Sitting through a live taping of Paul Anthony’s Talent Time is an invigorating experience. An enthusiastic audience cheers and hoots its approval at the unusual line-up of guests, who perform on the first Wednesday of every month at Vancouver’s Biltmore Cabaret.

'This show really isn’t about irony. It’s not a show about laughing at people. It’s about celebrating that time we had as kids, when we were just performing for the sake of the pleasure of doing it.'

— Talent Time host Paul Anthony

Anthony hosts the proceedings and handpicks the “talent” — past guests have included a psychic, a Beatles tribute band, amateur wrestlers, rappers and even a stand-up comic who joked about his cerebral palsy. The show is refreshing because it’s rough around the edges — these are fringe acts that are clearly not ready for prime time.

Anthony knew he was onto something when he put on the very first Talent Time show almost three years ago. “I was just relieved that some people showed up and that we had an audience,” he says now. “And they loved it. I mean, they really got it: the fun and spontaneity of the show.”

The first night only drew about 30 people, but Talent Time has since grown, through word of mouth and of course internet hype, and the monthly show is now always sold out. An edited half-hour version of Talent Time is then broadcast on a Vancouver community-access cable network.

As Anthony prepares for his Christmas special — an evening that will include local creators of arts and crafts — the actor attempts to explain the off-kilter appeal of the show.

“I think Talent Time comes from a very young place. I remember when I was a child, I would listen to my parents as they held dinner parties. You’d hear them entertaining their friends with jokes, stories and songs. It was at that time that I was also watching a lot of TV, and often cable-access programming. There was something raw about it, unpolished and with no production values. But there was also something authentic about it, and it was the kind of thing networks would never broadcast. And that was precisely what made it so fascinating to watch.”

Anthony claims late-night talk-show host Arsenio Hall was also a big influence. “I watched him all the time. At family gatherings, I would get my cousins and siblings to perform sketches for everyone. I called myself ‘Arsenio Paul.’”

There’s a child-like innocence to Talent Time — it manages to avoid the judgmental, often derisive edge that mars the early stages of any season of American Idol. Some of the acts are semi-professional, while others are a self-conscious celebration of silliness. A prime example of the latter would be self-described “teen pop sensation” I, Kandee. A stocky man who wears sweat pants and a Pilsner Beer T-shirt, he lit up season one of Talent Time with his rendition of Do Me, a ballad of lust. This motley collection of Vancouver’s undiscovered talent gives Anthony’s showcase the feeling of a grade-school variety show, where participants are expected to be unpolished.

“This show really isn’t about irony,” Anthony insists. “It’s not a show about laughing at people. It’s about celebrating that time we had as kids, when we were just performing for the sake of the pleasure of doing it — that raw energy and joy you’d get out of expression. Like when someone performs at a wedding, or at a school talent show, or when people create skits at camp —we’re trying to recapture that feeling.”

Anthony’s work as an actor has enabled him to call in favours from various celebrities to appear on the show, including Iggy Pop, Dave Foley (Kids in the Hall), Malcolm McDowell and Allan Cumming. At times, Talent Time feels like an alternative cabaret, occasionally evoking the spirit of The Muppet Show and even SCTV. And there are the obvious comparisons to the Idol franchise — a link Anthony takes issue with.

“When Susan Boyle came out on stage and sang [on Britain’s Got Talent], it was an incredible moment. It was incredible because it was so surprising. But what did they do to her? They then gave her a makeover and tried to make her look like what they think success looks like. What if it wasn’t about making everyone into a polished star? What if it was about the idea that talent exists where you might not expect it? There are lots of people who want to watch other kinds of entertainment.”

Amazingly, Talent Time always maintains its playful atmosphere, never appearing to demean or insult its guests, something that can be attributed to Anthony’s good-hearted quality as an emcee. “I really appreciate that our guests are getting up and just doing it,” he says.

Anthony finds his acts by doing his own scouting, and insists there’s no indication that he’ll run out of talent from Vancouver streets (and alleyways). “I’ve got a waiting list of people to come on the show. I feel like I’ve just begun to tap into the talent pool in this city.”

Anthony has spent the past few months working on a DVD set of the first season, which will be released mid-December. It will feature 10 full episodes and “a ton of extra material,” including commentary tracks and deleted scenes. He’s also negotiating with a national network about the possibility of making Talent Time a monthly late-night TV special.

“Syndication might work best for us, though,” he says. “I wouldn’t want us to have to change our content to avoid offending anyone.”

The Christmas episode of Talent Time will be performed live on Dec. 1 at Vancouver’s Biltmore Cabaret.

Matthew Hays is a writer based in Montreal.