Toronto seniors make stand-up comedy debut, proving laughter is the best medicine

When Alan Wang took the stage for his stand-up comedy debut Thursday, the senior citizen says the bright stage lights were nerve-recking.

For his routine, Wang says he shared his experience job hunting as an immigrant, where he was advised to move to Ontario for more opportunities. 

"I say, 'How would I do that?' And they say, 'Get a car!'" 

Wang was one of five seniors who performed at the Comedy Bar's sketch night for seniors, titled Die Laughing. The show was an exclusive, one-night event with sets lasting around five minutes — and was meant for more than just laughs, said Marie Minimo, production and communications coordinator at Mammalian Diving Reflex, the theatre performance company that organized the event.

"Ultimately, the goal is to highlight the importance of seniors sharing their stories, as well as give them a space to feel empowered," said Minimo.

To prepare for their show, seniors participated in an eight-week workshop with Tamara Shevon, a comedian teaching stand-up for almost six years.

Each set was inspired by personal instances because "it's harder to forget something that you have already lived through," Shevon said.

Shevon says she loves the program because it gives her an opportunity to help people achieve new goals regardless of what stage of life they are in. 

"It's not something that's restricted to age. You can do things for as long as you want to," Shevon said. 

Workshops were held once a week for around two hours, and aimed to teach skills to get participants out of their comfort zones. 

For Wang, learning the "right" jokes was a challenge because he rarely watched stand-up comedy and says he often did not understand other people's jokes. 

"I'm Chinese. What we find interesting or funny is not what people here find funny," Wang said. 

Shevon taught the seniors how to add punch lines and anecdotes to help tie their sets together and make them humorous for the audience. 

One concept that Shevon taught was social acupuncture, where small instances of social discomfort are created as an intentional stressor to facilitate genuine connection.

As an example, seniors were encouraged to interact with strangers on the street to gain confidence as many had never been on a stage before.

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Moe Ismail: School teacher by day, comedian by night

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Moe Ismail knows a thing or two about warming up a crowd, juggling substitute teaching gigs by day and standup comedy performances by night. Though his budding comedy career takes him across the country, his teaching job helps him stay connected with his roots. 

Dean Rogers, another participant, dressed up as Santa for his set. He focused on making puns, a skill he learned from his grandfather.  

"I've got a little bit of acting in my blood and comedy in my blood. And I can do puns," said Rogers. 

The audience included many family members cheering in support as the seniors took the stage. 

Wang describes the event as a once- in-a-lifetime experience: "Like climbing Mt. Everest."