A comedy show like no other — the Amuse Bouche Variety Show will tickle your funny bone on Friday January 24 at the Atelier Studio in Arts Court.
This show leans heavily on the audience, dictating which performance gets more stage time, and ultimately who wins the opportunity to headline a future show. In an interview with Apt613, Velvet Wells, a Black queer improvisor, singer and comedy producer of Amuse Bouche Variety Show, Ottawa Comedy Cruise Cabaret and All Request Radio, tells us more about this comedy spectacular.
Comedians in the Amuse Bouche Variety Show (TL-BR): Michael Lifshitz, David Haddad, Tina Cruz, Laura-Lee Balkwill, Alex Callahan, Ian Newman, Randolph and Bianca, Zara Rahman, Velvet Wells, Michel Carpentier, and Lily May Vers.
Apt613: Could you describe what the Amuse Bouche Variety Show is?
Velvet Wells: Amuse Bouche Variety is a competitive variety show where comedians entertain the audience in hopes of continued stage time and the potential of headlining future shows. The show takes place in the Atelier Studio of Arts Court (2 Daly Ave.), a mobility-accessible space.
There are three competition rounds:
1. Every performing act will give the audience their amuse bouche – a sampling of their sense of humour.
2. The audience will vote for three competitors to keep entertaining, and then
3. vote again for one of those competitors to get the longer competition set of the evening.
The winner of round three returns to a future show for the headlining spot; this first show has All Request Radio headlining, marking its final show at Arts Court. There are also three non-competing spots for comedians to try new material.
Apt613: Comedy encompasses so many different types of performance — what are some of the range of performances that audiences can expect at this variety show?
VW: Amuse Bouche Variety caters to comedians of all variety – standup, sketch, improvisation and musical; they adhere to the rule that there is No Punch Down humour. Racist, sexist, homophobic and transphobic material is never welcome in this space. For this first show standup comedians came out in droves! The night will be peppered with improvisation as noted below:
January 24 Acts (stand up comedians unless otherwise noted):
Host: Michel Carpentier
Exhibition Comedians: Zara Rahman, Ian Newman, and Velvet Wells (puppet improv)
Competing Comedians: Laura-Lee Balkwil, Alex Callahan, Tina Cruz, David Haddad, Michael Lifshitz, and Randolph and Bianca (relationship improv)
Headliner: All Request Radio featuring Lily May Vers (musical improv)
Apt613: I understand one of the unique things about this show is that artists perform their material for the audience’s affection to potentially headline a future show. How does this impact the type of audience interaction that is often present during comedy or variety shows?
VW: Live comedy is a feedback loop from the stage to the audience and back again. Since people who attend live comedy shows are invested in having a good time, giving them a say in the outcome means the show is going to be stronger overall. Performers thrive from that feedback, even the trial-by-fire missteps that lead them to be voted out of the competition.
Apt613: What do you hope that audiences take away from this show when they come to see it?
VW: I hope audiences fall in love with the live comedy experience, with the new-to-them performers and that they check out more comedy, especially the styles they might not have considered before
Apt613: Anything you’d like to add / something I might have missed?
VW: Ticket prices are discounted to $5 (instead of the usual $15) because this first show is in January, the unofficial month of Stay Home And Catch Up on Podcasts. Tickets available through Ticket Tailor.
Like Small Fish and a few other COVID-Safer shows around Ottawa, it’s a mask-mandatory environment for the audience and performers.
The two hour show starts at 7:30pm, doors open at 7pm.
