SNL comedian doles out digs at Shaughnessy’s

Toronto’s Gavin Stephens will be performing standup comedy at Shaughnessy’s Pub and Grill downtown on Shaughnessy Street Feb. 11.

Laff City, a Sudbury-based comedy promotions company, is presenting the television comic as part of its series of comedy shows over the past year, Laff City organizer Derek Young said.

Stephens, 34, a veteran writer and comic of television shows, such as Saturday Night Live, the Comedy Network and Spike TV, has also performed at international comedy festivals, including Montreal’s Just For Laughs and South by Southwest in Austin, TX.

His start in comedy came after high school, when he was 20 years old. “I just decided to jump on a comedy stage for amateurs one night. Then my career took off from there.”

He began doing standup comedy in Toronto, and went on to tour the province.

“I happened to start writing for television, for the Buzz on the Comedy Network. I did that for nine years until I jumped over to Comedy Inc.”

Stephens said he enjoys standup comedy in smaller venues, as well as writing and performing for television shows.

Improv is a key aspect of his stage performance. “Sometimes it can be the whole act, sometimes less. It depends on how I feel. I like to play with the crowd, too.”

Stephens described himself as a party comic.

“I like to tease people. That gives me a connection to them through the teasing.”

He said he prefers that to being nasty or negative. “I do have a sarcastic streak in me.”

Northern Ontario is no stranger to Stephens. He just returned from a gig in Gore Bay on Manitoulin Island, and performed in Sudbury several times in 2009 in local pubs.

“The crowds were fun. They had a good sense of humour.”

Tickets for Gavin Stephens are $15 in advance at the venue, and $20 at door. Phone 918-2601 or visit www.laffcity.ca.