Google “Winnipeg comedy clubs” and you’ll get one result: Rumor’s Restaurant and Comedy Club.

That’s not a bad thing.

Ask any touring comic who’s performed in the ‘Peg and they’ll tell you Rumor’s is one of the best - if not the best - comedy rooms in Canada.

Still, a single club doesn’t exactly scream, “Thriving local comedy scene.”

And yet, Winnipeg’s scene is thriving.

With the help of some willing establishments like the Rose n’ Bee Pub, the Cheer Bar & Grill, the King’s Head Pub and Times Change(d) High and Lonesome Club, Winnipeg’s stand-up comedians have taken it upon themselves to get their humour heard.

“I think Winnipeg’s comedy scene is underrated because people think there’s not as many shows to do here, but our advantage is the few shows we have are really good ones,” says Mike Green, 25, a local comic and host of Comedy at the Rose n’ Bee, a weekly open mic night. 

“I went to Toronto and saw some of their scene. There, a comic can do five shows a night, but four of those shows are absolute write-offs with just other comics in the crowd. Here, there’s actually a real audience that can give you a gauge on your material.

“Also, I think we have as many top tier comics as bigger cities. Actually, per capita, we might even be higher. Other cities may have a couple hundred guys trying comedy, but there are really only 10 to 20 top tier stand-ups. I think we have that many good guys in our city alone, guys that can get called to do paid shows and deliver.”

Not only can a good number of Winnipeg comics deliver, they’re delivering in different ways.

There’s Matt Nightingale, who crafts intelligent, drawn-out bits, with observations that are almost Brian Regan or Jerry Seinfeld-esque.

John B. Duff, who runs shows at the Cheer and the King’s Head, tells tales of his three bouts with cancer.

Then there’s aboriginal comic Paul Rabliauskas, who is a big ball of energy - think Chris Rock, but First Nations.

And with her Nigerian heritage, Aisha Alfa provides a different cultural perspective, and a female perspective, something every stand-up comedy scene could always use more of.

“The uniqueness of everyone’s act is something that stands (out) for me,” says Ryan Ash, 28, a regular host at Rumor’s and a staple on the local comedy circuit.

“In a lot of scenes you’ll see four guys doing Mitch Hedberg or four guys doing Aziz Ansari. They write together so they all kind of sound like one another. Here, it seems like people have different approaches. It doesn’t seem like anyone is trying to sound like someone else or subconsciously slipping into that trap.”

The other trap stand-up comedians can fall into is the fiercely competitive nature of the comedic style.

Yet, despite the fact that there’s a limited number of showcase and paid opportunities in Winnipeg, there’s little animosity within the scene.

“I’d say for the most part it’s camaraderie,” Green says. “There are lots of guys that I enjoy writing with and I think for the most part, the comics respect each other. Obviously you have to think you’re the best if you want to be doing it and going hard at it, but we’re aware that on any given night, any one of us can be the one that stands out.”

One possible reason for the lack of in-fighting may be the fact that many of the comics started at roughly the same time, with two to four years of stage time under their belts.

Ash, originally from Edmonton, started doing stand-up six years ago, but sees that correlation.

“I think that everybody got to grow together and learn together. It’s almost like part comedy, part class,” Ash says. 

That comedic camaraderie goes beyond stand-up.

For instance, at Comedy Loser, a monthly alternative comedy event at the King’s Head, stand-up is not allowed, but you will see stand-ups finding other ways to make people laugh.

“One thing that’s interesting that doesn’t happen quite as much in other markets is the intersection of comedy genres,” says Al Rae, a veteran Winnipeg comic and artistic director of the Winnipeg Comedy Festival. 

“For instance, you can see Lee White and Stephen Sim from (local improv duo) Crumbs doing stand-up and you’ll also see Crumbs doing improv on a show with stand-ups. Because it’s a smaller community there is some degree of cross-pollination between the comedy genres that you wouldn’t necessarily see in other cities. Sketch comics and stand-ups don’t tend to mix that much.”

While there are a variety of venues for stand-ups to perform in, every Winnipeg comedian’s goal, at least locally, is still Rumor’s.

It’s the epicentre of Winnipeg’s comedy scene.

In fact, the scene started because and in spite of the city’s only comedy club.

While running a great room, Rumor’s former owner, the late Ross Rumberg, wasn’t especially interested in developing local talent.

However, Tyler Schultz, Rumor’s current general manager, is.

In addition to the annual Winnipeg’s Funniest Person with a Day Job contest and monthly amateur nights, he offers guest spots to deserving local comics, and his host roster is more in touch with the local scene than previous rosters. 

“Before I took over for Ross, the hosts weren’t allowed to go up anywhere else,” Schultz says. “There were some pretty strict restrictions on what they could do. I just had a different philosophy. I encourage the hosts to do the open mics and other shows, try out new material and when it’s polished, come back and use it at the club.”

Green, who won the Rumor’s 2009 Funniest Person contest, is grateful for the club’s contribution to the scene.

“Rumor’s provides a benchmark, a goal,” Green says. “It not only inspires guys to continue doing stand-up, but once they get in there and get the hang of it, it gives them a chance to work on their material in front of the primo crowd.”

For an in-depth look into the Winnipeg comedy scene, check out Sign Up & Stand Up, a new documentary by local filmmaker Tyson Caron. Now airing on MTS TV’s Stories From Home (formerly Winnipeg On Demand), the film follows four Winnipeg comics as they wade their way through the scene and the comedic craft. See a trailer at www.tinyurl.com/SUSUtrailer.

Published in Volume 67, Number 17 of The Uniter (January 23, 2013)