(Continued from part one)

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The sketch duo

“It’s like a chess club. Everyone shows up if there’s a lot of people watching, or if there’s nobody watching,” Dylan Gott, the evening’s host, said of Toronto’s comedy scene.

Gott and sketch partner Bryn Pottie sat at the back of Cameron House discussing their latest show Dylan & Bobby & Ladystache v.s. Comedy, their friendship with Budden and their comic principles.

“If I have a joke about how funny it is to kick old people in the face, and I’m at the Lion’s Club, I’m not going to do it,” Gott said. “But you can’t completely sacrifice your ideals.”

“I say ideals be damned. Get off your damn high horse you commie,” Pottie shot back.

Pottie’s forte lies in writing comedy, whereas Gott has performed in many “weird towns around Ontario”.

While hosting The Stage Show, Gott announced, “If you have to go to the bathroom, go during me.”

Few did, but he and Pottie know that in the world of comedy, you can’t win over every crowd.

“We kind of just go around to places. If they get the humour then they get the humour. And if they don’t, they don’t,” Gott continued. “Just have as much fun as possible.”

The kid

“Comedy is so saturated in Toronto that if you go to an open mic it’s comics most of the time,” 21-year old Bobby Knauff said.

Knauff, the youngest Humber alumnus who performed, is by no means a rookie. The Thunder Bay native, who holds down a day job at The Keg, entered the comedy field out of boredom. Now he performs 2-3 times a week, working mostly bigger shows.

“We’re [still] at the bottom of the bottom of the barrel. Like we’re not even in the barrel yet,” Knauff said of the struggles that many Canadian comics face. “We’re really supportive of each other because it sucks for everyone.”

On stage, the soft-spoken Knauff morphs into a tough and clever comic who enjoys ruffling a few feathers, which makes living in Toronto very rewarding.

“It’s so multicultural that you can make fun of all their cultures and all their ridiculousness,” Knauff said. “It’s a bigger toy box.”

Knauff’s post-college nervousness eventually faded, and he says he’s won his parents over despite a career choice that isn’t always a guaranteed bet.

“They’ve seen my show and even if I say stuff that offends them they like it because I’m doing what I want to do,” Knauff said.

As show time drew closer, Knauff outlined his goals for a career in the comedy business.

“I’d just like to be able to do stand-up forever and not have to have a day job,” Knauff said. “I don’t have to be huge. I just want to pay my bills by selling jokes.”

The Stage Show

Whatever negative reputation Cameron House had for hosting stand-up comedy was shattered by The Stage Show. A sold-out crowd and a roster of young, hungry and hilarious comics proved the venue can produce fresh comedy and enthusiastic supporters.

“I don’t want to perform here just once,” Donaldson said before going out and rocking the audience with jokes about her love life, puberty and the time she bought a wheelchair from a second-hand store.

After the show, Budden spent the proceeds from ticket sales on drinks for the performers – another tip of the hat to the mutual respect of the tight-knit comedy community. Audience members hugged and congratulated Budden on the way out the door.

Despite the success of The Stage Show, Budden hopes for the future remain simple.

“For right now, a realistic goal is for me to be able to call [Cameron House] and say, ‘I was wondering if I could do a show next month,’” she said, “and for them to say, ‘Yeah, we’d love to have you back.’”