One of the best parts of starting JH5 this past year has been producing shows. Whether big or small, each show provides learning and growth, and a tremendous amount of fun to produce!
This past week JH5 produced an exceptionally small show at Shanghai Restaurant. It was a benefit of sorts to put on the play Any One of Us, Words From Prison. (more on that play later) It was ill attended, which made it nice and intimate. Host Trevor Thompson can make a room of 35 or a room of 3500 laugh, and did a great job. Everyone seemed to have fun, especially the comics. We as a company always ensure that talent receives somewhat proper treatment, if only some food and a drink at shows for which the comics volunteer their time. After the show, one comic was outside.....well doing what comics do after a show, and a couple came out and gave their review of the show: YEGCH. The comic came back in laughing so hard he could barely get the story out. All the comics found it funny, and really it is, but I found myself going "hey, that's my show you're talking about!"
Producing shows is a very personal thing at times. As a producer, we choose the talent, the venue, the theme, pretty much everything, and when something fails, we at times take it personally. Let's take a moment to point out the obvious irony: we at JH5 write a review each week of Yuk Yuk's and Absolute comedy. We try to be balanced, and honestly we call them more recaps then reviews; to get the potential audience in Ottawa to make an informed decision. So, reviews are fun to do, not to receive. That's the business folks!
Back up to our last show on March 8th, the Shattered Ceiling Cabaret. We received a review, and it was quite nice, although they made a comment about one of the performers who they did not like, but overall it was good. Back up to October where all reviews about CHICKLES: A GALa Comedy Event were exceptionally positive. After all these reviews, the one that will stick in our head is the one that went "Yegch".
No matter the review, we will continue to develop and produce shows, and continue to learn from them and grow. While we at JH5 have over 16 years in event planning, learning the ropes of comedy has been a wonderful roller coaster, and we have had mentors that we work with closely who have helped us, and we thank them for that.
So let's take time to discuss our upcoming shows, and why we want your support at them.
Mid-late April: Political Comedy Show (yet unnamed). This show will feature hot local comedic acts discussing the election and all things politics. This show is exciting as it provides an opportunity to engage younger people about politics, but also an opportunity for the comedians to get down to writing new jokes for the show. Look to our site/facebook page for more information by April 1!
April 29th: Taking a small break from comedy, we are enthusiastically producing Any One of Us, Words From Prison at the University of Ottawa Alumni Theatre. We are excited to present this on so many levels, but given the political scene right now and different ideological views on the justice system, we hope this play, which allows people to understand a bit more the life that women in the prison system came from, will help the public make an informed decision. It is a tragic and heartbreaking series of monologues penned by the author of the Vagina Monologues, and we are proud to produce this show for 100% benefit of the Elizabeth Fry Society of Ottawa.
June 11th: Back to comedy! We are finalizing all the talent, but have booked Don Kelly & Friends at the Bronson Centre. Don Kelly is a local comic, amazing person, and just happens to be a First Nations man with his own television series on APTN. Kelly has brought two of his comedic friends to perform with him, along with Aboriginal culture and dance. The evening will have a pre-show exhibition with raffles, silent auction items, and a chance to learn more about Aboriginal culture. A portion of proceeds from the show, and 100% of proceeds from the exhibition will benefit Odawa Friendship Centre, Minwaashin Lodge, and one other charity focusing on Inuit needs. This is both a passion project for promoting Aboriginal Awareness, raising money for Aboriginal organizations, and to support the amazing comedic talents of Kelly. More information will be available on our web mid-April.
After that we are open except our annual fall show CHICKLES, with talent yet to be determined depending on sponsorships. We continue to run our blog, contracted social media, and custom murder mystery parties. The consulting portion of our company is always busy, most recently assisting non-profits to organize their fundraising campaigns, and some smaller promotional contracts.
As we continue to grow as a company, we hope you grow with us. If you have a show or a charity you think JH5 should produce, drop us a line. If you think our other services could be of benefit to you, we are always excited to sit down and chat.
We hope to see you at one of our future shows, and fully and excitedly except reviews, but hopefully we can receive information to improve by, rather than just YEGCH.
This week please continue to check back to our blog, as the week will focus on two amazing women, Christina Walkinshaw & Kathleen McGee!
All my relations.
Jenn Hayward
JH5
jenn@jh-5.com
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