That!, which for years offered comedic entertainment. As with many things, the pandemic changed the County comedy landscape completely. By 2022, only Paul and Julianne Snepsts and Short Attention Spa were regularly providing comedy in the County. To build up a new pool of County comedians, they created an eight-week training camp called the County Comedy Project in 2023. Three of the initial participants are still doing regular comedy performances. Three additional participants from 2024 also became comedy performers, resulting in the acts Silver and Gold, and the four-woman ensemble Booby Trap.

Mikaela O’Neill is one of this year’s boot camp participants. She started taking improv classes shortly after she moved to a new town a year ago as a way of meeting people. She heard about the County Comedy Project and decided to join this year’s sessions. “Coming in with a background in improv I thought stand-up would be a breeze, and as the weeks went by I got a little nervous because it was way harder than I thought. But Lenny and Gavin have been such great instructors and I’ve found my voice,” she said. “Stand-up and improv are very different I like improv because anything can happen, there’s a shared energy and everyone s feeding off each other, In stand-up there’s a bit more preparation and I really like the writing aspect of it. It’s about learning to stand on your own two feet versus working with a team. I love the collaboration and teamwork of improv. You have no idea of what someone else is going to say, and that’s part of the fun of it. Working with others really keeps you present and it’s so much fun. It’s a great way to lift your spirits and make connections.”

Mr. Snepsts says it is encouraging to see the local comedy scene growing, and he is looking forward to the opening performance on Thursday. “It will be a fantastic night of standup comedy and some improv. We’ll have some very brave and admirable people getting out there and taking risks in a super-supportive environment. It will be a feel-good time,” he said. The comedy season will continue in July through to the end of the year. There will be six monthly Wednesday- night showcases at The CAPE pairing comedy acts from Toronto, Montreal and beyond with local talent. The Regent Theatre will be the home of the summer and fall headliners. Geri Hall (from 22 Minutes) and Gary Pearson (from Corner Gas) will bring their sketch show Middle Raged to theatre on July 26. This show debuted at the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival in 2018 and has played all across Canada, recently finishing a run at the Ed Mirvish Theatre. The show will feature an opening set of the latest satirical news from The County Roundup. The creators of Baroness von Sketch Show and CBC’s This is That will premiere A Perfectly Reasonable Night of Comedy featuring Carolyn Taylor, Pat Kelly and Peter Oldring on August 23. CBC host Ali Hassan rounds out the season on October 18 with Does This Taste Funny?, a comedic look at his trajectory from professional chef to professional comedian. The year wraps up in laughter with Holiday Hijinx on December 27 and 28 at Mount Tabor Playhouse, a County holiday comedy variety show. Mr. Snepsts is looking forward to presenting a season of comedy. “This year’s wicked, man! I’m really stoked,” he said. For more information and tickets, please visit comedycountry.ca