The festival runs March 4 to 16. Ticket details are here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Without consulting your festival blurb, can you describe your SketchFest show?<\/p>\n Jon Blair: It\u2019s half sketch show, half play. It\u2019s a play about a sketch show, and it takes place in a Mad Max-style, post-apocalyptic world. It\u2019s about a former TV comedian still trying to pursue a career in comedy after the world has ended, and still trying, maybe a little naively, to change and fix the world through his art. It\u2019s a bit about the function of comedy and what it\u2019s for and what it can and can\u2019t do for us, and what we should and should not expect from it.<\/p>\n Cam Wyllie: Mine is little bit more of a traditional sketch comedy show. It\u2019s a collection of my favourite new works over the last year, featuring a parade of broken men and women just trying to do their best and get by in a world that is seemingly designed to break people down and hold them back. At its core, it\u2019s about optimism, but outwardly it\u2019s just stupid jokes. I like to think of it as a Trojan horse: I bring these jokes into your brain, and at the end of the show, hopefully, you\u2019re like, \u201cOh, why am I feeling so empathetic?\u201d <\/p>\n Emily Jeffers: My show is a solo character comedy \u2014 more like a clown show, but we don\u2019t need to get into specifics about the form. It\u2019s about a sort of Renaissance scholar\/genius who is trying to teach people math because he realizes there\u2019s a knowledge gap in terms of what people know and what can be understood. He tries to teach people math, but then the audience kind of discovers that he\u2019s not really great at math himself. The show leads the audience through a half hour lesson of sorts about math. But it\u2019s very, very silly.<\/p>\n Why solo sketch? Is it just easier because you don\u2019t have to adhere to other people\u2019s schedules? <\/p>\n Blair: That\u2019s a big part of it. My solo sketch was borne of necessity. I was in a TV writer\u2019s room on the East Coast, and everyone else was a stand-up. On weekends, they\u2019d go to Yuk\u2019s or The Carleton and do time onstage, and I was the only one who couldn\u2019t. So I started thinking about a bunch of the sketches I had written for The Sketchersons<\/a> over the years, and figuring out how I could pare them down to monologues. <\/p>\n Being able to take your show anywhere \u2014 the portability of it and the ease of scheduling \u2014 is definitely a bonus.<\/p>\n Wyllie: Jon used the word \u201cnecessity,\u201d and that really resonates with me. I started doing solo performance coming out of COVID-19 lockdown. The landscape had changed so much, and my old partnerships didn\u2019t make as much sense. So the question was, \u201cWhat can I do that\u2019s within my control?\u201d And I thought, oh, of course, I can do a show that\u2019s just me \u2014 because I am already me.<\/p>\n Jeffers: There\u2019s a creative freedom in working by yourself. You get to explore all your own little interests, idiosyncrasies and weirdnesses. When you take that risk, you carry the load and responsibility. But you also get to bask in the glory when it works.<\/p>\n So for me it\u2019s been partly to develop my own voice, but also the circumstances of the pandemic. I started training in clown a few years before the pandemic, and then going through it, when we were all trying to figure out our own ways of doing it, it became easier to work by myself and do solo stuff.<\/p>\n Do you work with directors \u2014 or someone to give you that \u201coutside eye\u201d?<\/p>\n Blair: I don\u2019t work with a director, but that would be a great next thing for me to do. Generally, I annoy partners and friends with my proto-ideas, and say, \u201cHey, I\u2019m working on something,\u201d and give them the idea. If it makes them laugh, or at the very least makes them not go, \u201cThat\u2019s terrible,\u201d then fine. A lot of the time I feel, \u201cWell, I guess we\u2019ll see what this is like once it\u2019s onstage.\u201d Now I\u2019m working on Monster Island<\/a>, which is a solo character showcase, and that\u2019s kind of the show\u2019s ethos. Maybe it\u2019s not always great to have the audience be the very first arbiter of whether something you\u2019re working on has merit. But, like Emily said, it\u2019s nice when it works well.<\/p>\n Jeffers: From a clown perspective, that is absolutely how you see if something works or not: you toss it to the audience, you try it onstage. If it doesn\u2019t work, you have to survive it and figure out maybe why, or finesse it in some way. Just discover your pleasure in that moment. <\/p>\n When I was developing my first Bitty-Bat show for Toronto SketchFest in 2023, I worked with Isaac Kessler, and we worked trying to discover who and what the character was. He was like a coach more than anything. For my second Bitty-Bat show, which is the one that toured, I worked mainly alone, with some help from Allan Turner in dealing with plot and storyline. For The Mathemagician, my outside eye was Hana Holubec, who\u2019s a brilliant comedian and actor. It was really nice to get some of her feedback on some of the bits I was working on.<\/p>\n Sign up for So Sumi<\/p>\n Reviews, interviews and features about Toronto’s performing arts scene by Glenn Sumi<\/p>\n No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.<\/p>\n Wyllie: I think working with a director is important. I tell every artist that I work with, solo or ensemble, that it\u2019s a worthwhile investment. I worked with a couple of directors once or twice until I found the person who just made the most sense to me: Johnny McNamara Walker. He\u2019s been just a delightful fit for what I do. \u201cDirector\u201d doesn\u2019t always feel like the right descriptor. He really feels like a creative partner. I love that I can come and sit him down and perform a show that\u2019s maybe 90% there, and we can work together to delve into that last 10% that I would never be able to see myself.<\/p>\n He\u2019s got such a brilliant writer and performer brain, and he sees things that I\u2019m naturally doing, that I don\u2019t clock, and tells me to dig into it, bring out something more. I wouldn\u2019t have been able to do that on my own. He\u2019s also got a great eye for the stage picture and really heightening emotional moments. He brings out things that I might do on instinct or by mistake, and he makes sure everything feels purposeful, polished and presentable. <\/p>\n Do you have any solo sketch inspirations \u2014 people you saw onstage who made you want to do this, too?<\/p>\n Blair: Early on, I saw a lot of great solo work from The Laugh Sabbath crowd, people like James Hartnett and Kathleen Phillips. It was so cool to see them get up and do stuff on their own in a sort of character way. When I started doing stuff that was more sketch, with a beginning, middle and end, I tried to keep their examples in mind. They really got you invested in a character, as opposed to just plot. They could take one character and make you care about the character more than the premise. That was a huge inspo for me when I was starting out.<\/p>\n Wyllie: Jon, you were such a huge inspiration for me. Seeing someone who was in my wheelhouse of humour, doing things I wanted to be doing, and seeing that someone could leave a huge ensemble like The Sketchersons and go on to do work that was more specific and consistent \u2014 that was amazing. <\/p>\n Jeffers: Honestly, both of you inspired me. What I really admire and am inspired by is your your commitment. You really give it everything, and are also really great actors. Another thing is your silliness. I love indulging in silly and whimsy. It goes a long way.<\/p>\n Blair: Thanks, you two. Emily, I remember I saw you perform The Mathemagician in Montreal in this theatre on Ste-Catherine. You were about to go on as the Mathemagician. It was the funniest and most stressful thing I\u2019ve seen. There was this really narrow spiral staircase, I was walking up, and you were at the top in this enormous costume and beard, holding a bunch of lanterns and scrolls. As nice as you possibly could, you told me to please get out of your way because you had to get downstairs.<\/p>\n Jeffers: I hope I at least said it in character: [in mock grand tones, sounding like Gandalf]: \u201cGet out of my way!\u201c<\/p>\n How have Instagram and TikTok changed comedy?<\/p>\n Blair: I think they\u2019ve changed people\u2019s… I don\u2019t want to say attention spans, but how long they expect a sketch to be. During the pandemic, I did something called Now More Than Ever<\/a>, which was a sketch show, like a half hour sketch show made up of three-to-four minute sketches. I filmed the whole thing in horizontal, which was a mistake, because later everyone started watching vertical video. The other thing is all those bits are three or four minutes long \u2014 as long as I would do them onstage, or as long as something you might see something on SNL or a sketch show. <\/p>\n These days, you\u2019re trying to hit a sweet spot of, at maximum, two minutes. It makes you edit a lot more. For a while, I was sort of like, Oh, well, I\u2019m just gonna put what I\u2019ve got online, and whatever will be will be. If people dig it, they dig it, and if they don\u2019t, they don\u2019t. I still do that, but I admit, I am trying to write a little more to a shorter frame, because that\u2019s what people expect.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t really like catering to whatever the popular thing is on social, but the reality is, a lot of the time, with festivals, they look at that sort of thing. Social media helps get my work out there, and I like getting my work out to people. So if there are different boxes you have to fit into, I\u2019m willing to do that. But a little minute-long thing doesn\u2019t come naturally to me.<\/p>\n One thing that we have kind of learned with Monster Island is how much time you can save by saying, \u201cAnd now this character…\u201d on the screen. I would spend two minutes setting that up onstage. It\u2019s like learning a different language.<\/p>\n Wyllie: How much time have we got? (laughs) There are so many people who make great content, who really understand how to shoot something, how to capture visual storytelling in these formats. You put them on a theatre stage, and they stink, because they don\u2019t know how to perform live.<\/p>\n I think comics have to make a decision: which stage am I going to be good at? Where am I going to put my attention? You\u2019ve also got to think: what are your goals for being online? Is it just a place to put something you believe in? Are you there as an artist, or is this marketing? Are you trying to build an audience you can monetize? Are you trying to leverage followers into TV pitching and getting a developmental deal? When you start layering business into the art, as with Instagram and TikTok, things can get muddy.<\/p>\n It was freeing when I decided to focus on live sketch comedy. For me it was about doing the work that I love and not worrying about having to sell it online, just worrying about what\u2019s happening in the room. There\u2019s nothing wrong with deciding, \u201cHey, I\u2019m going to get on TikTok and aim for a million followers and turn this into a worldwide tour.\u201d It\u2019s hard, but it\u2019s possible, and if you do that, my God, the world will open up to you. But there\u2019s also nothing wrong with saying, \u201cI care about what happens in this cabaret room with 40 other people and maybe changing 40 lives this night.\u201d<\/p>\n You all perform at other festivals, sketch or otherwise. Are there any other acts you recommend people see during SketchFest?<\/p>\n Wyllie: I\u2019d love to shout out a couple of out-of-town acts. First off is Amanda Xeller<\/a> from New York. She\u2019s an incredible solo performer \u2014 the energy, chaos and emotion she sneaks into scenes is so impressive. She was one of the first solo performers I saw, and really inspired me with her approach. Every show feels new and different.<\/p>\n I also want to recommend a group from from Denver called Big Ol\u2019 Mess<\/a>. I\u2019ve been lucky enough to do some festivals around North America, and I think they\u2019re the best ensemble working today. They all complement each other. They are so able to share the spotlight together and have this incredible balance. They take big swings, and you just go along for the ride with every bizarre choice they make. I\u2019m so glad SketchFest paired me with them for one of their shows<\/a>. <\/p>\n Jeffers: I\u2019ve gotta give some love to Legally Brown, who were the co-headliners at my recent Spotlight at The Second City<\/a>. They\u2019re so dedicated, so funny. They\u2019re trying to come up with a new sketch show every quarter, or something like that. They\u2019re just on a tear. Red Hot Sili Peppers is so fun. Vivek Srikanthan does amazing solo sketch. 24 Double B are hilarious. These are all acts people should see.<\/p>\n Blair: I would definitely recommend Comedy Dance Chicago<\/a>, who are exactly what they sound like: they\u2019re comedy, dance and they\u2019re from Chicago. They\u2019re so funny and so incredibly skilled \u2014 technically and physically. The way they merge comedy and really good dance is just fantastic. I had the pleasure of seeing Two2Mango<\/a>\u2019s show \u201cColonial Circus\u201d last year at the Edmonton Fringe, and they\u2019re back with a new show. The two of them have these huge, elaborate bits they set up that are just wonderful. Lou Laurence<\/a> is one of my faves. She\u2019s a wonderful musician, so funny and talented \u2014 her work is so heartfelt and makes you feel things. <\/p>\n Taking Up Space<\/a> by Nkasi Ogbonnah is one show I\u2019m really excited about. I directed Nkasi in her first solo show last year, and I was involved early on in the creative process of this one, so I\u2019ve seen all the sketches already, and I\u2019m here to tell you they\u2019re great. And of course, I’m always excited to see Two Draculas<\/a>. I will never, ever get over them. It\u2019s Chris Locke and Tim Gilbert as two Draculas doing a parody of sketch comedy. It should infuriate me, but I love it \u2014 every time I see them, I love them.<\/p>\n Anything else you\u2019d like to mention, perhaps for people considering doing solo sketch?<\/p>\n Wyllie: If you have an inkling to try solo sketch, do it. It changes your perspective on the art form, and it forces you to be brave in a way that you maybe thought wasn\u2019t possible working in a larger troupe. It\u2019s opened up and changed my life so much. If you think, \u201cHey, maybe this is for me,\u201d write a two minute scene. Find places around the city where you can perform it in a low stakes setting. Just take the plunge.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Cameron-Wyllie---Photo-by-Elana-Emer.jpg\")
Cam Wyllie, photographed by Elana Emer<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Mathemagician-2_Photo-by-Matthew-McLaren.jpg\")
Emily Jeffers plays The Mathemagician at this year\u2019s SketchFest. Photo by Matthew McLaren<\/p>\n