LUCID FORGE

Comedy is a major industry and comedians are what keep that industry going, because as they say (whoever ‘they’ are), laughter is the best medicine. When it comes specifically to Canada and Canadian comedians, the market for comedians is not as recognized as it should be.

Comedy has the ability to take off and make a lot of money, but for one reason or another, that fact is just not recognized here. There are more comedians than jobs and the jobs are just not there resulting in comedians have a very difficult time. Like any other struggling artist, they have to put in their time to succeed.

Having worked at a comedy club, I have spoken to and become friends with a few comedians and I recently interviewed one stand-up that I would say, with the agreement of many, is one of the more popular acts in Ontario, if not Canada: Kyle Radke.

Radke got into comedy when he was 6 or 7 years old and has been on the road travelling around from club to club and event to event, paying his dues in order to make a living and make people laugh.

“I had already memorized three Cosby acts by that point and a few Eddy Murphy. I listened to the stuff all the time,” Radke explains. “I learned the cadence of comedy by the time I was 13, so I suppose I learned the basis when I was a kid… I didn’t even get the chance to want to be anything like an astronaut, immediately it was comedian.”

For Radke, performing is in his blood. “My parents claim that when I was barely old enough to talk that I would go to the pantry, get cans of food, introduce them, and perform in front of the cat and dog as an audience to see the reaction I would get,” he reminisces

Radke’s talent got the best of him, he’s been in the professional business for about 10 years and counting, he’s hooked to the comedic adrenaline rush he gets when he is on stage.

But there comes a point in the life of an artist where they realize that there is nothing better that they are going to do that is truly going to make them happy and satisfied with their life.

“Comedians try not to do this,” Radke says, “the beginning is very tough financially and your ego gets shot down, so you try to fight it. You try to be an actor or use stand-up as a stepping stone or something that will pay you more...”

Speaking honestly he adds that “there is just a group of people who at some point say that they don’t want anything else, they want this.”

Since he was 20, Radke has been on stage in some aspect. “I didn’t start with stand-up,” he says. “I did sketch for awhile at Second City and independently, in a group called ‘In The Can,’ but none of the people that were in the group are in comedy anymore.”

The market is too small here for many to live the life solely off of doing shows and Radke, like many other comedians, is frustrated with Canada and stand-up comedy right now. Like anything in the arts, or any business for that matter, you have to put in your time, in order to get to the point where you are a success in your mind, and this point is different for everyone.

Some are never satisfied, and some are comfortable with where they are now, so long as the work is steady. The road is long and hard, so people have to prepare themselves for very hard times of eating only Kraft dinner and crackers.

When it comes to comedy, comedians have an easier time finding shows on their own than they do with an agent. “I think I am one of the few people who want to make it work here in Canada. I want to turn it around here, but just hearing myself say that makes me want to slap myself in the head, it’s that difficult.”

Radke thinks that the industry is “universally bad in Canada.” The average salary is below minimum wage, and comedians are forced to find other means of making a living as a result. “Headliners today are even making less than they were when the companies first started,” Radke explains.

The agents for stand-up comedians that are based here have their hands tied for one reason or another. Radke says that “a stand-up comedian will get him or herself more gigs than any company can.”

The lack of advertising is something else that the stand-up industry needs to pay attention to. You can’t get an audience without advertising, because people don’t know you exist unless you tell them. Outside of the occasional radio and paper ad, advertising for the industry is virtually non existent.

“In every paper it’s the most boring, out-of-the-way thing that you really have to hunt for.” Radke says. “Escorts have better advertising that comedians do, and that’s the bonafide truth,” he adds

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“Just for Laughs is the only stand-up entity that markets itself properly in Canada,” Radke continues. “As a result of that, other festivals are also doing a great job in following that model and putting it out there in a good way. The only complaint I would have for Just for Laughs is that they don’t use enough Canadian talent.”

The industry needs improvement here, that’s a given! There needs to be more clubs, and more advertising for the clubs. People don’t realize the money to be made in this industry. Comedy, like laughter, is an addiction that people keep going back to when they first get immersed in it.

Radke is disappointed in the lack of effort in the industry. “It’s defiantly broken in Canada,” he states, “It hurts me every time I hear a comedian on stage making jokes about their income. The lack of money translates to the lack of stage time. It makes me want to leave the country.”

Is this what we want, for our Canadian born talent to go somewhere else, because they have a lack of income here? “I’m being forced out because I don’t have enough time on stage.”

Outside of open mics, one-nighters, and the minor paid stage time at a Yuk Yuks, Absolute Comedy, Laugh Resourt, or Rumours in Winnipeg, which are the few comedy clubs that exist in Canada, comedians have a hard road. Radke gave an estimate of comedians in Canada compared to clubs, and in total he thinks there are about 25 – 30 comedy clubs in Canada for about 500 professional comedians.

If you work this out to a per night ratio that would mean a maximum of six comedians working per club, per night, it works out that not even half the comedians here work every night because there is no room for them! Comedians are forced to become a complete one man show that can do everything from manage, to direct, to perform, to write, and even become their own agent and technician, because of the lack of a competent industry.

This makes for a pretty hefty resume, Radke says. “Multitasking becomes one of the tools in your belt and immediately you can access what is good or bad about the venue for a stand-up comedy show.”

Radke feels that the industry here is at its turning point. “Comics are learning how to break through the glass ceiling in Canada and it won’t be long until the results are seen,” he states with confidence.

“There are so many people that are competent on how to run their careers now. These are my peers and we are in a race now and getting competitive. It’s defiantly possible here."