Who are the funniest people in Canada?
The 16th annual Canadian Comedy Awards nominees were announced this morning, and Corner Gas the Movie leads with eight nominations, the web series Space Riders Division Earth got seven nominations and This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Mr. D and Bill And Sons Towing came away with four each.
Ive gone on record before saying there are way too many categories. I stand by that. Film and TV have other ways to recognize excellence.
Not so stand-up, improv and sketch. And I especially like the breakout artist of the year, whose nominees this year are each deserving (and have been performing for, like, years): Allana Reoch, D.J. Demers, Aisha Alfa, Rob Norman and K. Trevor Wilson.
Wilsons also in the running for best male stand up, along with frequent CCA winner Ron Sparks, Jeff McEnery, Rob Pue and David Pryde.
The best female stand up category is one of the most diverse in recent years. It includes Steph Tolev, Julia Hladkowicz, Keesha Brownie, Zabrina Chevannes and Julie Kim.
Best sketch troupe noms include the Second City cast behind Rebel Without A Cosmos, Get Some, Peter N Chris, Uncalled For and Tony Ho. Each group deserves it.
And best improv troupe nods go to K$M, Die Nasty: The Live Improvised Soap Opera, the Sufferettes, the Sunday Service and Bonspiel! Theatre.
New this year, the best male and female improviser nominees are eligible for the $1,000 Pat And Tony Adams Prize.
The nominated guys are Rob Norman, Isaac Kessler, Mark Meer, Taz VanRassel and Kris Siddiqi, and the women are Becky Johnson, Hayley Kellett, Kirsten Rasmussen, Ashley Botting, Diana Frances and Sarah Hillier.
I’d hate to be on those juries. Tough call.
With the Fringe coming up, its worth pointing out three nominees starring in Fringe shows: female stand up nom Zabrina Chevannes is in A Nurse’s Worst Nightmare, while Sam Mullins (nominated for a CCA in the One Person Show category) is in The Untitled Sam Mullins Project. And don’t forget Fringe mainstays Peter N’ Chris, starring in Here Lies Chris.
For a full list of nominees and for voting rules see canadiancomedy.ca. The awards are presented September 13 at the Bram and Bluma Appel Salon.
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