comedy

The best of #ShitOttawansSay

Written

on Friday, January 20, 2012

Photo courtesy of allthecolors from the Apt613 flickr group

The kids are all going wild for Shit Girls Say, the latest meme to start replicating itself across the net. Yesterday the popular series of YouTube videos spawned yet another iteration, this time on twitter. The #ShitOttawansSay hashtag hit the Ottawa twitterverse a big way, launching what was probably the largest inside joke sharing fest the city has ever seen.

Open File has collected and organized many of the tweets, which you can see here, but we couldn’t resist sharing some of our favourite ones here on the site. The following are Apartment613′s picks for the best of #ShitOttawansSay.

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Step aside Burt Bacharach: Remi Royale takes Lounge Music to the extreme

Written

Katie

on Friday, January 13, 2012

Forget crooning men in slick suits; Remi Royle is not your grandmother’s lounge singer. Royale, a comedy/music act that plays the first and last Sunday of each month at the Manx Pub (370 Elgin), is the type of act you either love… or hate. The contentious act is now the subject of a mini-documentary by Algonquin Documentary Arts student Julien Sokol, who first saw Royale in action a year and a half ago.

I remember his performance had a very polarizing effect on the audience. Half the people seemed to like it, and the other half seemed really annoyed by it. That part always stayed with me…the kind of love/hate relationship audiences have with him.

The video was Sokol’s first mini doc, although he is planning on creating others. If you want to see what side of Remi Royale fence you stand on, catch his next show at the Manx on January 22.

Bonus: Click here for a video of Royale’s experience appearing on The Price is Right in the 1990s.

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Stand Up for the Food Bank and Sustainable Prosperity

Written

apartment613

on Sunday, January 8, 2012

There’s no room for paraskevidekatriaphobia, folks!

Come join us at the Draft Pub (above the Sports Complex at uOttawa) on Friday the 13th to laugh your bad luck away with funny people. Doors open at 8:30pm.

Amateur and experienced comics will be volunteering their jokes for two great causes. Minimum $5 donation at the door – all proceeds going to the local foodbank in Ottawa and uOttawa’s Sustainable Prosperity.

If you’d like to perform, email standupforcharity13@gmail.com by Monday, January 9 with your name, phone number, years of performance, and your standup experience (e.g. virgin, amateur, rising star, pro).

There will be great drink and food specials on. Facebook event here; everyone welcome!

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Improv Comedy Workshops

Written

Katie

on Thursday, January 5, 2012

We are running a weekly drop-in, open-to-all Improv workshop. It happens every Wednesday night at the Dalhousie Community centre, 755 Somerset Street West, just west of Bronson. The workshops run from 7:30 to 9:30pm. They’re open to anyone, and your first visit is always free. After that, if it’s within your budget, we ask for $5 towards the cost of the room. The workshops are all about fun. There is no pressure to perform, and the only competition is to be the person who helps other people be at their best best. The Improv we practice is anti-competitive – everyone wins everything we do (especially the games where someone wins). We try to foster the fending off of physical and mental atrophy through the sharpening of wit, and we do it in an environment of anti-competitive acceptance, where we collaboratively and collectively conspire to cultivate and nurture merriment.

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Law & Disorder—A Legal Comedy Debate

Written

Katie

on Thursday, October 27, 2011

Canadian Superstar Comic takes on the Arts in debate showdown with Prominent Ottawa Lawyer!
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Have you heard the one about the lawyer, the comic and the actor that show up together in Court? No?
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Well, then you be the jury Law & Disorder—A Legal Comedy Debate to witness the ‘punch line’ in person!
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On November 3, 2011 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., Canadian superstar comic, John Wing Jr., takes on prominent Ottawa lawyer, Mark Ertel to settle, once and for all, the case of Art Vs. Law.
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John Wing Jr., who has performed all over Canada and the United States, has over 200 television appearances including the Tonight Show, Just For Laughs, and full hour Comedy Now specials, will have his hands full as Mark Ertel puts into practice his years of experience of every type of case from parking tickets to first degree murder to defend Art.
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What? The Lawyer is defending Art, while the Comedian is skewering it? Only goes to show that Lawyers will take on anything, and nothing is sacred for Comedians.
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Hosted by Ottawa actor and playwright, Pierre Brault, this evening of finger-pointing fun will be sure to keep you laughing your arts off, no matter what side you take.
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And at what better venue for this to take place than Arts Court, Ottawa’s Centre for the Performing, Visual, Literary and Media Arts (2 Daly Ave.) whose first incarnation was the Carleton County Courthouse which saw countless cases tried within its walls.
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Along with the rousing comedic debate, the evening has a number of surprises in store as Ottawa personalities working in law, politics, and arts, get locked up in the actual jail cells located in the courthouse basement. Local philanthropist and restaurateur, Dave Smith, plays the role of celebrity auctioneer as patrons get the chance to bail out the ‘prisioners’ in support of Ottawa’s arts community. Winning bidders also receive a one-on-one dinner/experience with their celebrity jailbird. You can ponder who is worthy enough to bail out while enjoying cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, or decide you like the look of them behind bars and instead bid on one of the excellent hot ticket items that are up for grabs.
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David W. Scott, Co-Chairperson of the Firm and Counsel in the Ottawa office of Borden Ladner and Gervais LLP (BLG) is pleased to serve as Honourary Chair of this event in support of the Ottawa Arts Court Foundation, a registered charitable organization that provides a forum for Ottawa’s performing, visual, literary, and media arts through the provision of leading facilities, programs and services. The proceeds from Law and Disorder will go directly to support our facilities, community outreach programs and the diverse programs we offer the local arts community.
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All are welcome to this evening as Judges, lawyers, actors and comedians come together at the old Carleton County Courthouse, now known as Arts Court, for Law and Disorder – A Legal Comedy Debate.
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Tickets to Law and Disorder – A Legal Comedy Debate range from $125 to $150 and are on sale now. Tickets are limited and Tax Receipts will be issued.

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FREE KD improv show!

Written

Katie

on Monday, October 17, 2011

Yes, Dinner and show just go more classy, with improv and KD night.
That’s right FREE Kraft Dinner will be served this night. (while supplies last ) Along with Ottawa’s edgiest improv comedy troupe Insensitivity Training. So enjoy a healthy? Meal and some off the wall laughs…
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And some cheesy jokes!
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Sunday
October 23rd
8pm
Yukyuk’s 292 Elgin st.
$5 general, (half price students)
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http://www.insensitivitytraining.com/

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The Creepy Queer Comedy Show: Night of Undead Laughs

Written

Katie

on Sunday, October 9, 2011

JH5 is proud to invite you to spend this Halloween season laughing with some of the best Queer comedians in North America! A fundraiser for Pink Triangle Services, The Creepy Queer Comedy Show: Night of Undead Laughs co-features the amazing talents of Darcy Michael and Trevor Boris! We are also proud to present the only transgendered comic in North America, Ms. Alison Grillo! The evening would not be complete without host DeAnne Smith! Tickets are $25.00 or $30.00 at the door Available at Mother Tongue Books, After Stonewall Books or by emailing tickets@jh-5.com, or calling 613-600-7462. Please come support your queer community! Other ticket locations will be announced soon! Buy early and SAVE!
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=235749219788645

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Ottawa Sketch presents Locker Lives episode 3 – Product Placement

Written

apartment613

on Friday, September 16, 2011

The third episode of Ottawa Sketch’s Locker Lives (a behind-the-scenes look at washed-up actors on a fictional high school dramedy TV show) has popped up online. “The actors are playing 16-year-olds but they’re actually 30-year-olds, 40-year-olds who are sort of washed up and can’t get any other jobs. They’re stuck on this show.” says Ottawa Sketch member Rachelle Casseus.

Here are episodes one and two.

For more on Ottawa Sketch, visit their Facebook page and blog.

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My Summer Crush: An Improv Show to Fall For

Written

Katie

on Monday, July 18, 2011

The team from Ottawa’s Crush Improv returns to Arts Court this Summer for My Summer Crush: An Improv Show to Fall For. It’s all a part of the Downtown Rideau Summer Fling – A Theatrical Affair, a performing arts festival running in the downtown core all summer long.
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The gang has performed in front of packed houses at Arts Court last summer, as well as other venues across the city, ranging from the Elmdale Tavern to the Gladstone Theatre. Now Arts Court Productions and Crush Improv have teamed up to bring you more belly laughs and beverages.
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The cast features some of the best players seen at the Canadian Improv Games over the past 20 years. Ottawa’s improvising dynamos Brad MacNeil and Al Connors take the lead, joined by Tim Anderson, Katie Layng, Peter McGregor, John Wishart and Jordan Moffatt who have also been invited to strut their stuff at the Arts Court Studio, along with other special guests from Ottawa’s improv past.
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Each week, the ensemble cast will work with a different director to create different formats and styles. The result: an improv show unlike any the city has seen before.
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Liven up your Monday nights at Arts Court on July 25 and August 8 & 15! And this year we’re adding a Late Night Blowout on Friday August 26 at 10 p.m. Tickets are only $12. This crush has turned into a long term affair!