I take the terrible things in my life,” explained comedian Taylor Carver to the appreciative audience at the Island Stand-up Showcase, “and condense it into 10 minutes, then people laugh at it ’cause it makes them feel better.” This is really what stand-up is all about—taking those sometimes mundane, sometimes extremely unusual occurrences in one’s life and spinning it so that a room full of people find it hilarious. The comedy showcase at The Guild not only stresses Charlottetown’s absence of a comedic scene, it highlights the talent that has been hiding; in Taylor Carver’s case, hiding in the bathroom while using a comb as a microphone.
The evening began with François Weber, well known for his “Eddie May Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre,” taking the stage as the show’s emcee and providing his own dose of stand-up between the other comedians’ sets. Weber launched into an energetic lamentation about his wimpy French name that never helped him in childhood fights and then addressed his Mr. Clean-inspired hairdo. Definitely the most animated of the four comedians featured in the showcase, Weber contorted his body and face to place more emphasis on his jokes, demonstrating his acting abilities.
The first full set was done by Richard Schroeter, previously featured in “Comedy Care Unit” and “Easter Funny at the Guild,” whose slow and contemplative demeanor and deadpan style of comedy was a swift change from Weber’s energy. Beginning by imagining an army comprised of his mixed German-Jamaican heritage, he moved on to the trials of marriage and the problems with actually agreeing to live a day in your wife’s shoes (here’s a hint—PAP smears are not for husbands). Schroeter’s jokes would often begin with what seemed like a regular story—the punch-line hard to anticipate—and end with a joke, much-appreciated by the audience.
Proving with Weber and Schroeter that comedic styles can vary as long as the joke is funny, was Taylor Carver, the youngest and according to him, the most nervous of the comedians. It’s hard to tell whether Carver was genuinely nervous or if the entire set was a self-caricature. Either way, his awkward delivery of jokes, such as “Do you guys remember the 90s? Okay cool,” and subtle comments after the audience laughed (“So nervous” and “God jokes…sweet.”) produced a self-deprecating, yet endearing performance and my favourite of the night.
The final act of the evening, Patrick Ledwell, known for performances on the Island, as well as at the Halifax Comedy Festival, began by assuring the audience that in a swimsuit his wiry figure was the missing link between dinosaurs and birds. Appearing very comfortable on stage, Ledwell’s funniest observations were about something he understands well, the reality of growing up in a big family. With the smoothest transitions of the night, he moved from the violent nature of lawn darts, to the both loved and dreaded Kellogg’s cereal variety pack, where one kid always gets stuck with Raisin Bran.
Audiences can catch these four diverse comedians August 4 and 18 at The Guild in Charlottetown.
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