September 7, 2014
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CANADALAND
#47 Comedy Is A Joke
Canadians can be funny, but can funny Canadians make a living? Comedian Rebecca Kohler on the state of stand-up.

Episode Rundown

02:26 “My Job is full of greatness, excitement and fulfillment and also horrifying difficulties, irritation and self searching.” Kohler

07:45 “Theres a host, a middle and headliner. So a host’s pay for a baby host would maybe be $50. Hosts make $50-$150 which is a cap for hosts. Middle, the cap is $125, and headliner-  if you were a triple A, super seasoned, excellent comedian, I think it’s $350 a show.” Kohler

12:42 No love for Ricky Gervais in the comedy world. (link)

15:00 “The wonderful thing about a comedian is they can always work, they can always go on the road” George Shapiro, as remembered by Jesse. Shapiro here talks about casting Seinfeld (link)

15:12 “That’s the most pragmatic and practical way to think about a comedian. We know a trade…We can walk in a room and theoretically make the whole room laugh.” Kohler

15:59 Rebecca’s writing credits (link) and some of her articles (link) (link)

17:48 “Canadians barely watch Canadian television.” Kohler

19:12 “Theres nothing here that has been respectable.” Kohler

19:28 “I think the Jon Dore Show is the best Canadian TV show that was made in the past, kinda ever. Since Kenny vs Spenny.” Kohler

20:09 “… you would kill (At Just For Laugh’s ‘New Faces’ show) and get a sitcom- that’s the way it worked. It does not work that way at all anymore. Maybe what you’ll get is management or an agent or US representation. Thats what any Canadian would be hoping for.” Kohler

21:43 “You mean we don’t do it for the money, we do it for the exposure? Is that your question?” Kohler

“Yeah.” Jesse

“We do it for both.” Kohler

22:12 “If you have a job you suck on it like a leech to a bloody piece of skin.” Kohler

23:19 “Corporate gigs are how you make your money. Corporate gigs to me are Buckley’s cough syrup, I don’t enjoy them.” Kohler

23:39 “I can do a corporate set and I have but you know you get there and they’re like ‘remember, it’s clean clean clean’.” Kohler

26:38 Here some funny tweets by Megan Amram (link)

28:00 “It always seemed strange to me…there’s this craft of stand-up. It’s eons old. And if you do it really really well, you get to be on a sitcom that’s usually ass.” Jesse

29:25 “Is there a place where a bunch of cranky comedians are saying ‘this is how we would run it?” Jesse

29:35 “I think there’s a struggle with the people who run these networks. (Comedy Network) They’re often not comedians, they’re usually not comedians…I think Canadians in television are risk averse.” Kohler

33:55 This is That can be funny (link)

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