Amateur comedians perform alongside professionals at Absolute Comedy on Wednesday nights.
On Wednesday nights, Absolute Comedy on Preston Street is packed, and with good reason.
“It’s the best club probably in Canada. Period. Hands down,” says Martha O’Neill, a professional comic who performed at Absolute Comedy’s Oct. 20 Pro-Am Night.
On Pro-Am night, the Centretown club is regularly sold out and most weeks they’re just about fully reserved by Tuesday afternoon, he says.
By Wednesday night they’re turning people away.
Amateur night at Absolute Comedy is a big draw for amateur comedians such as Danny Freedman, who lives in Toronto and makes the drive to Ottawa one Wednesday a month.
The audience this particular Wednesday is a mix of ages, from students to much older couples.
As the night progresses, most of the comedians have the crowd roaring with laughter. But not every act goes over smoothly.
There are moments of awkwardness when an amateur comedian’s joke flops which leaves the audience squirming in their seats, but the atmosphere is quick to improve with the next laugh.
The enthusiasm of the crowd is part of what keeps comedians coming back but the audience has many reasons to enjoy the evening as well.
Stephanie Donaldson, a regular Wednesday night attendee, says the low price is an added bonus to amateur night.
“You can’t do anything for six dollars in Ottawa so it’s pretty awesome.”
She comes out to the comedy club for an inexpensive evening but says she also enjoys the professional comedians who are part of the set.
The professionals keep coming back to Absolute Comedy. O’Neill says it’s just a great place to perform.
While she enjoys performing in Ottawa, O’Neill is constantly travelling from her home in Toronto.
It’s necessary to travel in order to survive as a professional comedian, O’Neill says.
“You’ve got to travel to make money. You can’t stay in any city – be it New York or Toronto – and make a living.”
Matt Watson, an Ottawa comic, is well aware that travel is part of the job. "If you're going to make a half-living doing this you're doing a lot of travelling for sure." says Watson.
The Ottawa comedy scene expanded in 2004 when owner Jason Laurans opened Absolute Comedy, and he says the format of Pro-Am Night is a large part of its success.
The key is to have a limited number of amateurs and some professionals performing in order for the night to go well, he says.
The amateurs call in the first Tuesday of the month to book a Wednesday for the following month, and they usually have more comics calling in than they have spots to fill.All they ask, he says, is that the comedians pay attention to their allotted six and a half minute time slots.
Aside from the time limits, Laurans also has a high standard for the talent that performs at his club.
In turn, the crowds, who “just want to laugh and love to laugh,” keep the comedians happy, says Simon Seline, the club’s head doorman.
The way performers like Danny Freedman rave about the benefits of Absolute Comedy proves that is indeed the case.
“No club in Canada and possibly in all of North America compares to Absolute Comedy in Ottawa.”