By Vanessa Difeo
The latest seminar to be offered at Laurentian University offers students a chance to collaborate with two professional, internationally renowned standup comedians, Darren Frost and Kenny Robinson.
Essentially, the seminar will be four hours long.
“The first half of the session will deal with over 50 points covering all facets of standup, ranging from honing your craft, to the business side of comedy,” according to professor Michael Emond.
The second portion will focus on tips on writing material and developing your voice on stage. Clearly, this seminar, though lengthy, is rich in the material that it will cover – none of the seminars this year target the business side of any performance industry, and few aim to aid vocal development on stage.
As aforementioned, Frost and Robinson are successful performers on the Canadian and international standup comedy scenes. Frost has performed in the Just For Laughs Nasty Show and in the Winnipeg Nasty Show, and has also done work in motion pictures (including, Fever Pitch, starring Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon). According to What’s So Funny?, he “doesn’t take a back seat to anyone on the Canadian eccentric comedy front.” Also popular, Robinson has been described by the Winnipeg Free Press as a “one man hurricane; he is a combination debauched, fallen, fire and brimstone preacher, and a ranting social critic.” Among his numerous credits: Winnipeg Comedy Festival, Comedy Now, and CBC Comics.
For those interested in attending the standup comedy seminar, it is crucial to contact Emond (memond@laurentian.ca) immediately. Held at Laurentian University, the session will take place on Sunday, Oct. 6, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; the tickets cost $40.
It is recommended that participants come prepared with some rough work – the best way to learn in this kind of environment is to engage in the activities in a “hands-on” way.
For those unable to participate in the workshop, or for those who simply enjoy standup comedy, Frost and Robinson will be performing at Little Montreal the night prior to the seminar (Saturday, Oct. 5) at 9:00 p.m.