Collaborative Comedy

Proud to present the new format of Collaborative Comedy – now with less competition. The new format has Michael telling jokes about topics suggested by the audience. On some shows, Michael will be joined by other comics to tell jokes.

The new format will make its debut at the Ottawa Fringe Festival for six shows in June 2023. Each show, Michael will be joined by 3 guest comics. The lineup for these shows, along with dates and times, are listed below and tickets can be purchased by clicking the Ottawa Fringe Festival link above or one of the buy tickets buttons below.

Asign logo with the word asign in black text and two blue hands signing

ASL Interpretation at select shows will be provided by our ASL Interpretation sponsor Asign.

Thursday, June 15th, 2023 @ 6PM (ASL Interpretation Provided) 

Image on purple background. Text on top says Collaborative Comedy June 15th, 2023 @ 6PM. Meet your comics. To the left of the text is the Ottawa Fringe Festival and the Collaborative Comedy mascot, a small yellow plush doll laughing with the word Happy written across their chest and a text bubble saying Tell me a joke about... There is a photo of Velvet, a large black person with a beard speaking into a microphone. There is a QR code with the message saying Scan QR code for tickets & more info. The QR takes you to the site https://bit.ly/CollabComedyTickets. On the bottom of the image, it say ASL Interpretation for this show provided by followed by the asign logo, asign written in black text and blue hands signing.

The Velvet Duke
The Velvet Duke (they/them) is a proud Black, autistic, queer, disabled, creator living in Ottawa. They are an “Emerging IBPOC Artist” award laureate (2023 Ottawa Arts Council); winner of the “Emerging Artist” award from Ottawa Fringe Festival (2022) and JRG Society for the Arts (2022); as well as the “Most Accessible Show” award at Halifax Fringe Festival (2022). They were a 5-time Rideau Award-nominee for (Re)Tired Magical Black Man (2022). You can also catch the Velvet Duke doing his own show All Request Radio, a show where the Velvet Duke sings made up top song requests.

Photo of Lewis Hill, a white man in front of a blurred brick wall, wearing a t-shirt and grey blazer.

Lewis Hill
Featuring an energetic and interactive style, Lewis Hill brings the party to every show! His humour is both self-deprecating, and quite deprecating, but he will do both with a big smile on his face. He’s also been known to pull out the guitar and play a few hilarious tunes. (Lewis’s tunes can be found on Spotify.)

Photo of Heather Hurst. a white woman standing in front of a black wall at a comedy club wearing a white and black stripped top speaking into a microphone, performing a standup set.

Heather Hurst
A fan favorite on the Ottawa comedy scene, Heather, originally from Nova Scotia, can be heard on the JFL Atlantic album “Stand Up Atlantic: Cat Puke Nightclub, which can be found on all streaming platforms, including Apple Music and Spotify.

Sunday, June 18th, 2023 @ 8PM (ASL Interpretation Provided) 

A photo of Wardie Leppan, a white male with a goatee, wearing a black t-shirt under a light blue shirt. Wardie is scratching his head.

Wardie Leppan
Wardie Leppan, a retiree originally from South Africa has been doing standup comedy since 2018. He has performed at the Ottawa Fringe Festival, the Fresh Meat Festival and was a finalist in both the Yuk Yuks and Absolute Comedy competitions in 2022 and was selected, in his first year of comedy, as one of 25 comics to perform in the Comedian of the North competition in Thunder Bay. He has opened for several major comics such as Derek Seguin, James Mullinger and Heidi Foss. He has two grandchildren and sleeps with a granny so is officially an old fart.

A photo of Chad Noonan, a white man with glasses and red hair, with a beard. He is wearing a pink t-shirt standing at a comedy club holding a microphone.

Chad Noonan
Chad Noonan is a Podcaster, Writer and Stand Up Comedian. He was the winner of the Just For Laughs Stand Up and Pitch competition in 2022 and his podcast, The Canadian Comedy Hall of Fame Podcast, was named one of the top 20 Comedy podcasts in Canada. Chad has performed at some of the biggest comedy clubs in Canada!

A photo of Rory Gardiner, a white man holding a radio holding a micrphone by the stand pretending to punch himself in the face with it.

Rory Gardiner
Rory Gardiner’s TikTok videos have over 100 Million views across all platforms, and his YouTube sketches have been featured on Funny or Die, America’s Funniest Videos. Winner of 2022 Ottawa’s best Comedian award from Faces Magazine, and you can catch his hilarious TEDx Talk, on using humour as a coping mechanism.

Monday, June 19th, 2023 @ 10:30PM

There is a photo of Zachariah, a white bald man with a red beard, wearing a red and black checkered shirt talking into a microphone in his right hand while holding his left hand out to the audience.

Zachariah Kang Xi
Born and raised in Toronto proper this boisterous fellow made his way to Ottawa in 2013 after some years abroad (which he can’t shut up about). After a number of years doing random shows in the Ottawa scene Zachariah Kang Xi took over as producer of the Meow That’s Hot Thursdays in late 2020 – now including a monthly Saturday show – and has been a staple of the indie scene ever since providing his hosting chops and sultry/gravely voice to many an indie room in town.

A photo of Sophie, a white woman wearing a grey short sleeved t-shirt. She is standing next to a mic stand., holding a mic in her right hand holding up a bucket with her left hand.

Sophie Hayes
Sophie Hayes is a stand-up comedian who was recently named Ottawa’s Favourite Comedian in Faces Magazine. Sophie was a finalist in the Mike MacDonald summer comedy competition and can be heard on Howl & Roar’s “Diversity Hire” compilation album. When she’s not on stage she can be found asleep.

A photo of Tash Naved, a Middle Eastern man with black facial hair. He is wearing a grey sweater with black trim and olive green pants. His arms are crossed and he is talking into a microphone to the audience.

Tash Naved
Ottawa’s secret comic, Tash Naved goes by his alter ego Nash Taved. “Nash Taved” has now been performing “comedy” for significantly longer than he thought he would be. So far he has appeared in nothing significant and is hoping it remains that way. If you think you have seen him somewhere, you have not. When not performing he enjoys panic attacks arising from worries about people finding out he does comedy….so don’t tell anyone. (But feel free to tell people about the show and all the other comics.)

Thursday, June 22nd, 2023 @ 8:30PM  (ASL Interpretation Provided) 

A photo of Tommy Fitz, a white man with a mustache and wearing glasses. He is wearing a Chicago Cubs baseball cap and a navy windbreaker. He is talking into a microphone to the audience.

Tommy Fitz
Tommy Fitz has been making stupid people angry since 1976 and he likes it. You may have heard him on SiriusXM’s Top Comic (Vancouver, 2016) or seen him at the Crack Up Comedy Festival (Ottawa, 2019), featuring or hosting Absolute Comedy (Ottawa, Toronto and – formerly, Kingston) and has performed all over Canada (Comedy at Club54, Comedy Nest, Laugh Shop, Yuk Yuks) and the U.K. (Comedy Store, London – Gong Show – 27 seconds!). He features very, very briefly in Isnt’t She Great (2000) with Bette Middler and Nathan Lane. You have to get through a lot of them for a little bit of Tommy, but it is totally worth it. This is his first Fringe, be nice or he will make an example of you.

A photo of Matthew Champ, a white man with light brown hair, a beard and wearing glasses. He is performing at the Grisley Pear Comedy Club in NY. He is holding the mic in his left hand while talking into it and scratching his head with his right hand.

Matthew Champ
Matthew Champ has been a fixture in the Ottawa comedy scene for the past decade, mostly because he can’t afford to move! Matthew has participated in The Windsor Comedy Festival, Cracking Up the Capital Comedy Festival and The Devil’s Cup Comedy Festival in New York City where he was asked to perform at Best of Fest. Matthew has also been a finalist in Absolute Comedy’s Prove Your a Comic Competition (2017) and most recently hosted the New Years Eve Comedy special at Shenkman Arts Centre. When Matthew’s not doing comedy he’s probably doom scrolling on Twitter or hanging out with his adorable toddler simply awaiting the eventual heat death of our planet. On that cheery note, come laugh with us. The earth should make it to June 22nd.

A black and white photo of Kris Kingsbury, a white man with curly hair, a beard and wearing sunglasses.

Kris Kingsbury
Born in BC, raised in Alberta, this “wild rose ” now makes his home in the capital region. Kris is a comic with high energy and talent to tell a hilarious story with many twists. He’s been slinging jokes to audiences for over a decade. Kris has had an appearance at Dirty Bird comedy featival in ’19 and was a two-time finalist for funniest person in the Ottawa Valley (’13 &’14) . He’s also club regular in the Ottawa area. If laughter is what you’re after, you won’t be disappointed when watching Kris.

Friday, June 23rd, 2023 @ 9:30PM

A photo of Ceilidh Henderson, a white woman with blond hair standing in front of a purple lit wall. She is wearing a black top and grey pants. She is facing the camera with a shocked look on her face. Her left hand is raised to shoulder level with her hand spread and holding the microphone in her right hand as she is addressing the audience.

Ceilidh Henderson
“Ceilidh” is the Gaelic word for an informal gathering for music, dance, and storytelling, and this comic is tone-deaf with two left feet. Therefore she’s left with storytelling around Ottawa à la clubs and mics. Ceilidh is a recent ‘comedy school dropout’ of the Humber College program. Her 18-year-old classmates described her as a ‘kind of hot mom,’ which she was thrilled with. By day, Ceilidh is a family court lawyer, and her names’ spelling, akin to an STI joke, is proudly on the record!

A photo of Emmett Morrison, a white man with a beard. Emmett is speaking into a microphone, holding it in his left hand.

Emmett Morrison
Emmett Morrison was a finalist in the Yuk Yuk’s Mike Macdonald Summer Comedy Competition in 2021 and 2022, appeared at the Portland Maine Comedy Festival, Montreal Gigglefest, and opened for Elvira Kurt and Protest the Hero. While not performing, Emmett can mostly be found hanging out.

A photo of Hart Shouldice, a white man with black hair and a beard. Hart is holding a microphone in his left hand speaking into it.

Hart Shouldice
Hart Shouldice is an Ottawa-based comic whose work has appeared on CBC radio and in the Globe and Mail. He is a club regular in Ottawa and can be seen in Montreal and Toronto as well. Hart was the final winner of Collaborative Comedy Competition and is also a lawyer, although that’s not very funny.

Saturday, June 24th, 2023 @ 4PM

A photo of Nick Gent, a white man with brown hair and a beard. He is wearing a black cap and a black top. He is performing at Kelowna Comedy. Nick is speaking into the mic he is holding with his right hand while motioning with his left hand.

Nick Gent
Nick survived growing up in Cornwall, On and a heart attack at the age of 21. He moved to Oshawa On, and started in comedy shortly after realizing there was nothing else to do. Massage Therapist by day and open mic’er by night, Nick has been begging for spots all over Canada for the past 3 years. On only his 2nd comedy performance, he won a Collaborative Comedy Competition, the old format of Collaborative Comedy. If that’s not enough, he was also casted as the Cowardly Lion in his grade 12 high school musical.

A photo of Aaron Hill, a white man with a beard. He is wearing a blue grey shirt and black pants. He is holding the microphone with both hands as he performs at Bowie's Music Club in Smith Falls.

Aaron Hill
Aaron Hill has been slingin’ jokes for the better part of a decade. A regular performer at comedy clubs, independent shows and private parties, his laid back delivery and well crafted punchlines make him a welcome addition to any occasion. He’s cracked up audiences from the city streets of Centretown to the pugnacious pubs of Petawawa and all across the region. Also…he knows the meaning of the word pugnacious.

A photo of Hamilton Burger, a white male with brown hair and a goatee. He is wearing a black t-shirt and black pants as he performs holding the microphone in his right hand and with his left arm resting by his side.

Hamilton Burger
Hailing originally from Edmonton, Hamilton Burger now lives and works in Ottawa. Having performed stand-up for over seven years, he was the winner of the Trevor’s Pad Pandemic Prime Time joke writing competition and has been a frequent performer on the Collaborative Comedy Competition, the predecessor to Collaborative Comedy Competition.