Montreal Sketchfest dispatch # 3 (Sketch Republic, Okie Dokie, Beans on Toast)

Read Xavier’s previous reviews from Montreal Sketchfest here and here.

There was a very patriotic feel on Tuesday night as our very own Prime Minister arrived at Theatre St Catherine as the host of the special across-the-border edition of Sketch Republic during the Montreal Sketchfest. Taking advantage of his strong resemblance to our PM (which I’m sure he must get all the time) Danny Belair took the time to shake hands with the crowd, but not before his security detail could pat them down first. Introducing the five acts of the night, Trudeau was joined by Barry O’Bammers, zealously played (as per usual) by Chris Sandiford.

Okie Dokie, Sketch Republic regulars Lise Vigneault & Jacob Greco, got the laugh ball rolling to a good start with quick, short, cut-at-the-punchline sketches about the absurdity already inherent in everyday stuff: burning one’s mouth no matter how hard you blow into one’s hot beverage, or what if scenarios that question if the hallways scene in The Shining would still be scary if one of the creepy twins was late to the party, and Jacob Greco’s notorious rant about spoiler alerts — spoiler alert: Okie Dokie’s hilarious.

Clench! Few know about them, as if they were summoned from the improv netherworld through an invocation to write & perform sketches.They start out each time with well-grounded scenes until you slowly realize that the humorous moments do not come from a very sane place. Also, genius use of the projector screen to either help establish the scene, or to help move it along. For newbies, their on-stage presence as best friends is apparent, and I can’t wait to see what comes next from them.

Infallible Disney prince get a Reservoir Dogs treatment; judge’s self-judging becomes all too contagious for those around her; what if there was a password recovery procedure if you’ve made many attempts without success to get into the most secret club?

Four local circuit standup comedians give up their individualities and become supportive cast members as Beans On Toast. Is it a metaphor for their collective drivel that fall off of the edge of the toast? Is the toast white, or whole grain? (Puts down joint.) They get real meta during an improv character workshop in which some lack any imagination: a back end developer character thought up by a front end developer; they take on a musical production I’d prop down a wad of cash to see: Seven the Musical, a la Hamilton. An informercial pleading support for dogs to be baptized so that all of them may go to heaven (get it?), V.O. of course by Sarah McLachlan.

We’re very lucky that MTL is a hub for all things comedy. Not only are we frequently visited by NY acts, we sometimes get a glimpse of what’s beyond that. Case in point, Philly-famous duo The Incredible Shrinking Matt & Jacquie show us their impressive chops, and as many outfits as one can fit into a traveling backpack to start each scene. Often, honesty and depicting the world from an unusual perspective is the most funny to me, as when two dogs visiting the vet share a moment by slowly discovering why their owners were exceptionally nice to them that day. And when some things cannot be easily conveyed by exposition by two people on the stage, they present it as an crudely drawn but effective animated short.

Sehar & Vance from the Montreal Improv Theatre pair up as Big Mall, bringing us awkward moments and taking us out of this uncomfortable feeling with a huge punchline. Vance as a misogynist hack open mic comedian is quite the stretch, as I know him as one of the sweetest most constructive performers out there. It’s OK to portray the dickhead, as long as they lose big time in the end; Sehar’s character, who merged her feminist open mic spoken word night with the testosterone-fueled “laugh cave”, finally helps him see the light. I sat and watched them share some brilliant stuff that night, like the college spelling bee type competition where Sehar has to think of a brilliant comeback to an insult first spoken by a diss-master 15 year old. Looking forward to seeing this on-stage partnership continue.

This is a report from early in the days of the Montreal Sketchfest, and there’s lots more acts to witness and not to miss. Not that the female presence is lacking throughout the fest, but Sketchfest has put on an all-women showcase, including one of the longest running improv/sketch troupes, GROSS! (I luuuurv dem) on Thursday.

Try to catch as much sketch on Friday night as acts from every show looks insane at TSC!: HUNKS (Winnipeg), Dame Judy Dench (TO); Math, Science & The Humanities (NYC — saw them last year, cannot miss!! )

Also of note is the buzz surrounding the whereabouts & mystery of Comedy Church (137 President Kennedy, side red door, metro Place-des-Arts). I suspect it’s the side door to that red-roofed church. Very exciting to get another comedy club (and comedy is my one true religion) as the only mentionables in anglo-land are inside of a weird ass mall/former hockey arena, and another is walk-in-closet sized at the far end of a bigger bar, like an after-thought. Be sure to check out all that’s going on at Comedy Church this friday: Bridge & Tunnel (NYC), my faves from last year’s Sketchfest; ladies & gentlemen, The Flirty Boys (TO).

And the fest ends on Saturday with a raucous bang, as the Best of the Fest are announced, and the night culminates in a mega dance-party at Theatre St. Catherine!!! FREE!!!

Montreal Sketchfest runs through May 14. For the complete schedule and tickets, visit montrealsketchfest.com. You can follow Xavier on Twitter.