‘I’m proud of who I am’: Roz Kennery wins Mary Walsh Comedy Award at inaugural City of Laughs Festival
“I’m a trans woman. You know, from the news.”
That was how comedian Roz Kennery introduced herself when she took the stage at the Sanctuary Arts Centre in Dartmouth Sunday for the inaugural City of Laughs comedy festival finale. It was the beginning of a set the audience agreed was the best of the night when they crowned Kennery the winner of the festival’s last-comic-standing-style competition and made her the first recipient of the Mary Walsh Comedy Award. The prize includes a trip to the 2027 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
“I’m proud of who I am,” Kennery said. “For me to be able to go and share my experiences and find humour and joy in transitioning and being a trans person, I think it acts as a counterbalance to the narrative you see in a lot of different news outlets, and a lot of the sad piano music that goes along with discussing trans issues."
Kennery, beat a field of 22 comedians who performed over three nights in three different Portland Street venues; Staggers, The Beaver’s Den and an alcohol free stage St. James Church. Audiences voted for their favourite comedians at each show to choose the eight finalists who went head-to-head on the Sanctuary stage Sunday night. Judges narrowed the field to three finalists: Kennery, Scott MacLean and Robin Lindsay.
The audience chose the winner by way of applause, and it wasn’t close; Kennery’s act won the crowd over. The proof was in the laughter.
“Right from the beginning of the show, you could tell it was a hot crowd, and everyone was on board to have a great time,” Kennery said. Receiving an award from “a comedy legend” like Walsh who leant her name to the award “was a real treat,” she said.
City of Laughs producer John Helmkay told the Post before the festival that Walsh was his good luck charm. He told the crowd at the Sanctuary that she and Friday night’s headliner, John Wing, appeared at the first festival he ever produced in Ottawa and it was fitting to bring them both back for his first event in his hometown.
Local comic Daniel Mitchelmore co-hosted with Walsh at Sunday’s finale and had the honour of opening for Wing Friday night.
“These bar shows, while they are fun and they’re good for developing, that show on Friday was a completely different beast,” Mitchelmore said. “I had the most fun I’ve ever had doing standup.”
The big names bring prestige to festivals, but Helmkay told the Post he wanted to prove Dartmouth was a funny city and give local comics a stage.
“It was truly an amazing opportunity,” Mitchelmore said. “I’m very grateful that I got that chance.”
Mitchelmore is opening for Wing on the remaining Nova Scotia dates during his “Go East Old Man” tour:
- Oct. 1: Grand Lake Community Hall
- Oct. 2: New Glasgow Legion
- Oct. 3: Astor Theatre, Liverpool
- Oct. 5: Al Whittle Theatre, Wolfville
Wing, who’s comedy career took him from Sarnia, Ont., to Los Angeles and included appearances on The Tonight Show, said it was a thrill to play Dartmouth for the first time. He said he looks forward to watching the festival grow.
“It’s so difficult the first two or three years,” said Wing, who watched some of the preliminary rounds and even voted a couple of times. “You’ve got a great scene in the general area here.”
Wing’s Friday night show drew an older crowd but Mitchelmore, at the tender age of 22, bridged the generational gap with a very funny set that left the audience gasping for air.
“[Helmkay] hadn’t actually seen my act until Friday night, and he was happy with it," Mitchelmore said. “That was a sigh of relief for me because I definitely didn’t want to let him down after all he’s done.”
The line up reflected the crowd at the Portland Street venues; a mix of downtown Dartmouth regulars and fans who showed up to support the comics they follow on social media. Competitors performed their 10-minute set in each festival venue from Thursday to Saturday during the demanding preliminary round.
“You could do the same 10-minute set at two different places and it could go differently,” Kennery said. “The audience and the venue are as much a part of the success of a good show as anything else.”
Homefield advantage was part of the strategy for Dartmouth comic Kevin MacDougall.
“I get people coming to my shows,” MacDougall said. “Last night I hit 25 people out of 40.”
He said he also appreciated the opportunity to do comedy on his side of the bridge and to avoid downtown traffic and parking.
Kennery said most of the region’s comedy happens across the harbour. Mitchelmore said the weekend proved there is a high demand for laughter on the Dark Side.
“There’s a lot of great comedians around and they deserve a stage," he said.
The complete list of finalists included:
- Roz Kennery
- Mitch Touesnard
- Kevin MacDougall
- Pat Williams
- Colin Dunphy & Joe Harfouche (improv duo)
- Scott Maclean
- Robin Lindsay (wild card)
- Adrienne Gabrielle (wild card)
“I was grateful to be in the room,” Kennery said. “We had a great lineup with some awesome comedians that I always enjoyed performing with.”
Kennery’s comedy isn’t a crusade, but she said she appreciates it when her voice makes a difference to someone.
“My favorite thing in the world is… whenever I have a young person come up to me and say thank you for providing a voice for trans folks. Transgender folks in Canada and around the world are under attack.”
She said she hopes her comedy will make people less afraid of trans people or at least “give them a few things to Google on the drive home.”
You can catch Kennery performing anywhere there is comedy in the region, and she’s doing a “mini tour” with dates in Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal in November and December. She co-produces Easy Bake open mic for women, queer and trans comedians twice a month at Smokey Garden.
Mitchelmore said he is already planning for the next City of Laughs.
“I’m a little disappointed it’s over, but I’m really looking forward to next year.”