More ‘laffs’ coming your way as Yuk Yuks Ottawa expands

 If you’ve ever watched Norm Macdonald on SNL, taken in a Tom Green movie or standup special, or laughed out loud at Mike MacDonald’s hilarious standup, you best thank Yuk-Yuks Ottawa. Very few places in Canada have impacted Canadian and international standup comedy as much as Yuk Yuks Ottawa. For

Who knew it was so easy to laugh in Ottawa?

 ABOVE: (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) Mark Breslin with Howard and Tammy Wagman; Mike MacDonald with Howard Wagman and Mike Wilmot; Russell Peters, Howard Wagman, Dave Martin, Derek Supple and Dean; Mitch Muirhead and Howard Wagman; A young Howard Wagman; Jason Rouse, Dave Martin, Bill MacInstosh, Howard Wagman, and Jon Dore. Whether it’s

Capital Comedy Review —The drive-in experience and BCP is back

 The relativativity of the perception of time is interesting to me. Like how summers when you were a kid seemed to last a lifetime, but as an adult two months can just fly by. I’m feeling this phenomenon when I consider the last time we had Derek Seguin on the

Capital Comedy Review: The drive-in experience and BCP is back

 The relativativity of the perception of time is interesting to me. Like how summers when you were a kid seemed to last a lifetime, but as an adult two months can just fly by. I’m feeling this phenomenon when I consider the last time we had Derek Seguin on the

Spotlight on stand-up comedian He Fangzhou

 He Fangzhou is introduced by the MC at Ottawa Yuk Yuks Club. It’s a Wednesday night and he is one of the weekend acts appearing from Thursday to Saturday at the popular downtown club.  Fangzhou arrived in town earlier in the day and has happily agreed to do a short

Tragedy plus time equals comedy

 I looked around at the roughly one hundred people gathered in the cool, dark basement, with excitement as my favourite show was about to begin. A Spotify playlist provides the background music until the sound channel switches to the intro CD starting with Gob’s Paint it Black. As the beat

Celebrate Canadian Comedians with Yuk Yuks’ Mike MacDonald Comedy Competition

 Yuk Yuk’s, a comedy club located in Ottawa, is hosting their annual Mike MacDonald Comedy Competition from July 2 - August 28 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The winner will be crowned as ‘Technically Funny’ and will win the grand prize of $1000 dollars! The competition is open to both professional and

Mike MacDonald: Canadian Comic Legend and a Damn Fine Fellow

 In 1986, I tried out new talent night at Ottawa’s Yuk Yuks. That first time on stage I cracked it so club owner Howard (Howie) Wagman asked me to come out again. A week later, I did and I bombed — like really bombed in front of over 230 people.

LIVERight Fundraising Gala Brings Ottawa Together To Beat The Odds

 Here’s a statistic for you: if you’re the gambling type who likes to pick your six possible winning numbers in a pool of 49 choices you actually chance of claiming the big jackpot is a 1 in nearly 14 million shot. Probably thinking of slipping your hard-earned cash back into

Mike MacDonald – Ailing Comedian Raises Awareness of Importance of Testing for Hep C

 For a 57-year-old Ottawa comic in need of a new liver, Mike MacDonald is in a good space these days. Comedians from coast-to-coast are holding fundraisers for Canada’s legendary King of Stand-up Comedy, raising money to help MacDonald pay his medical bills as he battles the Hepatitis C virus that he contracted

Letter from the Publisher

 Twelve years ago when we started the first Annual Top People in the Capital issue, JDS Uniphase CEO Jozef Straus was our number one pick. Remember him? Do you even remember JDS Uniphase – the Halley’s Comet of Ottawa high-tech companies? Other picks in 2000 included then Prime Minister Jean Chrétien