GUELPH COMEDY FESTIVAL PERFORMERS 2024

Community Showcase - Thursday, October 17 @ 8pm

*GUELPH COMEDY FEST’S OWN “BUILD-A-TROUPE”: NORMAL NORMAL NORMAL*

Join us for a celebration of Guelph’s newest improv troupe! Led by improv teacher extraordinaire Rob Lewin, this rag-tag group of improvisers will learn to be a troupe in 5 short weeks and perform at the Community Showcase.

LUKAS BRENNAN

Lukas Brennan is a stand-up comic from Guelph, Ontario. He has brought his gender and relationship based humour to be featured on festivals like “Skankfest” Las Vegas, and the Just For Laughs Humber Comedy night. He’s been showcased on the Yuk Yuk’s Dark stars of Comedy and opened for international headliners all over the province including the likes of Sam Tripoli, Ali Mccofsky and Jon Dore.

*GCVI IMPROV TEAM*

The GCVI improv teams are a battalion of rapscallions from GCVI in Guelph - they’ve been working in our current iteration for over 3 years, and have been growing with more teams every year! They are a group of students from Grade 9 to Grade 12+, and for the Guelph Comedy Fest, they’ll be featuring some members from all of their teams playing a few games - we hope you enjoy, and come out to enjoy their shows!
Follow the team @gcviimprov on Instagram, or follow their mascot on Instagram @gcvi_dave!

Community of Hearts Improv Club

The Community of Hearts Improv Club is made up of passionate singers, dancers, actors and artists of all kinds. Members of the club are dedicated to independent living and love getting involved with their community. Lead by Hayley Kellett, the COHIC have performed at fundraisers and showcases for friends and family since 2019. They are excited to charm you with their talent at their professional debut and share in the laughter at GCF 2024.

An evening of music and laughter with host spencer “slow jam” dunn - Friday, October 18 @ 7:30pm

***BEN GORODETSKY AS “DAVID LEE BROTH”***

**Ben Gorodetsky** is an improviser, writer, filmmaker, and producer based in Kitchener, Ontario. They are the director and host of award-winning, interdisciplinary variety show Pinch Cabaret, KW's BEST LOCAL EVENT as voted by the readers of the Waterloo Chronicle. Ben is the creator and executive producer of the forthcoming Animal Planet TV series "My Pet Ate What?" (Bell Media) and co-creator of political satire comedy duo Folk Lordz (VICE). He has performed, taught, and directed improvisation at The Magnet Theatre (NYC), Out of Bounds Comedy (Austin), UCB (LA), Highwire Comedy (Atlanta), English Lovers (Vienna), IGLU (Ljubljana), FERIIR (Reunion Island), Bad Dog (Toronto), and Blind Tiger (Vancouver). His performance work has been presented by The Art Gallery of Ontario, CAFKA, Femme Folks Fest, LUMEN, Open Ears, Movement Research at Judson Church, The Tank NYC, Guelph Dance Fest, Hillside Fest, and SpringWorks. Ben is the former Associate Artistic Director of Rapid Fire Theatre, and a nominee for a Canadian Comedy Award. They teach at UWaterloo and hold an MFA from Brooklyn College-CUNY and a BFA from the University of Alberta.

***STACCAYTO STACCATO***

Introducing Staccayto Staccato, a Toronto-based musical comedy troupe featuring performers from the schools and stages of Second City, Comedy Bar, The Making Box, and more! Their high-energy blend of humour and music earned them the prestigious "Big Buzz" award at the Guelph Fringe Festival 2024 with their show “Make Up! The Musical”, and they’re bringing it to Guelph Comedy Festival! Get ready for unforgettable laughs and catchy tunes!

*GLENYS MARSHALL*

If Gilda Radner and Bo Burnham had a baby in the 80s, it would walk and talk like Glenys Marshall. Glenys’ silly little songs have featured at the Capital Pride Festival, the Ottawa, Guelph and Winnipeg Fringe Festivals, and the National Arts Center Fourth Stage. She is the co-producer of the smash hit variety show, *Small Fish,* which platforms marginalized artists in Ontario and beyond! She is a graduate from the Comedy Writing and Performance Program at Humber College, the Second City Conservatory, and Bad Dog Theatre in Toronto. Get ready for that grown-up theatre kid energy, a quality rhyme and some good ol’ existential razzle dazzle.

***MUSICAL DIRECTOR: DAPHNE COPPER***

Daphne Copper is a producer, engineer, performer and multi-instrumentalist composer who has been working in the Canadian music industry for 20 years. They founded Copper Sound Studio in Guelph, ON where they work with fellow artists to bring unique projects to life.
@daphcopper on Instagram
Also check out their website ***www.coppersound.ca***

***YOUR HOST: SPENCER “SLOW JAM” DUNN***

Spencer “Slow Jam” Dunn has just returned from 4 months of hiking on the PCT and will use his newly strengthened lung power to swoon, croon and serenade you over the course of the evening.

Got land? Comedy - Friday, October 18 @ 9:30pm

***YOUR HOST: JANELLE NILES***

Janelle Niles is a Two-spirited Black - Mi’kmaq woman from Sipekne'katik, Nova Scotia. Janelle’s comedy career began in 2019. Fast tracking her career she has performed with Just For Laughs Toronto in 2022 with Got Land? Indigenous comedy show and the Winnipeg Comedy Festival 2023. She appeared on Family Feud Canada representing Truro, Nova Scotia and on CTV’s brand new game show Battle of the Generations. She has also made appearances on APTN’s Michif Country Season 3, Indigenous Day live and has a documentary on CBC GEM & Crave Called Janelle Niles: Inconvenient. Janelle hopes to perform one day in New York City. Her humour is described as eccentric yet captivating.

GOT LAND? COMEDY

Got Land? Comedy is a stand-up comedy variety show, where First Nation, Inuit and Metis entertainers tell jokes and share individual life stories. Got Land? Comedy was created to express solidarity with humour. All genres of comedy are welcome and expressed.
Our goal is to perform across turtle island, aka North America, for all indigenous and non-indigenous persons alike. Indigenous comedy is unique, funny and informative. Eh, but some of us just tell jokes.

***CLINT COUCHIE***

Clint Couchie is an Anishinabe comedian from Nipissing First Nation who uses his life experience to give you an idea what it takes to be Indigenous, a father and a common law partner in this day and age.

***DENISE B MCLEOD***

Proud Urban Anishinaabe Kwe, who’s home territory is Sagamok Anishnawbek F.N on the north shore of Lake Huron. D.B. along with her comedy sisters created Manifest Destiny’s Child Comedy Collective. While with MDC she has taken the stage for events like The Toronto International Film Festival, Royal Ontario Museum’s Friday Night Live, and Art Gallery of Ontario’s First Thursday. D.B. was also invited to be in comedy shows like Yas Kween 4th Birthday celebration that was a part of Comedy is Art Festival. D.B’s comedy is rooted in her Indigeneity, focuses on making fun of colonization, misogyny and racism, just enough to make white men uncomfortable.

***PATRICK CHEECHOO***

Patrick’s first five-minute comedic set was in June 2012 at Thunder Bay’s Aboriginal Day Gala, and he was declared the 2014 Thunder Bay Comic Idol. He has since performed throughout Canada and the United States. He has established himself as a wonderful talent with a keen ability to connect with his audience; his confidence and adaptability ensures that audiences of varying demographics will have a wonderful time at each of his shows. Most recently, Patrick has enjoyed supporting and headlining Got Land? (an Indigenous Comedy Showcase), which is produced by Comedian Janelle Niles.

OOPs! all parents! - Saturday, october 19 @ 11am

***MR. J AND THE GROOVY GANG***

**Mr. J and the Groovy Gang** are the high energy sweethearts in Family Friendly music. Their first EP of original songs ***“Hello Friends”*** can be streamed everywhere, along with the single “I Got This”.
**Mr. J and the Groovy Gang** put on a LIVE show that is filled with dancing, singing, clapping and so many smiles!! Come on and join in with the band!!!

comedy sketch-tacular - saturday, october 19 @ 7:30pm

*DISCO LAGOON*

Disco Lagoon is a sketch group from KW that makes videos that compromise their careers and threaten their livelihood. The recipients of their own suffering are Cameron Weir and Luke Webster.
They can be found online on Instagram, tiktok and YouTube @discolagoon

TONGUES

Tongues is a zesty, all-femme sketch group from Montreal composed of long standing improvisers and theatre makers. They’ve been seen at other sketch festivals such as Toronto Sketchfest and New York Sketchfest - and they were the recipient of MTL Sketchfest’s *Best New Troupe* award for 2023. Tongues brings quick wit, bold characters, and a metric truck ton of word-play to the stage exploring all kinds of experiences like our emotional baggage, girly pop demons and much more comedy goodness that will tickle your taste buds. It’s gonna be feral!

*JON BLAIR*

Jon Blair is a solo sketch comedian based in Toronto. His signature style of one-man narrative sketch has been toured across Canada and the US, and he was named Best of the Fest at both Toronto and Montreal sketchfests. He's written for "This Hour Has 22 Minutes" and CBC Radio's "Because News with Gavin Crawford" and won a Dora award for his work with renowned comedy theatre troupe Sex T-Rex. Jon is also the creator of the solo sketch webseries "Now More Than Ever" on YouTube, which he filmed on his own in his apartment during the COVID-19 lockdown, because we all had to do *something.*
**Watch them on** **YouTube**
@okjonblair on Twitter
@jonblairbasically on Instagram

comedy charcuterie - saturday, october 19 @ 9:30pm

***HINPROV***

**hinprov** is Canada's first bilingual improv community that performs and trains folks to express themselves without barriers of language. Bringing artists of color to the stages in North America, hinprov has performed their Improvised Bollywood Shows at Blockbuster Weeks, Vancouver Improv Festival, Mississauga Fringe Festival, and recently, Detroit Improv Festival.
hinprov takes your favourite Hollywood film (suggestion), and improvises a Bollywood version to make it more spicy, zany and add a little dance and music.

***CORPSE***

Wanna see a dead body? What about two future dead bodies? Cas Knihnisky (The Making-Box, Detroit Improv Festival) and Rob Lewin (Second City Famco, Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival) bring you all-new sketches about ghouls, goblins, and the human condition (accidentally eating your son because you think he is cake).

***BEN SOSA WRIGHT***

Ben Sosa-Wright is a twisted, queer, Latinx comedian and writer from Toronto who was named a JFL New Face in 2022. Ben was also named one of CBC’s 15 Canadian Comics To Watch in 2019. He’s performed in comedy clubs and festivals all over North America including Limestone Comedy Festival, NXNE, and he even headlined Just For Laughs Toronto. His writing has been featured in Reader’s Digest and Xtra magazine. His podcast Nostalgique was mentioned by Vulture as their comedy podcast of the week, and you can catch his episode of “The New Wave of Standup” on CBC Gem. Thank you for reading all of this, you are a hero.

NILE SEGUIN

With appearances on Comedy Network’s critically acclaimed The Beaverton as well as People of Earth, Kim’s Convenience and The Expanse, Nile is also known as Alister on the Canadian Screen Award nominated City TV sitcom Second Jen.

Nile has performed at the Just for Laughs Festival (being the first stand-up to perform there in both English and French), the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, the Halifax Comedy Festival and San Francisco Sketchfest. A three time Canadian Comedy Award nominee, Nile has opened for Gregg Proops, James Adomian, Janeane Garofalo, Greg Behrendt, Aparna Nancherla and Hannibal Buress.

GUELPH COMEDY FESTIVAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS

We are delighted to be your hosts for this year’s Guelph Comedy Festival. Consider us your ambassadors to a community full of friendly weirdos.