Ian Jackson

The Search For Irrelevance | DFunny folks: Peter Brown, Mark Meer, Jana O’Connor and Donovan Workun.

The Irrelevant Show Contest
Send your sketch suggestions to  mweber@see.greatwest.ca by Jan. 31

Peter Brown knows funny. You can regularly hear him as host of CBC Edmonton’s radio drive-home show, Radio Active, but a few years ago, Brown and his compatriot in comedy, Paul Mather (whose writing credits include Corner Gas, Rick Mercer and Little Mosque on the Prairie, to name a few), kicked around the idea of a sketch comedy show about nothing.  Think it’s been done before? Well, not this show. And not on CBC Radio. “When Paul Mather and I started the show a few years back, it seemed like the only kind of comedy CBC was doing was political stuff,” says Brown. “Topical humour in one form or another.A lot of it was really good, but there was a whole world of comedy that no one was doing.”

Thus The Irrelevant Show was born. Produced by Brown and other Edmonton comedy talents, over the years it has broadcast our city’s finest comedic voices to a national audience. And this year, performers Mark Meer, Donovan Workun, Jana O’Connor, Marianne Copithorne, Neil Grahn and Leona Brausen join writers including the guys from Mostly Water Theatre, Dana Anderson, Amy Neufeld and some favourite out-of-towners (like Toronto’s Kurt Smeaton and Nile Seguin) to create sketch comedy gold.

And how would you like to join their ranks and help them create said sketch comedy gold?  Brown is offering an exciting opportunity, exclusively for SEE readers: “You suggest an idea that you think would make a funny sketch, or just something you’d like to see us take on,” says Brown. “Superman becomes an accountant. It can be that simple. We’ll pick a winner, we’ll turn it into a sketch, and the person who sent in the suggestion will get four tickets to one of our tapings, a signed script from the writers and cast, and a CD copy of the sketch. If you finish second or third, we’ll give you some show tickets as well. And these babies are selling out!!”

Why SEE readers?  “They’re smart. They’re good-looking. They’re in tune with the zeitgeist,” says Brown. “They probably know what zeitgeist means. I figure SEE’s readers can come up with a funny suggestion for the iPhone or Twilight or something like that.”

Comedy gold indeed.

Some Sketch Comedy Tips:
Peter Brown says: “A really good thing to draw on is stuff from daily life that’s frustrating or gets under your skin.  Once I remember saying in a writers’ meeting that I hate it when people tell me to calm down when I’m not upset — that turned into Hypertensive Hostage Negotiator, a cop show where all Donovan did was shout at people to calm down.  Take what’s crappy and find a way to pretend it’s awesome.”

“High stakes are so important,” says Neil Grahn (a former Dead Troll in a Baggie).  “Write life and death circumstances. But also, it sounds cliche, write what you know. Just add seriously high stakes.”

Atomic Improv’s Donovan Workun agrees. And as a professional improviser, he loves what comes up when you just riff on a subject. “The funniest stuff comes out that way,” he says.  “And it helps if you’re drunk.”

Oh Susanna’s Mark Meer says, “Working together in a group makes everything funnier than when you’re thinking about it by yourself.”

Actor and director Marianne Copithorne is a little more to the point. “Good writing,” she says. “When the character is clearly written, it’s much easier to interpret.”

No pressure.

A Few Character Ideas:
“Anything with the remotest whiff of geekiness,” says Meer. “My dream character is Darth Vader.”

“I’m always playing the dumb, emotional guy,” says Workun. “So maybe playing somebody smart for a change would be awesome. Oh, and I’d love to play a beautiful princess.”

“Characters that are seemingly stupid, but not,” says Grahn. “Like the metalhead from Red Deer who’s actually a genius.”

“I like characters that are a bit strange and unpredictable — the challenge becomes super exciting,” says Copithorne. “Sometimes a character that is written for a male actor gets assigned to me to play as a woman, and the results of that can be pretty amusing too.”

And from Jana O’Connor: “I love playing quirky little weirdos, sassy sass-pots and gals who aren’t the brightest bulbs in the chandelier.”

Do you have an idea for The Irrelevant Show? Email it to us at mweber@see.greatwest.ca. Be sure to include your name and phone number. The contest deadline is Jan. 31. The winner will be announced in the Feb. 4 issue of SEE Magazine.