I was struggling with a plan of attack for Canada last time I posted.
Little has changed since then.
I’m out of synch with my friend in Toronto – she is off travelling for a few weeks so unless I sit and wait around for a while, I have to either miss catching up (likely) or try and catch her if I circle back around to Toronto (unlikely).
Despite the mismatch of timetables, I cant seem to find a viable alternative to Toronto (well not one that will occupy me for 3 weeks) so it’s there I head.
Unbeknownst to me I’ll end up spending the better part of a week there. For various reasons, not all good!
The trip in is uneventful, though the freeway entry to the city is chock a block with traffic when I arrive. After crawling through a significant snarl of cars, buses and trucks I reach my first destination – an impromptu comedy night being held to benefit the victims of the Fort McMurray fires.
The event is listed as being free (though donations are readily accepted at the door), and is advertised as a mix of comedians, musical acts,silent auction, raffles and the such. Why not I thought at the time.
I figure the venue is a comedy club or similar, but when I arrive it’s in a small industrial estate and is essentially an unused warehouse (of the approx 10m x 20m x 30m variety).
I’m a little early, so make a donation and head inside. Over the course of the next 30 mins others start to drift in. It becomes clear this is a cliquey audience – everyone seems to know everyone else, or at the very least are friends with one or more of the performers.
This is not a “general public” crowd.
I’m a little boxed out – though there are a few brief hellos and polite chats, mostly people stick to their own social circles.
Not that I’m particularly fussed.
The evening eventually gets underway – there are probably around 100 people in the place, though that’s a mix of performers and audiences.
Supposedly these are all seasoned/professional performers who have volunteered their talents in the last 48 hours. In reality it’s a mixed bag of talent – ranging from bright, funny comedians and improv performers to out of tune, self-indulgent singers who draw their set out far too long.
If some of these people are really making a living doing this I’ve got a new career path I can follow (and I can’t sing or tell jokes)
This was probably the low point of the night –>
And it’s not really a well behaved audience either. People sit down, watch an act or two, then move to the back for free beer, food and chat. Eventually the number of people chatting outweigh the people watching, and the noise from that group drowns out the performers.
My contribution?
To stand up like an oaf, and in my best mix of reproach, annoyance and moral policeman, bellow at the group at the back to <paraphrasing here> ‘keep the noise down so we can actually hear the guys on stage’.
Yes, it was probably as obnoxious as it sounds, but I was genuinely fed up that a group of performers would treat each other with such disdain and whilst there were backwards glances of annoyance at the noise by the other audience members, no-one else looked like they would say anything.
Looks of “who the f*&$ is that?” ensue, amidst a (very) few nods of “I wish I’d done that” and the noise subsides for a while. Eventually it ramps back up again, but I’m not stupid enough to try my luck again.
The silent auctions close out, raffle tickets are drawn and the night comes to a close with the announcement that they have raised 5 K on the night, which given the size of the crowd is a pretty decent effort.
It’s been an interesting few hours. I’ve laughed, cringed, become annoyed and vented, all whilst contributing to a pretty decent charity.
Welcome to Toronto!
