We bet you could use some comedy right about now.
Yep. Thought so.
The Snowed in Comedy Tour, now in its 12th year, is a great Canadian success story.
And it’s coming to the Cowichan Performing Arts Centre on Friday, Jan. 17, starting at 8 p.m.
Without major TV credits, the growth of the tour is all attributed to word of mouth from delivering knockout performances year after year.
Described as “better than the Just for laughs tour” and “delivers a flurry of laughs”, the Snowed in Comedy Tour is the largest in Canada with 70 cities coast to coast. On the international scene, it has toured Australia, U.S., France and Switzerland. The 2019 tour received numerous standing ovations and was the most successful to date.
In a market still dominated by American acts with American TV credits, this small Canadian group has managed to succeed. Like The Tragically Hip, they have done it by touring and growing their audience organically.
Four international comedians come together to create one amazing show with each bringing his or her own unique and hilarious style, providing something for everyone.
This year, Debra DiGiovanni, three-time female comedian of the year and a Video on Trial fave, will be joining the fun.
DiGiovanni has been called the “best comedian to see after a messy break-up” and for three years running she was named Canada’s favorite female comedian. Debra’s comedy has a sharp edge while maintaining a playful, happy air. Her humour and charm lies in her unflinching honesty, openness, and rapid-fire delivery. She was a finalist on the fifth season of NBC’s hit show Last Comic Standing Season 7, making it to the Top Eight comedians.
She was even awarded a Canadian TV award: a Gemini for best-televised comedy performance of 2010.
You can often hear Debra on CBC radio’s The Debaters program and she has become a nationwide favorite on the hugely popular Much Music show Video On Trial. Her first stand up DVD, for the Showtime Network, Single, Awkward Female, is now playing on Netflix. You can see Debra on the Comedy Network’s revival of Match Game, a Canadian revamping of the 70’s game show, where Debra is a popular panelist.
And, who’s back to hit the stage with her?
Pete Zedlacher, six-time nominee of the Canadian Comedy Award for Best Male Stand-up, Winner of Sirius XM’s Top Comic, eight appearances at Montreal’s Just for Laughs, Festival Halifax and the Winnipeg Comedy Festival is returning, along with Dan Quinn, winner of Canadian Competition at Just for Laughs.
Zedlacher is a versatile comedian, actor and writer, an 18-year veteran of the comedy scene and one of the premiere headliners in the country.
Zedlacher, who proudly hails from Wawa, a small mining town in northern Ontario, draws heavily from his Canadian working-class roots. Graduating from the prestigious American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York has helped him infuse a theatrical element into his stand-up. Now based in Toronto, Zedlacher has two Gemini nominations to his credit. He recently performed at the Ha!ifax ComedyFest and toured with the Just For Laughs Comedy Tour. A television writer and actor on The Ron James Show (CBC) for the last four seasons, this versatile performer has written and appeared on his own one-hour special Comedy Now! (CTV/The Comedy Network) as well as late night talk show The Hour With George Stroumboulopoulos (CBC), The Jon Dore Television Show (The Comedy Network) and the animated series Scaredy Squirrel (YTV/Disney XD). Zedlacher has also written and will appear on CBC television’s upcoming comedy Of All Places which will premiere in June this year.
Zedlacher has become a recognizable face on Canadian television. He regularly appears on The Debaters (CBC Radio and TV). Other appearances include Rookie Blue (ABC/Global), Little Mosque on the Prairie (CBC), Degrassi: The Next Generation (CTV/Nickelodeon), Puppets Who Kill (The Comedy Network), The Sean Cullen Show (CBC), Just for Laughs Gala (CBC), Ha!ifax ComedyFest (CBC), Video On Trial (Much Music) and Loud (Much Music), a heavy metal music show he co-hosted.
A fan favourite within both the alternative and mainstream comedy club scene, Zedlacher has crossed the country from coast to coast (including Nunavut) and toured the world. He is most proud of his “tours of duty”, entertaining the Canadian troops serving overseas.
Dan Quinn, who is also coming to Duncan, is a natural storyteller, using tales taken from his life to become an international headliner. He tours Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. and recently did his first shows in Amsterdam. He has opened for Russel Peters, Tracy Morgan, and Rob Schneider.
His comedy is honest, personal, edgy, relatable and always funny. Winner of The Canadian comedy competition at Just for Laughs, and chosen Best of the Fest at the Moncton Comedy festival, and the Vancouver Comedy Festival, he has been seen on CBC, CTV and the Comedy Network and heard on XM Radio.
Quinn has developed a following in western Canada through his constant touring and opening for such big name acts as Tom Green and Bob Saget. His DVD, The Stuff I Wanted to Say, has sold more than 5,000 copies. He has also released a new CD available on iTunes, entitled The Best of the Snowed In Comedy Tour.
Paul Myrehaug started life in Camrose, Alberta and has ridden the comedy bus everywhere from there. He has toured in more than 40 countries around the globe including Iraq and Afghanistan for the armed forces.
Growing up on a farm meant his childhood was typical of any small town Canadian kid. He cared very little about anything else but hockey but when his planned NHL career didn’t work Myrehaug quickly found a new dream, replacing unreachable athletic stardom with stand-up comedy.
Myrehaug stepped on stage for the fist time when he was 18 years old in Edmonton, and worked his way through the open-mic ranks until placing fourth in an amateur competition called The Battle of Alberta and earning his first touring dates in western Canada. From there he moved to Toronto to pursue a larger market and starting touring across Canada and into the United States, taking second place in the prestigious Seattle International Comedy Competition. Shortly afterwards, Paul was crowed the champion of the 2009 Great Canadian Laugh Off as seen on The Comedy Network beating out more than 140 other competitors from around the globe to take home the $25,000 dollar prize.
Other television and festival appearances quickly followed on the heels of the Laugh Off. CBC’s Ha!ifax, his own hour special, Comedy Now on The Comedy Network and CTV, and his personal favourite, multiple appearances on CBC Radio’s The Debaters.
Whew! Those are some performers. Now that we’ve whetted your appetite, you want to know about tickets.
They’re $45 for adults, $35 for seniors, and $25 for students. Get them by visiting the Cowichan Ticket Centre, calling 250-748-7529 or going online to https://ctcentre.bc.ca/TheatreManager/1/online?performance=2620.
