April Fool’s Comedy at Creemore Springs Brewery
McLarty hosts comedy night
Although fairly new to the stand-up comedy scene, Steph McLarty is doing her part to share the laughter.
McLarty has been working on her material, appearing at the Comedy Bar in Toronto and Black Bellows in Collingwood, and loves that there is an appetite for comedy in the region. With beer and comedy pairing nicely, she has helped pull together an April Fool’s Comedy event at Creemore Springs Brewery, where she works in brand marketing.
“It’s really awesome to see comedy in this area,” she said. “Creemore, obviously, is my second home and my stomping ground, so we wanted to try to get some comedy to Creemoreites.”
When Creemore Springs sponsored a 2019 event with Firecracker Department, an international community of artistic women and non-binary folks, empowering each other to take creative action by building platforms for their voices and stories, McLarty met Naomi Snieckus, of Mr. D fame, to whom she confessed that she’d always wanted to take a course at Second City.
“Do it!,” was Snieckus’ advice.
“And so I did,” said McLarty.
As the pandemic settled in, she proceeded to take online courses, first in improv and then writing for stand-up.
“With writing comes performing,” said McLarty, “Immediately I was like, uh-oh I don’t really want to get up in front of people.”
She realized she would have to perform her material in order to learn what works and what doesn’t, only to re-write and perform it again.
“It’s a pretty interesting art form that really resonated with me, and the pandemic gave me the opportunity and the access to it.”
McLarty said she is still figuring out her style but she finds inspiration in her everyday life as a working woman with children.
“It’s really just about having a good laugh together,” she said. “As I navigate my way through this world, it is about finding my voice.” McLarty will be acting as host at the April 1 comedy night in Creemore, with guests from Boonies Comedy, under the direction of Collingwood comic Daniel Shaw, who will also be on the bill with Jesse Ralph and headliner Lianne Mauladin. Tickets cost $25 and are available at www.eventbrite.com. Search April Fool’s Comedy at Creemore Springs Brewery.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. sharp. Creemore Springs Brewery is located at 139 Mill St., Creemore.
The Comedians:
The very Canadian Lianne Mauladin is known for her comfortable, straight shooting style of comedy and unique perspective on life.
She’s performed live on ABC’s The View and her comedy has been on ABC, Bite TV, iChannel, Sirius XM, CBC and Rogers TV.
Her festival appearances include, the Hubcap Comedy Festival in Moncton NB, LOL Comedy festival in Sudbury, the Frigid Festival in NYC, the Out of Bounds Festival in Austin, Texas, the Women in Comedy Festival in Boston, NXNE in Toronto, and the SheDot Comedy Festival in Toronto.
In 2021 she released her first album Late for the Party, produced by Cottage Comedy Digital. Mauladin hosts and produces the monthly Merry-Janes of Comedy Show, the longest running all female stand-up showcase in Canada, performing in clubs, halls and theatres around Ontario, including a regular spot and Bare Oaks Family Naturist Resort.
Lianne has further developed her stand-up through classes and workshops at Second City, Boston’s Improv Asylum and at the Comedy Bar in Toronto. She is a faculty member at the Second City Training Centre in Toronto. She creates a comic strip for The Bloordale, and the Queen West neighbourhood magazines.
Jesse Ralph has performed at The Laugh Factory in LA, The House of Comedy in BC and a gas station in Northern Ontario. In 2023, he performed at Just For Laughs Toronto as part of Mike Rita’s 420 Show. Jesse has roasted the morning show on 102.1 The Edge and the hosts of SiriusXM NHL Radio.
Collingwood local and stand-up comedian Daniel Shaw has been performing across Canada for the better part of a decade. From comedy clubs to theatres, and festivals, Daniel’s disarmingly absurd views on life and parenting has kept audiences laughing and slightly concerned. He has shared the stage with many of Canada’s greatest comedians such as Kenny vs Spenny, Scott Thompson, Rick Mercer, and K Trevor Wilson, and now it is time for him to blossom and find his own path, or at least a way to escape his toddler for an evening.
