SC: That Armenian Hye/High bit is priceless, should be a Canadian Heritage Moment video, - it seems to me you are a comedian who is very comfortable playing with an audience, happy to engage and connect - where did that confidence come from?
AP: “Some of my favourite moments in shows are the ones that I get to discover alongside the audience in the moment. I think that’s always been something innate in me, if I follow my curiosity, we eventually find these funny moments. My mom would say even as a small child I would just run up to people and start talking to them as if they weren’t strangers, as if it weren’t an odd thing to do. Not that different from what I do now I guess lol. Of course it’s hard to translate a natural talent into a performance on stage, that came with many years of practice, and it’s something that I continue to work on developing into my stand up.”
SC: There is something very direct about stand-up, not easily portrayed on Zoom for example, how did you manage through the lockdowns, did you do livestreams and if yes, how was that?
AP: “When the pandemic hit and stand up ended, I had to transition to doing online forms of comedic content. Zoom shows existed, but in my opinion the technology just isn’t quite there to translate stand up comedy in a realistic form. It was certainly more fun than not doing a show, but very different from doing a show in person. So, I began making a lot of online content, comedy sketches, TikTok, Youtube & Instagram videos and found some success there. Even had some major pages and prominent people reposting my content, such as Marlene Dickinson from CBC’s Dragon’s Den.”
SC: How are you finding getting back out in front of an audience, what was the first night of this tour like for all involved?
AP: “It was a bit surreal coming back to doing shows in front of live audiences. One of the things I love most about stand-up comedy is to have an idea and be able to perform it that same night in front of an audience, getting direct feedback on the merit of a new joke idea almost immediately. Very different compared to when you write, shoot and edit a sketch, submit it to an online algorithm and hope for the best. Transitioning back to doing shows every night in-front of audiences just felt like being home again. A place where I feel most comfortable and have so much fun connecting with other people.”
SC: Anything with character can be easily flipped into caricature, Oshawa would fall under that, it’s an easy city to make fun of, having said that however, do you have a favourite Oshawa comedy moment?
AP: “Oshawa‘s reputation across the province and the country is something that I’ve had to deal with a lot throughout my comedy career. Naturally talking about where I grew up in my stand up, causes a specific response from crowds all over. What’s funny to me, is how our reputation is changing, especially through this pandemic. Now, all those people who made fun of Oshawa are actively trying to move to Oshawa. Homes are selling for over a million dollars in Oshawa, take that in, The Barenaked Ladies would dream of being able to afford a home in Oshawa. Our city has always felt like the underdog of the GTA but times are changing, we’ve got a great college/university and the renovations in the Biltmore Theatre are beautiful which speaks to a thriving arts culture scene. Sure we’ve got our rough spots but so does every great city in this country. Oshawa’s got great character to it and I’m proud to have grown up here.”
