By Sonja Klotz (The Cascade) – Email
If you, like me, think there isn’t very much happening in Abbotsford, then you’re in for a big surprise. Little did I know that I would find a comedy club in one of the most conservative towns in B.C., but sure enough, there it was: Yuk Yuk’s Stand Up Comedy Club.
Yuk Yuk’s, established 40 years ago in Toronto, is part of a flourishing national franchise of clubs across the country featuring professional, amateur, and beginner comics.
Every Wednesday night in Abbotsford, Yuk Yuk’s hosts a “Pro-Am Showcase” that costs $5 instead of the usual $19.05 on weekends. To a university student, that discount is almost impossible to pass up on. These evenings provide an opportunity for emerging or aspiring comics to showcase their material in front of an audience. They are often hosted by local professional comedians, such as Sunny Dhaliwal, with the occasional guest comic. Every showcase ends with a professional headliner as a way to wrap up the entire evening with a big laugh.
So there I was, a broke university student in downtown Abbotsford on Pauline Street, one of many sketchy-bar streets, wanting to enjoy an entertaining night out with some of my friends.
Walking into the club is like walking into a secret cave, hidden away from the public eye. It is dark, with several small round tables all over the room, and a dimly lit bar at the back. As you walk into the lounge, the stage is centred by the wall across from the bar. It is a small, simple-looking black stage.
This past week’s showcase night was different from others I’ve seen in the past few months. Most of the time, the emerging comics are either from the Fraser Valley or Greater Vancouver. This time, however, the majority of them were from Victoria, and it was a full house.
I was laughing, cringing, and at times just simply not impressed.
This is what you get with the Pro-Am Showcase: you get the great, the good, the mediocre, and the bad, all mashed up into two hours of entertainment. Despite some minor hurdles with the slow service itself, I can say that this was the place to be in the middle of my hectic week. Taking a pause on life by enjoying the company I was with, sharing a few drinks, and laughing at some of the most ridiculous comic sketches out there made it possible for me to recharge before diving back into responsibilities and commitments.
