GIANTS

It takes guts to be an artist. 

After all, you’re basically putting yourself out there, risking possible humiliation should your idea of comedy, acting, entertainment, artistic what-have-you, not meet the expectations of your audience members.

(If you don’t believe me, just go to YouTube and search for “hecklers at comedy shows” – 'Nuff said!)

Nothing can be more unpleasant than feeling that intense sensation of dread when a joke is met with dead silence or a video, lighting and/or audio cue gets f***ed-up, leaving you to improvise on the spot.

Being an artist is not for the weak. And that’s why it’s no surprise that the name of Vancouver’s newest up-and-coming comedy project is so aptly called:

Photo credit: http://blog.thecultch.com/

As part of my goal to try out new and interesting experiences in the city, I decided to take in my first show at The Cultch, one of Vancouver’s most innovative and respected theatres. Having pre-paid for my ticket, it was a sure fire way to keep me from bailing out at the last minute and I have to say, it was a great investment of both my time and money!

After stepping through the beaded doorway of the VanCity Culture Lab, I was immediately drawn in by its cabaret-style layout of high-top tables, red chairs and funky art. The air was electric with anticipation as I took my seat near the front of the stage. Sounds of chatter and laughter were intermixed with the occasional clinking of ice cubes as groups of youthful theatre-goers revelled in their merriment.

Now THIS is what I’m talking about!

After having just finished a run at one of the local “community” theatres, it was refreshing to see so many young people in the audience. Their care-free attitudes, mop-top hair and stylish threads were a welcome sight after having spent so many nights catering to their “grandparents”.

As the lights dimmed and the chatter began to dissipate, a video started playing on a big screen. Luckily for me, the fine folks at GIANTS Comedy decided to post their videos on YouTube, thus saving me the trouble of putting the following into words:

From screen to stage, the evening’s line-up of performers ranged from the wacky to the absurd. It included a mock news cast by Emmett Hall (Loved the weather report by-the-way!), a stand-up comedian (Thanks to Graham Clark for teaching me something new about Ron MacLean!), sketch comedy by the dynamic duo Chris Wilson and Peter Carlone (Fantastic dance and mime sequences guys!), MORE sketch comedy by Devin Mackenzie (Comedy that's totally beyond my reach!), a wicked rap-dance-custom-t-shirt-promo-number by the one and only Andrew Barber (Luv the jeux-jeux bro! Long live the Bejeweler!) and a hilarious performance by Kevin Lee and Sean Devlin in the show’s main attraction, “Town Hall: Attendance Mandatory”.

Photo credit: Andrew Barber

Despite the few technical glitches at the start of the show, I was immensely impressed with the courage, motivation and wherewithal of these young, innovative artists. Not only did they have to conceive, create, and perform their material, but they also had to find a venue, market their wares and promote the evening’s line-up with the hopes of satisfying a potentially fickle audience while convincing them to come back for more!

Like I said, it takes guts to be an artist.

So many of us talk a good talk, but very of us ever bother to take action to bring our dreams to fruition. And that is what this evening symbolized for me. Had these talented young artists not taken action to bring these performances to life, I wouldn’t have had the privilege of sitting in the audience, experiencing the birth of something new and wondering what possibilities lie ahead for my own artistic endeavours.

Thank you guys for reminding me what is possible when you mix action with courage and really bad comedy.

Just kidding.

For more info on GIANTS and their upcoming shows, visit: http://giantscomedy.com/