Year in Rearview!

Vangeli’s has taken a sabbatical for a few weeks; I’m not sure why. Possibly to give people a rest and, this is the busy time of year for comics. January and February keep the comedy clubs busy when weather drops to -40.


I’m happy with what I did; eleven appearances in ten months, totalling perhaps one hour and twenty minutes on stage, with an audience. I did do ten minutes, twice, at the ‘Overdrive’ nightclub, but, I don’t count those, as they were not promoted, and subsequently there was no one in the audience. It would be nice to have ten minutes ‘stage time’ every couple of days; that way you have lots of opportunity to gauge the reaction to your material, tweak it a bit, then try it again.

I was astounded, and flattered, to be invited along with the pros; it was something I’d never anticipated. I felt totally unprepared, and certainly unready, but could not bring myself to say no. I didn’t get much feedback, except what I garnered from the audience each time. After the ‘Bullet’, the ‘Master’ did say, “You’re funny; you’re just not as crazy as me.... yet!”

Still, they tell me that they will have lots of opportunities for me; and it is good to have time to prepare. Right now I have about 30 minutes of stuff I’ve tried, and another 20 minutes that I haven’t performed yet. A little time is a good thing; I’ll spend it working on my ‘Deadpan’ delivery, with just enough ‘Bedpan’ to keep the audience’s attention. Deadpan seems a little scarce out here in Saskatchewan, which is odd seeing that one of the best practitioners of the art, ever, came from just down the road in Regina.

Do I see my future in Stand-up? I don’t think so. There’s too much competition; a lot of it very talented. When you have an hour of saleable material, you begin at $600 dollars per week, for one hour on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. That means a lot of travel; fun for a while, perhaps, with expenses paid, but eventually becoming a rut. The ‘Master’ is negotiating with Mark Breslin of ‘Yuk-Yuk’s, concerning opening a venue here in Saskatoon. That would be good, as it would bring top comedians into town every week; more important, it would give access to everyone in his line up, to clubs from one side of Canada to the other. The top comedian for ‘Yuk Yuk’s’ makes $2000 dollars per week, for that same three day agenda.

In the meantime, its’ fun; often pure adrenaline! This summer will bring a lot of opportunities, and, if I work at it now, I’ll have the material then to do the time without interfering with that, ‘making a living’ thing.