April Flowers

I was told there would be flowers, April Flowers, but here I am riding on top of a March Lion, a March Lion that was supposed to "morph" into some sort of lamb-like creature. Oh well, if we humans didn't have the weather to complain about, I'm sure we'd find something else.

So April in Winnipeg means the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, and here we are fresh from having the festival stain Winnipeg with hilarity and comedic wonderment. I did get to hang out with some comedy folks (here's some photographic proof). Winnipeg was the funniest place on the planet for a week and we still have the strength to muster some more funny. Funny has not yet died. Here are some shows to enjoy.

On Tuesday we can look forward to another show brought to you by the Comedy Knights at the King's Head. The show will be CRUMB & Friends. The CRUMB will be Stephen Sim (as Lee White is still on tour in Europe) and the Friends will be: RobYn Slade, Jane Testar, Andrea del Campo, Gordon Tanner and Cory Wojcik. You can always look forward to free comedy at the King's Head on a Tuesday, so we'll always see you there.

On Friday we can look forward to another Winnipeg Stand-up showcase at the Park Theatre featuring a gaggle of handsome/funny comics standing in front of a mic stand, spinning hilarious yarns for the masses.

On Saturday we can look forward to Outside Joke's show at the Gas Station Theatre. The show will feature guests from Edmonton's Rapid Fire Theatre performing a "Theatresports-esque-Trademark-Free" competitive improv match (hosted by the ever writing this paragraph Stephen Sim). Get Tickets!

As we look back on a successful week of comedy for Winnipeg we can all thank the lovely and hard working folks at the Gas Station Arts Centre for putting together an amazing festival.

Highlights? Okay...

Bill Pats did his new show directed by Bruce Clark and then he was able to go to an after party at Moxie's (see his show to understand how amazing this truly is)

Tom Green and I both learned that we both went to Middle School (Junior High School) together. We might have even played street hockey, skateboarded and played 1941 at the Mac's together.

Did some improv with some fine Edmonton folks, which I hadn't done in a long time. We did a Dr Who inspired improv show that was filled with silly fun times. Very good to hang out and play with the cast of The Irrelevant Show.

I was able to reveal myself as the mysterious "ID guy voice" for DNTO in the live show at the Gas Station Arts Centre. Such a fun show. The true stories were truly great, the music was great, and having to re-do the credits at the end because I mispronounced the name of my boss was great.

Sook Yin and Stephen "meeting" onstage. She called me a slob, then called me rugged. Which do you think is more appropriate? #teamrugged

I learned that Elvira Kurt pronounces her name El-veera Kurt. Who know (the answer is everybody... also, who knew that someone introducing artists could mispronounce so many people's names).

Being immersed in the stand-up comedy world and seeing Winnipeg engulfed in comedy was amazing. Seeing local Winnipeg comics hold their own, and sometimes even hold themselves up high, was also wonderful.

Size Matters show backstage (tall meets small)

Trish Cooper before the No Bro Show getting ready. And then Evany Rosen (of Picnicface) doing her set.

A great week. Now let's have this lion I'm riding on turn into a lamb and smell some flowers.

You can always tune into the CRUMBS radio show on Mondays from 5-6 PM to catch live radio about everything that's going on in the world... and your own backyard.

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Improv and the Comedy Festival

The CBC Winnipeg Comedy Festival is almost upon Winnipeg and Winnipeg will soon be the funniest place on the planet for a week, not that Winnipeg isn't usually in the top ten on any day.

While I am going to be at the Gas Station Arts Centre introducing all of the shows for the Comedy Festival I will be hosting and performing in The Doctor Whom & the Lords of Improv show happening on Tue, April 8th. The is happening at the always wonderful Gas Station Arts Centre and will not only be featuring myself, it will also feature OTHER amazing performers too. Robyn Slade and Leif Ingebrigtsen will be there as well as some cast members of the Irrelevant Show including Mr Mark Meer. Who(m) is Mark Meer? Well, he will be playing the part of Doctor Whom and who better to play the part than Mark Meer, the king of the nerds! He is perhaps best known for being the voice of Commander Shepard on the monster hit video game Mass Effect. He's also quite beloved as an international improviser. Improvising for years with Edmonton's Rapid Fire Theatre and the long running improv soap opera Die Nasty. Winnipeg is happy to have my good friend Mark Meer on a Winnipeg stage. Check this show out!

Buy tickets to the Doctor Whom & the Lords of Improv Show

The next Comedy Knights improv show is Tuesday, April 15th at 9PM and free as always, the show will be CRUMB & Friends. Of course you do know that every Tuesday there is a show that happens, we rotate between improv and stand-up to ensure that all the comedy bases are covered.

How amazing was the Bizarro Comedy show that happened on April Fool's Day? If you missed it, then you missed a dozy. You missed some local stand-up comics giving improv a try… and rocking the stage with their improv-ness. You also missed some local improvisers giving stand-up comedy a try… and killing it!

It was such a success that it will most assuredly be returning with more stand-up and improv swappiness.

Outside Joke is presenting their 2nd Season of the Yuks. Which is Outside Joke putting on an actual season of shows at the Gas Station Arts Centre with some amazing guests. I say amazing guests because you might remember that CRUMBS was their guest at the season opener… and CRUMBS is amazing. But seriously folks, more amazing than that is Rapid Fire Theatre is sending over one of their own to guest with Outside Joke. Kory Matheweson will be partaking in some improv and teaching some improv workshops. The show will feature a "Nondescript, Non-denominational, Trademark-Free Short form Improv Competition show" that will be hosted by Stephen Sim (hey, that's me).

Tickets for the Outside Joke Show

What other shows are happening in Winnipeg?

Every Monday you can go see a live taping of the Shaw TV show "The Week Thus Far" and be in a real "Live Studio Audience". The show features a good cross section of Winnipeg stand-ups in a talk show formatted comedy show. The show is taped live at the King's Head and starts around 8PM.

Every Wednesday you should go to The Cheer in Osborne Village. The stand-up show there is called "Stand-up and Cheer" and it is hosted by the "always handsome" Ben "Ol' Ball Coach" Walker.

Every Thursday at the Times Change(d) on Main Street you can enjoy the "Workshop" hosted by the very talented Chantal Morastica. The evening is a show that has stand-ups and improv and sketch comedy performers work on new hilarious material. Always so much fun.

On the Sundays that this show is happening, you should really go. The legendary Comedy at the Cavern open mic stand-up show. The Cavern is under the Toad in Osborne Village and it hosts a legendary stand-up night that is hosted by the almost just as legendary John B Duff. This is where most of the city's stand-ups cut their comedy teeth (teeth, I might add, that are now razor sharp).

Hey Winnipeg, thanks for reading this, thanks for seeing live comedy shows and thanks for being so great.