Keeping in line with social distancing practices, this Whose House interview was done remotely. Angie St. Mars was gracious enough to send her own pictures for this article.

Four years ago, Angie St. Mars decided to take the chance to try standup comedy, and she never stopped.

“It’s interesting, because I never would’ve thought of becoming a standup comedian,” she says. “It wasn’t something I really consumed.”

Prior to comedy, St. Mars studied playwriting. She was interested in writing funny plays in addition to cracking jokes and telling funny stories to her family and friends.

“I love making people laugh,” she says. “I love cracking a joke and watching someone's face (as they) start laughing.”

St. Mars gravitates toward humour that’s based on her own personal life experiences.

“I have a lot of jokes about my experience of the world, like myself, my family,” she says. “I definitely think I have some feminist jokes – jokes as a feminist, not necessarily about feminists.”

Her standup routines also feature storytelling comedy.

“It can be hard to work out storytelling comedy at open mics, because you sometimes only get three minutes, and you can’t tell a story in that time.”

Despite the challenge, St. Mars loves writing new stories for her shows. When reflecting on her growth as a comedian and the material she uses, she can definitely spot the difference.

“Sometimes, I’ll look back on a joke that I wrote near the beginning of my time and think ‘oh man, I don’t think I quite do that anymore.’”

Even then, because St. Mars is still rather new to comedy, she feels like she’s “always getting better.”

In hindsight, St. Mars only wishes she’d known about standup comedy sooner.

1) Awesome sketch

“My partner, Jesse Bercier, is the most amazing, hilarious artman. I love his work. I have them up all over. This is one of my favorites. It’s from a dearly beloved Kids in the Hall sketch.”

2) Cute working space

“This is my office, a.k.a. the dining room. It’s where I do my most haunting work. The chair is taken from my mom's dining room set.”

3) Stunning butterfly

“Stained glass by my grandpa.”

4) Wise words

“I have this hanging in my room, so I see it every morning. It’s a good reminder.”

5) A clean green spot
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“This is my little motley crew of plants. It’s my favourite space in the house.”

Published in Volume 74, Number 24 of The Uniter (April 2, 2020)