Four comedians will take the stage of the Royal Theatre when The Snowed In Comedy Tour, created by Vancouver-based comedian Dan Quinn, comes to town this month. As the largest comedy tour in the country, expectations are sure to be high. And with 17 years of growing success, Quinn knows about those expectations, despite the tour’s modest beginnings.
“It started 17 years ago, and it was kind of just an excuse to go snowboarding,” says Quinn. “I wanted a bit of a break from my regular comedy tour, so I decided to do shows near ski hills. I told some other comics about it, and they were like, ‘Hey, can we come?’ and I was like, ‘Sure!’”
But the creative demands of this gig are not to be understated. With more and more fans returning each year, the comics—Paul Myrehaug, Pete Zedlacher, Erica Sigurdson, and Quinn—are tasked with writing entirely fresh sets between tours. And, as any creative will tell you, ideas aren’t exactly in the habit of showing up when you need them to.
“I mean, I think that’s the most difficult part; trying to come up with a new set every year,” says Quinn. “You know, I don’t have a lot of time, so what I try to do is just take notes of things that are kind of funny throughout the year, and then, basically, come September, I sit down, write them, and just flow, and let whatever happens happens. Try not to judge—I think the main thing when you’re being creative, in the beginning, is to just try not to judge the joke.”
In circumstances of creative demand, community is a lifeline. Whether it’s to have someone hold you accountable or merely to bounce ideas off of, having a strong network in your chosen field is essential to success, both personal and professional. For many comedians, this is a cornerstone of the creative process.
“We get to work with other people that we respect, and they’re a lot of fun to hang out with… And it’s really, actually, fun when you see another comic do one of your lines on stage,” says Quinn. “It’s almost better, you know? Because you’re actually getting to see the performance of your joke. Which, when you write a joke and say it, you’re never gonna see the performance of it. So that’s pretty cool.”
Another challenge, of course, is knowing your demographic. However, for these comedians and storytellers, this serves as more of a suggestion than a rule. What’s most important is knowing your material and why you are up on that stage—why you matter, even just for a moment.
“I think, when it comes to jokes, people can look at it in two different ways, and people will laugh,” says Quinn. “One is when you watch somebody do something and go, ‘Oh, that’s just like me,’ and, ‘I can see myself doing that as well.’ You relate to the comic. But the other way that people laugh is when they can relate through the comic.”
These lessons are for anyone to learn, not just comedians with decades of experience and good ticket sales. But experience—good, bad, or otherwise—tends to be the thing that shapes us the most, creatively and all.
“I was doing a show in New York in East Village—which is, like, very hipster—and it was the year 2000. And on the show was Janeane Garofalo, Dave Chappelle, Marc Maron, and Jim Gaffigan. And I was the guy going on last… So, I do the show and I tell a story about going moose hunting in northern Alberta, which is as far from the East Village as you can get,” says Quinn. “But the joke went really well, and after the show, this guy came up to me and was like, ‘Hey, man, you were my favourite comic on the show’… And that, for me, was a big moment—to realize that I can relate to people that I have nothing in common with, as long as I’m true to who I am and what I’m talking about, and making it funny.”
Snowed in Comedy
7:30 pm Saturday, January 17
$61.50, Royal Theatre
rmts.bc.ca