Making friends and family laugh is no small feat and really makes one appreciate the natural talent and skill needed to even attempt a professional comedy career.
Now think of what it would take to keep an entire nation in stiches to earn a paycheque. This is exactly how writer and comedian Ron James has built a successful career; by being able to appear in Canadian homes thanks to his popular comedy specials, a five-year stint on CBC’s The Ron James Show and writing for This Hour Has 22 Minutes.
Now James is ready to make the Valley laugh at The Banff Centre’s Eric Harvie Theatre on Jan. 30, where he will share his poignant and humourous insight towards contemporary events and the bizarre circumstances that follow suit.
RMO – Other professional comedians have said this is a golden period for comedians and comedy thanks to technology. The Internet, podcasts and social media are making it easier for comics and audiences to connect. Do you agree? Is this technology a comedy gift or a pain?
Ron James – Call me an old school Luddite, but nothing will ever take the place of a live audience for building and honing an act. Stage time. Stage time. Stage time. Nothing replaces it.
Aspiring comedians and those in the profession for a few years wrongly perceive social media platforms as a shortcut to success. They could have a hit on YouTube that taps the zeitgeist for a while, but given the bottomless appetite for content in that medium, it’s soon replaced by someone or something else. Plus, if you’re booked for a club gig, you’ll need to deliver an hour of material or more, not the 10-minute clip that got you noticed. Longevity means material and you only hone material by performing live.
RMO – What sage advice can Ron James offer to a Canadian up-and-comer trying to get their nerves up for their first open mic?
RJ - Know your material inside out. Keep it tight. Keep it honest and try not to foul yourself.
RMO – Can you give a little insight into some of the subjects you cover in the current Pedal to the Metal Tour material (ie. ISIS, corporate spin, social media)
RJ – I deliver two hours or more of material and cover every topic under the sun, doing my best to connect the dots and make sense of the chaos we’re all walking through both politically and personally. After shooting seven national specials, plus five years of my television show, there’s not much terrain I haven’t travelled looking for a laugh. That being said, I look at the world as whole, Canada as a nation, me as person and us as a people.
RMO – You’re currently in the U.K. Can you give a bit of a breakdown on the differences you’ve noticed in comedy audiences between Canada, the U.S. and the U.K.? We’ve heard other North American comics say the Brits really like it when we poke fun at our own North American cultures.
RJ – I’m not here working, I’m on Christmas vacation visiting my daughter who runs Document: The Glasgow Human Rights Film Festival. I’ve been lucky to develop and sustain a career in Canada with my touring, series and television specials, so I’ve never made a point of crossing the pond for work. After three formative years in L.A. chasing the sitcom grail in the early ’90s, I wanted to make it work for me here and it has.
RMO – In Canada we have a real appetite for political humour/satire as a nation. What is your insight into the reasoning behind it?
RJ – Good question, but I don’t think its exclusive to Canadians. The mandate of the comedian is to speak truth to power. To rock the apple cart, not ride in it. And when politicians abuse their power as elected officials by making idiotic choices that prioritize their party over the people who voted them in, it’s important to take them down a notch or two. It’s a sign of healthy democracy.
As far as I know, there’s not a lot of comedians coming out of North Korea.
RMO – Do you notice a difference in how a Canadian comedic writer tackles politics compared to the U.S. or U.K. comedians?
RJ – Having never worked in the writing rooms of those countries I can’t say for sure, but I do know the U.S. and U.K. are and were empires, sired and defined by revolutions, that in turn spawned a contempt for class and authority. They also have HBO, Comedy Central and BBC 4, which allows for an adult level of expression you don’t get here.
CBC is a publicly funded network and produces the lion’s share of original content, with a mandate for all Canadians, so you must be careful how you rock the apple cart. CTV’s Comedy Network, that started with the best of intentions, but has devolved into a bargain basement clearing house for reruns of American shows or Canadian ones.
RMO – Has your writing style/schedule/routine changed over your career? Notepad on the nightstand? Early in the morning?
RJ – I write all the time and any time. When we had the show we riffed and wrote from 10 a.m. till 5 p.m., five days a week. I usually start writing my one-hour specials three months before we film each October.
RMO – When should a comedic writer know when to let an idea go, or stick with it?
RJ – It’s different for standup than a comedy writer whose part of a ‘room.’ For standups, give a bit your best three to six times. If it doesn’t get legs after that, lose it. In writing rooms for TV shows, some bits can be salvaged, but usually, if it doesn’t make the read through it doesn’t get on TV.
RMO – If Ron James wasn’t a successful writer/comedian, what would he be doing to put food on the table and why?
RJ – I hope I’d be writing long form, or in the field as a journalist somewhere. Communicating. That’s what I do.
