Comedian, facilitator and event producer. I love jokes and how they can help us move through hard stuff.
Sign up for the Cathartic Laughs newsletter for tips on how to joke about the curve balls life throws our way.
How are you? How's your brain and heart coping with the news of late? It's rough. I have found that as news gets more overwhelming, my comedy has become increasingly silly as a way to process and to just take a break.
Perhaps the GOAT of silly stand-up is Chris Fleming, whose new special Live at The Palace is out on Crave/HBO Max. I'm late to finding Chris' comedy but his latest special has absolutely blown up and I have watched it multiple times with the sort of fervent attention I normally reserve for Heated Rivalry.
Chris' commitment to silliness and physical comedy is relentless and captivating. My favourite bit might be of him imitating a millennial hipster guy telling his girlfriend that she shouldn't use soap on the cast iron pan. It hits hard for me as I had a Halifax friend group that was waaaay too dedicated to the preservation of skillets. (Full disclosure: I did also own a Djembe and date someone with a didgeridoo so I was a hipster-millennial annoyance in my own way.)
In a moment where so many of the challenges seem really huge, like how to hold billionaires to account for the breathtaking scope of hurt and destruction they are inflicting, it can be satisfying to see someone fully commit to a beautifully specific bit of mockery. When a good comedian really commits to a bit, you are left with the satiated feeling of, "Well, that topic really has been covered." In an era that constantly feels like being a kid who is not great at swimming, out just past where you can touch the sand at the beach (with no lifeguards thanks to Ken Sims' budget cuts), it's nice to have the sense that something is solid under your feet, that at least this joke was thought through, considered and well executed.
A deep dedication to silly can ironically feel like something stable when the world doesn't make sense.
silliness as craft
To dedicate myself more fully to the practice of silly, I participated in a weekend drag king and clown workshop led by 'Big D' Deanna Fleyscher. There were 18 of us 'guys' learning how to walk, talk and act like men. Turns out you need to move like everything is effortful, drop your voice and prioritize emotions like lust, anger and...actually, mostly just lust and anger.
It was worthwhile to take Mossford L. Putnam, my host character of The Am I The Asshole Game, and consider what kind of man he is. What motivates him and what is he sad about? I love The AITAH Game and playing Mossford because it is all just so playfully idiotic, but this workshop gave me ways to think about how to infuse truthful emotion under all that nonsense.
The workshop was truly hard work, but it was all worthwhile when I would get on stage and Deanna would remark, "Stupid, just so stupid" at my performance. That's when you really know you are nailing it in clown.
Stupid times call for stupid performances I guess?
UPCOMING SHOWS
The Am I The Asshole Game
I'm excited to test out my new drag skills this Friday when Mossford hosts The Am I The Asshole Gamewith an all new lineup including comedian Gina Harms.
This FRIDAY at Little Mountain Gallery!
Gina is described by Vancouver Magazine as “a staple of the Vancouver stand-up scene,” and has spent a decade on the comedy circuit, with appearances at Just For Laughs Vancouver, Comedy Here Often?, and a sold out run of her one-person show ‘Crying In Public’ at the Vancouver Fringe Festival in 2023 & 2025.
She will share a story where she may have been a jerk and you, the audience will judge her with the help of 'experts' or surprise guest characters played by the returning Rae Carson, whose 'Bottom of the Pool' character is a fan-fav. Show regular Carla Mah has constructed another wild character following her performances as Spamela the purple alien intern and Zoltar, the fortune telling machine. We are pleased to welcome Rebecca Wass to the show to showcase one of her many characters who will dish out advice to Gina and help the audience decide if Gina is the A-hole.
Tickets are going, so grab yours (with your newsletter subscriber discount below) and tell a pal about this wonderful show.
👉 Friday April 10th 🕧 Doors: 6:30, Show: 7:00 📍Little Mountain Gallery, 110 Water St. Gastown 🎟️$18.86 (fees included) 🎭Newsletter Online Discount: 50AITAH (not valid at door) 🔗 https://www.showpass.com/the-am-i-the-asshole-game-13/
Who Wants to Be Decolonized?
My funny pal Brenda Prince created and hosts a wonderful new format that was selected to be part of The Weird Little Weekend Festival. I helped her produce it and the first show was a sold out success so she is bringing it back to Little Mountain Gallery!
Who Wants to Be Decolonized? is a satirical Indigenous-themed stand-up comedy game show that parodies Who Wants to Be a Millionaire—except instead of winning money, contestants in the hotseat try to “decolonize” themselves in increasingly funny, uncomfortable, and eye-opening ways. When contestants need help, they reach for lifelines. Will they Ask Aunty? Call Kokum or take their chances by Asking the Audience? What starts out as a game show quickly becomes a roast of colonial history, cultural ignorance, performative allyship, and the myths people were taught in school. The humour is sharp, playful, and rooted in Indigenous perspectives. Brenda is an Anishinaabe comedian and the show promises a night of warm laughter even as we untangle tender subjects. Featuring comedians Jordan Wilson, Walter Tenhaaf and Carson Eastveld.
Grab your tickets now and share with friends! 👉 Wednesday April 15th 🕧 Doors: 7pm, Show: 7:30-8:45pm 📍Little Mountain Gallery, 110 Water St, Gastown - Upstairs 🎟️ Tickets: $18.86 (including all taxes and fees) 🔗 Link: https://www.showpass.com/who-wants-to-be-decolonized-2/
❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ The world is wild, so please keep prioritizing time with people you care about. If it happens to be at a comedy show where you can share a laugh, all the better, but either way, look up from your screen and take stock of what and who is wonderful, silly and worth fighting for around you.
Comedian, facilitator and event producer. I love jokes and how they can help us move through hard stuff.
Sign up for the Cathartic Laughs newsletter for tips on how to joke about the curve balls life throws our way.
Cathartic Laughs Comedy, Events & Workshops by Em Cooper CHECK OUT UPCOMING SHOWS! Photo of Em Cooper by Chelsey Stuyt Spring is coming in Vancouver. With it the slow emergence from hibernation-mode and (hopefully) the integration or implementation of some of the things we've been learning over the winter... CLOWN COLLEGE I took my first full clown workshop recently with Deanna Fleysher. It was amazing. While my partner jokes that I was attending clown college, it felt more like learning how...
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