Shaun Majumder. Photo CBC.
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Now based in Los Angeles, Newfoundland native Shaun Majumder returns to the festival that launched his international career, Just for Laughs — now on in Montreal (until July 31). A veteran of the Second City comedy circuit, as well as a regular on CBC’s This Hour Has 22 Minutes and Hatching, Matching and Dispatching, Majumder also recently appeared on Fox’s ensemble comedy, Cedric the Entertainer Presents. He joins the Late Late Show’s Craig Ferguson (among others) at a festival gala on July 19, and hosts the New Faces of Comedy. Throughout the fest, Majumder will keep a journal for CBC Arts Online.
July 18
It’s great to be back in Montreal, getting ready for the gala and my other appearances.
There’s something special about this festival. I remember when I was getting my start as a standup comic and everyone at all the amateur nights in Toronto and Vancouver and Montreal would be talking about getting to Just for Laughs. The first year I was invited, I had to pay my own way and find a place to stay. There was some free stuff for the comics: if anybody gives me anything for free, I freak out. So I freaked out.
Back then, I was doing shows at a club called the Comedy Nest and one of them — and I somehow didn’t know this at the time — was part of a contest, something like Canada’s Funniest New Comics. So it turned out that I won it, but I didn’t think anyone would care about it. But there were CBS and ABC executives in the crowd, and afterwards somebody wanted to give me a holding deal. They offered me a bunch of money just so long as I didn’t work for anybody else. It felt like I’d won the lottery. So Just for Laughs opened some doors for me.
In years gone by, I’ve had a huge amount of work here — loads of shows, sometimes as many as three galas, and I hosted the television show for three years. This year, I’m just back as Shaun Majumder, which is good. There’s less weight on the shoulders — and more gold in the hands. This year, I feel fancy. My manager said, “I have to take you to this nice hotel, Le Germain, to try it out.” Fancy is a nice way to come to Just for Laughs.
To get ready for the festival, I did a week of standup appearances in Toronto. But I made the mistake of mentioning Toronto in my show last night, and that didn’t go down so well. Like appearing at a Palestinian comedy club and beginning, “And so I was hanging out in Israel…”
Some comics have their shows all firm and tight before they go on, but I like to keep mine looser. It always depends on the crowd and the show for me. I’ll probably be mixing some of my new stuff and some older material for the gala. I tried out a lot of World Cup material in Toronto — stuff that goes over much better in Canada than in the States.
Everyone seems to be going nuts for this impression I do of a Scottish cat, so I’ll probably do that. My friend has this cat that he adopted from Scotland, so that got me started. It’s a silly little bit about the multi-ethnic world we live in. It ties in with how beautiful it is in Canada, where people can keep their own cultures and their own way of life. Like even the animals can maintain their culture here and don’t feel they need to assimilate.
I’ve also been trying to mix up my pre-show routine a little bit. Like last night, I decided I’d have a vegetarian meal with my lovely girlfriend. I also decided to keep the people who booked the show guessing and pretend that I forgot all about it. It was great: they called me in a panic, and I said confidently, “Oh I forgot all about it.” They madly flipped their acts around, and then I showed up — cool, calm and collected comic. Or cool, calm, collected and wet — given how hot it’s been here. It was 136 degrees — Celsius — on stage last night.
But it rained here overnight and the heat broke, so things are looking up. Now if only I can get my full voice back. I’m chewing on this raw ginger that an Indian cousin of mine said would help.
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