Rick Mercer: When I was a young person in comedy, I was never in stand-up. But there was a CBC TV series called Comics! that gave comedians a chance to showcase their talents in prime time, and it led to a giant comedy boom. It had a huge impact on so many careers, so I think it’s time that that happens again. There’s never been a better time. This is a golden age of stand-up comedy. If you love comedy, there’s so much talent out there right now.
I consider stand-up an art form. I consider all of these individuals to be really hard-working, creative artists. There’s nothing purer. But it’s a completely insane occupation. Who in their right mind would walk out on stage with a microphone and a glass of water and decide to entertain either 30 people in a club or 2,000 people in a theatre? They don’t have a guitar or backup singers, they just have themselves. It’s inherently exciting.
Court Painter is a bit of a talent scout and has come up with a few Great Dominion nominees for stand up jokers. He apologizes for only including a few since the talent pool is deeper than the ocean, wider than the sky!
