The first time Damonde Tschritter took to a local stage, he admittedly bombed. It was his very first professional gig and he was supposed to get $100 for it but he did so bad he never got paid.
Luckily, he's gotten lots better at this comedy thing since then.
He'll bring his comedy-festival-winning humour, that has been seen on the Comedy Network and CTV's Comedy Now, CBC's Madly Off In All Directions, and Just For Laughs, to Saturday night's Stand Up for Charity, presented by the Kinsmen Club.
During what Tschritter calls stand-up season, October to April, he's gone most weekends, cheering up folks across the country during the dreary winter months, while in summer he's writing scripts and punching up his material.
"Right now I come to Prince George to do this show and then next week I go to L.A. to do some big shows - one with Bob Saget - and meet a bunch of management folks about a movie script I wrote that's making its rounds down there," said Tschritter, who's written a couple television shows that were optioned but didn't continue past the pilot.
"I've always been interested in that part of the industry and I started out in comedy with Seth Rogan - if you look on YouTube I'm introducing him, his first time onstage," Tschritter said, who just got an offer to teach at the Vancouver Film School.
The program director for the comedy section of the courses offered, thought it might be good to have a how-to-combat-heckling class.
"The only place people think it's OK to yell at you and they think it's helping the show is in comedy," said Tschritter. "People don't yell in movie theatres or call someone out during a play - 'nice fake English accent!' They let them do their performance and clap at the end. In comedy, there's a weird thing in Canada where people seem to think heckling is allowed and encouraged."
Show business is a very unique business and sometimes it's not who you know, but how you nod that gets you the gig.
"I got a Kokanee commercial because I could turn my head to the left and nod," Tscritter laughed. "Ooooh, they said, that was really good. You think they're joking but they're not and you get the commercial. Apparently, I've got the best left nod in the city!"
Be sure to check out the best of Damonde Tscritter at the Stand Up for Charity.
Special guests include local comedians Mark Wheeler, Brian Majore, Bryce Kilkenny, Virginia O'Dine and Jon White.
Tickets are $40 and include a roast beef buffet dinner, cocktails at 6 p.m., dinner at 7 p.m. Tickets on sale at Studio 2880 or by calling 250-563-2880. Proceeds to support various Kinsmen charities.
Tschritter also appears at the Stand Up for Charity 5 event at the Vanderhoof Friendship Centre, 219 Victoria Street East tonight at 7:30, appetizers with a tropical theme at 8 p.m., comedians to follow at 9. Dance to DJ music after the comedians. Proceeds will go to Ruby Ellen Van Andel Cancer Clinic in Vanderhoof.
